10 in 10:Top 10 Actions on the Environment

Cities contribute more than two-thirds of the world’s energy and account for more than 70 percent of global CO₂ emissions. The Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI), in partnership with the C40 Climate Leadership Group, helps the world’s 40 largest cities implement projects that dramatically reduce carbon emissions — while also saving on energy costs and creating local jobs. Learn more.

In addition to being a major contributor to climate change, deforestation is both a driver and a result of poverty in developing countries. We’re working to make it more profitable for countries to preserve forests than to cut them down; to create robust systems to measure the carbon of forests; and to actively involve local communities in the preservation of their forests. Learn more.

New York City’s Empire State Building is proving that city buildings, no matter how large or how old, can significantly and affordably reduce their energy consumption. The retrofit of this iconic building which will include high-efficiency window glass replacement, redesigned heating and cooling systems and controls, and lighting improvements is expected to reduce the building’s energy use by 38 percent and energy bills by $4.4 million annually. CCI has also assisted with retrofit plans for several Chicago landmarks, including the Merchandise Mart and the Daley Center. Learn more.

Cars, trucks, buses, and trains represent nearly 12 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, but the solutions needed to improve transportation systems can sometimes appear costly and difficult to manage. President Clinton is helping to change the market for clean transportation technologies and make them more affordable — and helping cities design and implement large-scale public transit systems that reduce emissions. Learn more.

Since a 7.0 magnitude earthquake devastated Haiti last January, the Clinton Foundation and affiliates have been working with Haitians to increase access to electricity and inexpensive, renewable energy. Projects such as solar farms, clean energy stores, solar flashlights, and clean-burning briquettes will improve Haitians’ quality of life and lay the foundations for sustainable development. Learn more.

Our Building Retrofit Program has helped the University of Central Missouri and the Universidad Iberoamericana Ciudad de México — one of Mexico’s largest private universities — to implement campus-wide energy savings measures. As part of their programs, these universities are engaging students and faculty, both in and outside of the classroom, on sustainability initiatives around campus in order to create a living learning environment. Learn more about our Building Retrofit Program, UCM, and IBERO.

We’re working with Los Angeles on the largest streetlight retrofit undertaken by a city to date, replacing 140,000 traditional streetlights with LEDs. The project will reduce CO₂ emissions by 40,500 tons and save $10 million annually — proving that what’s good for the environment is also good for the economy. Learn more.

Waste in landfills is the third largest source of anthropogenic methane, a greenhouse gas that is 23 times more potent than CO₂. We’re working with cities around the world — including Delhi, Houston, Cairo, and Mexico City — to reduce reliance on landfills, to compost organic waste, and to convert waste to energy. Learn more.

More than 4.5 million trees have been planted by thousands of smallholder farmers in Rwanda and Malawi as part of Clinton Foundation reforestation projects in these countries. The projects make tree framing profitable for smallholder farmers by sequestering carbon that can then be sold on the international marketplace — and help to reverse deforestation in the region. Learn more.

Since 2005, Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) members have committed to implement projects and build partnerships that develop the clean energy industry. Because of commitments made by CGI’s members, more than 400 million metric tons of CO₂ have been cut or abated, and enough clean energy has been generated to power more than 400,000 homes. Learn more.