Climate change is the biggest threat facing our global environment and economy, and U.S. cities are significant contributors, generating close to 80 percent of all U.S. produced carbon dioxide (CO2) as well as significant amounts of other greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere. For the most part, U.S. cities are just beginning to measure their actual total contributions to CO2. Accordingly, in ranking cities the UER includes two sets of data: a) data related to the actions being taken in cities to address their carbon footprint, and b) data on the natural conditions that may be relevant to the impact of climate change, such as elevation, humidity, wind speed, etc.

Close to 300 cities, representing more than 50 million Americans, have signed on to the U.S. Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement, and a growing number are taking significant steps to reduce CO2 emissions.

Resources

Earth Day Network’s Climate Change Solutions Campaign Website
     http://www.earthday.net/resources/2006materials/default.aspx

Earth Day Network's Earth Day Footprint Quiz
     http://www.earthday.net/Footprint/index.asp
     Take the Earth Day Footprint Quiz and learn how you personally can work to stop global warming.

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
     http://www.unep.org
     UNEP is the principal environment organization of the United Nations system. It supports governments and
     their partners to develop and implement environment policies and activities.

United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT)
     http://www.unhabitat.org
     UN-HABITAT is the United Nations agency for human settlements. It promotes socially and environmentally
     sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all.

Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles (PCFV)
     http://www.unep.org/pcfv
     The PCFV is a UNEP-led global partnership to promote better air quality in developing country cities through
     cleaner fuels and vehicles.

Sustainable Urban Mobility (SUM)
     http://www.unhabitat.org/categories.asp?catid=369
     SUM is a Sustainable Cities Programme project to promote sustainable urban mobility, focusing on
     non-motorized transportation.

The World Bank
     http://www.worldbank.org/climatechange
     The World Bank incorporates considerations of climate change into all its development operations.

Global Environmental Facility (UNDP, UNEP, World Bank)
     http://www.undp.org/gef/undp-gef_focal_areas_of_action/sub_climate_change.html
     The GEF supports activities that protect the global environment, including activities to combat climate change.

ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability
     http://www.iclei.org/co2/index.htm
     ICLEI’s Cities for Climate Protection Campaign (CCP) is a global campaign to support city efforts to reduce climate change.

Eurocities – INTEGAIRE project
     http://www.integaire.org/indexuk.html
     EUROCITIES’s three-year INTEGAIRE project was designed to help European cities work towards a sustainable
     solution in which all citizens could enjoy a good quality of life as well as clean air.

Cities Alliance
     http://www.citiesalliance.org
     The Cities Alliance is a global alliance of cities and their development partners committed to improve the living
     conditions of the urban poor through City Development Strategies (CDS) and slum upgrading.

United Cities and Local Governments
     http://www.cities-localgovernments.org/uclg
     United Cities and Local Governments is the global voice of cities and the main local government partner of the
     United Nations.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
     http://www.ipcc.ch/
     The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assesses scientific, technical and socio-economic
     information on climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation.

United Nations University – Zero Emissions Forum
     http://www.unu.edu/zef/
     The Zero Emissions Forum works to integrate industrial systems so that the waste products of one industry
     become inputs for another.

World Meteorological Organization – Atmospheric Research and Environment Programme (AREP)
     http://www.wmo.ch/wmo50/e/wmo/today_pages/arep_e.html
     AREP coordinates and encourages research activities in atmospheric and environmental sciences.

World Climate Research Programme (WCRP)
     http://wcrp.wmo.int/
     WCRP focuses on how climate can be predicted and the extent of human influence on climate.