Green Building and the Clinton Climate Initiative

By Marianne Merritt Talbot, Esq.

"It no longer makes sense for us to debate whether or not the earth is warming at an alarming rate, and it doesn’t make sense for us to sit back and wait for others to act. The fate of the planet that our children and grandchildren will inherit is in our hands, and it our responsibility to do something about this crisis.” — William J. Clinton

The rapidly deteriorating state of our environment and the preservation of natural resources appears now to be an issue that is moving to the forefront of our national consciousness, perhaps driven by recognition of global warming (the ten warmest years on record have all occurred since 1990) and the dramatic increases in oil and gas prices. It is also galvanizing action in attempts to stem, and perhaps even reverse, ongoing environmental degradation. To that end, in August 2006, Bill Clinton and the Clinton Foundation launched the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI), the goal of which is to “fight against climate change in practical and measurable ways.”

The first initiative of the CCI is a partnership with the Large Cities Climate Leadership Group, an organization comprised of many of the largest cities in the world, all of which have pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Members of the Leadership Group include New York, Chicago, Paris, London, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Istanbul, Seoul, Johannesburg and Cairo. The importance of specifically and integrally involving large cities in the process to protect the environment is apparent, as 75 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases are produced in urban areas.

What appears to make the CCI partnership a potentially potent ally in efforts to protect the environment is the utilization of a marketdriven solution to reduce greenhouse gasses. Pursuant to this plan, the CCI seeks to create a consortium that will pool the purchasing power of cities in order to reduce the prices of energy-saving products and accelerate the development of energysaving technologies. This approach is akin to the Clinton Foundation’s AIDS initiative, which has formed consortiums to reduce the cost of lifesaving AIDS drugs and effectuate their widespread distribution.

The construction industry is an integral part of the CCI’s environmental designs. On August 8, 2006, the CCI signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), whose green building LEED rating system is in use across the United States, as well as twenty countries worldwide. Pursuant to this Memorandum of Understanding, the USGBC has agreed to work with the CCI in disseminating technical expertise in green building practices in order to increase the number of green buildings internationally. Another organization involved in this green building component of the CCI includes the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.

An additional component of the CCI’s project blueprint is the creation of measurement systems that will allow cities to assess and set baselines on their current greenhouse gas emissions, thus providing them with a means of measuring changes in emissions levels. The program is additionally intended to promulgate methods through which cities around the world can communicate with each other as to what are the most effective (or ineffective) emission reduction means.

Notably absent, however, from the impressive roster of cities involved in the CCI/Large Cities Climate Leadership Group are any cities in China. China has the dubious honor of being home to the top ten most polluted cities on the globe. Pollution clouds originating in China have been tracked traveling to the United States and Europe. The impact that China, with portions of its massive population migrating to cities and purchasing automobiles, will have on the global environmental condition may be vast, dramatic, and potentially catastrophic. It is thus imperative that China become part of the global community united to protect the environment, by and through its cities’ membership in the CCI and Large Climate Leadership Group, promoting or mandating green building practices, or adopting other means through which to exercise appropriate environmental responsibility for the benefit of not only its own country, but the international community.

The CCI is committed to making a difference in the fight against global warming and will continue to work with the world’s largest cities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.