26 JUNE 2015 C40 Chair Mayor Paes Extends Tenure Through 2016 Rio de Janeiro Mayor Paes recognized for C40 leadership and accomplishments Today, the C40 Ci/es Climate Leadership Group (C40) announced that C40 Chair, Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes will extend his C40 term by one year, following a unanimous vote by the [email protected] C40 Steering CommiHee represen/ng the global membership. Mayor Paes, whose tenure began in 2014, will serve as C40 Chair through the end of his mayoral term in December 2016. The Steering CommiHee cited in their decision Mayor Paes’ leadership in expanding C40 #yci/es membership to more than 75 ci/es, with an emphasis on ci/es in China and the global south; #c40yci/es his push for city diplomacy and the global Compact of Mayors; his focus on climate finance; and his success advancing the long-term sustainability in Rio. “I am deeply honoured by this opportunity to be C40 Chair for an addi/onal year, and I look forward to con/nuing my work with interna/onal mayors, businesses, NGOs and the C40 team,” said C40 Chair, Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes. “It has been a great privilege to help lead the global conversa/on on ci/es and climate change and create the ci/es of the future. I have always believed that to be liveable, ci/es must be four things: environmentally friendly, adept at dealing with mobility and integra/on, socially integrated, and technologically advanced. I am proud that C40 is helping ci/es around the world take tangible ac/on in this cri/cal direc/on.” As C40 Chair, Mayor Paes has led by example, strengthening diploma/c engagement and city diplomacy. Rio is on its way to achieving compliance with the global Compact of Mayors. It is also one of the first C40 ci/es to establish a local GHG emission inventory using the Global Protocol for Community- Scale Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories (GPC), the interna/onal “gold” standard for GHG emission repor/ng. It is the first Brazilian city to complete a study on climate vulnerabili/es (of the metropolitan region). Rio de Janeiro is using the upcoming 2016 Olympic Games to implement projects that are enhancing Rio’s sustainability and the goal to reduce local GHG emission, such as the implementa/on of BRTs, which are dedicated corridors for ar/culated buses, thus amplifying the offer of mass transport. In 2011, Rio passed its Municipal Policy on Climate Change and Sustainable Development, which mandated regular updates to GHG emission inventories and sets an emission reduc/on target of 20% (2.3 million metric tons of emission reduc/ons) by 2020. The city has a Climate Ac/on Plan and is part of the Rockefeller 100 Resilient Ci/es ini/a/ve, in January launching Rio Resilient, a comprehensive resilience strategy of the city. "Under the leadership of Mayor Paes, C40 has con/nued to strengthen its reputa/on as a results-driven and truly global network of ci/es working together to tackle climate change and increase urban resilience,” said Mayor Mauricio Macri of Buenos Aires. “I was proud to stand beside him at the first-ever C40 La/n American Mayors Forum in Buenos Aires, and I look forward to working closely with him as we mayors strive to create a more sustainable future for urban ci/zens everywhere." “Mayor Paes understands that the African con/nent is acutely vulnerable to the ravages of climate change due to mul/ple stressors and low adap/ve capacity. He par/cularly understands many of the challenges faced by metropolitan ci/es on the con/nent – like the city of Johannesburg in South Africa – and the demand for our ci/es to develop in a way that is sustainable, economically viable and socially beneficial,” said Mayor Parks Tau of Johannesburg. “It has been a pleasure collabora/ng with Mayor Paes to find collec/ve solu/ons and share best prac/ce. I am confident that he will lead C40 and our ci/es through these challenging and cri/cal /mes we face today, and will con/nue to ensure that ci/es remain on the global climate change agenda.” Under Mayor Paes’ tenure, C40 has expanded its membership and provided C40 City Advisers to eight global ci/es; strengthened the role of ci/es in interna/onal climate conversa/ons; joined partners in launching and advancing the global Compact of Mayors; and executed the first ever C40 regional forum, the C40 La/n American Mayors Summit in Buenos Aires. Under an extended term, Mayor Paes will not only help lead C40 and city efforts at the COP21 climate nego/a/ons in Paris at the end of 2015, but also oversee the next C40 Mayors Summit in Mexico City in 2016. About the C40 Ci@es Climate Leadership Group The C40 Ci/es Climate Leadership Group, now in its 10th year, connects more than 75 of the world’s greatest ci/es, represen/ng 550+ million people and one quarter of the global economy. Created and led by ci/es, C40 is focused on tackling climate change and driving urban ac/on that reduces greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks, while increasing the health, wellbeing and economic opportuni/es of urban ci/zens. The current chair of the C40 is Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes; three-term Mayor of New York City Michael R. Bloomberg serves as President of the Board. To learn more about the work of C40 and our ci/es, please visit www.c40.org, follow us on TwiHer @c40ci/es and like us on Facebook at hp:// www.facebook.com/C40Ci/es. m2 .