SAO PAULO, June 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- Unique cooperation will address key barriers cities face in obtaining financing for climate-related projects

The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and the World Bank today announced a groundbreaking partnership that will help cities accelerate actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and become more resilient to climate change. C40 Chair New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick signed the agreement during opening plenary of the C40 Cities Mayors Summit in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

"The leaders of C40 Cities -- the world's megacities -- hold the future in their hands," said C40 Chair, New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. "This unique partnership with the World Bank will help solve many of the problems that cities face in obtaining financing for climate-related projects, both from the World Bank and other lenders. It will also make it easier for C40 cities to access the resources of the World Bank."

The key objective of this new partnership is to enable megacities to expand mitigation and adaptation actions and at the same time, strengthen and protect economies, reduce poverty and protect vulnerable populations. It addresses structural issues that make it difficult for cities to finance climate actions that have been identified by both C40 Cities and the World Bank Group.

"The World Bank has a long history of working in urban areas to promote economic development to overcome poverty and more recently to address climate change," said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick. "This agreement will help us work with C40 cities to integrate growth planning with climate change adaptation and mitigation, with special attention to the vulnerabilities of the urban poor."

As part of the mutual agreement, the C40 and the World Bank will establish a consistent approach to climate action plans and strategies in large cities to enable stronger partnerships between cities on shared climate goals, and to permit potential investors to identify opportunities across cities. The two entities will also establish a common approach to measuring and reporting on city greenhouse gas emissions to allow verifiable and consistent monitoring of emissions reductions, identify actions that result in the greatest emission reductions, and facilitate access to carbon finance.

"Cities are growing at a faster rate than ever before and producing the majority of carbon emissions; we are already facing rising sea levels and more extreme hurricanes, droughts, and cyclones," said President Clinton. "Our partnership with the World Bank will provide essential tools to help cities become more sustainable, grow their economies, create jobs, promote energy independence, and ensure a stable future for generations to come."

Read the full press release here ( http://c40citieslive.squarespace.com/storage/World%20Bank%20C40%20Announcement%206.1.11.pdf).

SOURCE C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group