Authored By: Irene García, Built Environment Lead at Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance Louise Coffineau, Senior Policy Advisor at Eurocities The revision of the Construction Products Regulation (CPR) will be voted in the European Parliament’s plenary on July 11. And it is not receiving the attention it deserves. The CPR is one of the two most essential regulations to ensure the proper implementation of a low carbon Renovation Wave in the European Union (together with the Energy Performance Buildings Directive). As such, it has an extraordinary potential to dramatically cut down emissions from th ..read more

The 15% ‘GasTerug’ Campaign By Michael Shank The What Recently, an “Action Network” was created in Amsterdam in response to the energy crisis resulting from Russia’s war with Ukraine. Early in the war, Amsterdam’s former alderman Marieke van Doorninck called for action to get off Russian gas, which created a community-wide effort—called 15% GasTerug, or GasBack. Check out the video – titled “Only together will we get through the winter warmly” – that Amsterdam used to promote this campaign: The Why The Action Network’s aim was to reduce gas use across the metropolitan area by 15% by the end o ..read more

NYC’s Strategy To Dismantle & Replace Fossil Fuel Infrastructure By Daniel Zarrilli, Chief Climate Policy Advisor & OneNYC Director, Office of NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio From left to right, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio (center), with Comptroller Scott Stringer, and Bill McKibben, Co-Founder of 350.org. Photo: NYC Mayor’s Office / Benjamin KanterNew York City Doubles Down on the Green New Deal Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City recently launched the second wave of NYC’s Green New Deal, expanding on the success of legislation passed last year with the City Council to retrofit the large ..read more

Game Changers Deep Dive: Cutting Emissions by Reducing Food Waste By Michael Shank and Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo Michael Shank is the Communications Director for CNCA, and Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo is the Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. Michael Shank attended the Vatican City conference mentioned below, which was hosted by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. The article was first published in TIME Magazine and is reprinted below and updated to reflect post-conference timing. Food Waste Might Be Finally Getting the Focus It Deserves From Washington D.C. to the Vatic ..read more

The Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance is excited to welcome Simone Mangili as CNCA’s next Director! Simone was selected through an in-depth global search with input from members, funders, and staff. Simone brings over 20 years of international experience in the local government and non-profit sectors, working with cities on climate change and other urban sustainability issues. He holds a strong commitment to embedding social equity in policy development and implementation. Simone’s extensive experience ranges from strategic and resilience planning and urban redevelopment, to commun ..read more

BY MICHAEL SHANK COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, CARBON NEUTRAL CITIES ALLIANCE Why 12 Ms? Environmentalists have long depended on good data and sound science to determine the direction of their advocacy agendas. Climate change campaigns are an excellent example of this. They’re reliant on rigorous modeling, and the science-based estimates and forecasting that follow, to substantiate and legitimate any advocacy effort. This strategy makes much sense. When advocating for a low-carbon agenda, to prevent further warming of the planet, it’s essential to have solid data on how much carbon is left in our b ..read more

For Immediate Release January 12, 2021 Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance’s Initiative Dramatically Increases Uptake of Bio-based Materials, Advocating City, National and EU-Level Policy Adoption   Today, the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance (CNCA) announced an ambitious new effort to reduce embodied carbon and increase the uptake of bio-based materials in Europe’s built environment. CNCA’s launch illustrates the cutting edge of decarbonization efforts across Europe’s leading green cities. CNCA’s initiative – funded by a two million euro grant from the Laudes Foundation – will foster the rapid ..read more

Taking The Power Back: How Hamburg Regained Control Of Its Energy Utility By Anselm Sprandel, Director-General for Energy and Climate, Ministry of Environment and Energy, City of Hamburg A Case Study on How to Remuncipalize a Utility: How the City of Hamburg regained control of its utility and the tools to advance the city’s climate protection and energy transition agendas. Background on Hamburg’s Privatized Past In the 1990s and the early 2000s, the Hamburgische Electricitäts Werke (Hamburg Electricity Works or HEW) was sold to the Vattenfall Group to balance the city’s budget. The selling o ..read more

Glasgow’s Climate Action Story By Gavin Slater, Head of Sustainability, Neighbourhoods & Sustainability, Glasgow City Council Overlooking the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland. Photo courtesy of Glasgow City Council. The City of Glasgow has experienced constant change and evolution. In 1765, James Watt, while walking on Glasgow Green, conceived of the separate condenser to the steam engine and, thus, set about an acceleration of the evolution of the industrial age and inadvertently enabled the acceleration of climate change. In the years that followed, Glasgow became an industrial powerhous ..read more

Launch Of Amsterdam’s Climate Neutral Roadmap: An Interview With Deputy Mayor Marieke Van Doorninck Q: Many cities aim for climate neutrality in 2050 – what makes Amsterdam’s roadmap special? A: Cities are making a major contribution to climate change. Aside from the great responsibility, we also have more opportunities to take action to fight it, as there are lots of people living in close proximity. And we get a nicer city in return – not only for the current generation, but also for the generations to come. Cities are particularly unpleasant places to be in the heat and in the massive rain ..read more