Press Release: The City of Paris and the Clinton Foundation Join Forces to Fight Climate Change

The Clinton Foundation and the City of Paris have both taken proactive initiatives on the critical issue of climate change.

In 2006, the Clinton Foundation launched the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI), a partnership with the C40 Large Cities Climate Leadership Group to support the efforts undertaken by world metropolises to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. CCI works with cities to achieve tangible and significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, using the same business model that has made the Foundation's other programs, like its HIV/AIDS initiative, successful. In May 2007, President Clinton announced the creation of an energy efficiency building retrofit program which brings together energy service companies, banks and large cities in a landmark effort to significantly reduce energy use in buildings.

Since 2001, the City of Paris has embarked on an ambitious environmental program, especially in the fields of urban development and transport. The recent Climate Strategy, adopted on October 1, 2007, is the latest concrete commitment of the City authorities: the City will begin a large-scale program aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption 30% below 2004 levels by the year 2020.

The Clinton Foundation and the City of Paris have decided to pool their efforts on this critical challenge by partnering together to improve building energy efficiency.

In accordance with the Paris Climate Strategy, the Clinton Foundation and the City of Paris will work together on an energy efficiency program to retrofit public buildings. The objective of this cooperation will be to reduce by two thirds the energy consumption of the 660 kindergartens and primary schools of Paris (approximately 1 million square meters of space, and an annual energy consumption of 225 GWh or 13 million Euros). A first mapping of energy consumption in these schools will be completed by the end of the year 2007. As early as 2008, the program will be carried out through building improvement works compatible with the Climate Strategy. These will be financed by the energy savings achieved over several years, and will be coupled with a large-scale awareness campaign in the school community. The first stage of the process will involve 100 schools, including, as a priority, primary schools.

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