One Planet Summit Nairobi: Africa pledge
On March 14, 2019, in Nairobi (Kenya), the first regional edition of the One Planet Summit sought to build momentum ahead of the UN Secretary-General’s 2019 Climate Summit with new commitments, initiatives and coalitions, such as the Global Alliance for Smart Cities in Africa, to develop renewable energy and protect biodiversity in Africa. Convened
Read more
Interview with Dr. Patrick Scheurle
As we enter 2019, a critical year for the implementation of the Sub national Climate Fund Africa (SnCF Africa), Patrick Scheurle, CEO of BlueOrchard Finance, describes what makes the R20-BlueOrchard partnership so innovative and explains the key role impact investing and “blended finance” can play in accelerating green infrastructure investments in emerging markets, Africa in
Read more
The 2018 Green Solutions Awards
Solutions already shaping the zero-carbon city. On December 6th, in the Framework of COP24 in Katowice (Poland), winners of the 2018 Green Solutions Awards were revealed during a ceremony that gathered nearly 200 industry professionals from all around the world. Organized by the Construction21 network, the Green Solutions Awards highlights pioneering projects and showcases relevant
Read more
PlastiCircular : The New Age of Plastic
Last Tuesday (Nov. 6, 2018), R20 welcomed key stakeholders – Dow-DuPont, Danone, Nestle, PepsiCo, Veolia, Suez, WBCSD, IUCN, WWF, etc. – to kick off PlastiCircular, a new initiative that aims to create a resilient market for plastic collection and recycling through the implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility for post-consumer packaging in developing countries. The one-day
Read more
Climate leaders share stories with purpose at Talanoa Dialogue
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chair of the USC Schwarzenegger Institute and R20, partnered with the Prime Minister of Fiji and COP23 President Frank Bainimarama to convene a meeting that brought together key actors and thought leaders. The meeting focused on the impact of sub-national financial systems and explored how joint public/private financing can support low-carbon and climate
Read more
Up to USD 1.4 billion to finance clean infrastructure projects in Africa
Leaders from politics, business, finance and civil society, gathered in New York city on September 26th for the second edition of the One Planet Summit to demonstrate progress on commitments taken in December 2017 and further engage public and private actors on climate action. On this occasion, new announcements aiming at strengthening climate commitments, mobilizing
Read more
The R20 Austrian World Summit: Inspiring pioneers towards a sustainable future
The R20 Austrian World Summit held in Vienna on May 15th, 2018 gathered high-ranking officials, decision-makers, businesses, investors and climate experts dedicated to showcase, promote and implement the Paris Climate Agreement and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. With the objective of building bridges between key stakeholders and a focus on sharing ideas, skills and
Read more
The Sub-national Climate Fund Africa on good tracks for 2018
Officially announced at COP23 in Bonn on Nov. 14th, the Sub-national Climate Fund Africa (SnCF Africa) is making strong progress ahead of the R20 Austrian World Summit. Following the official announcement of SnCF Africa and dedicated panel at COP23 back in November 2017, support for this first-of-its kind initiative has been growing and important milestones
Read more
Feasibility studies underway.
Fully operational since Q4 of 2017, our Pre-Investment Facilities (PIFs) are currently performing various feasibility studies for Waste valorization, Renewable Energy and LED street lighting infrastructure projects in Africa. Key components of the R20 Value Chain, Pre-Investment Facilities (PIFs) are innovative financial mechanism established in partnership with corporate partners to help project developers perform feasibility
Read more
Accelerating the green economy through capacity building & training
Geneva, March 15th, 2018 – R20 and Mines Saint-Etienne, France’s oldest elite engineering school outside Paris, signed a convention agreement to create an International Academic Chair titled “Sustainable Infrastructure and Territories”. With a strong focus on Africa, the International Academic Chair in Sustainable Infrastructure and Territories will support, through training, capacity building and access to
Read more
Make the Planet Great Again
Arnold Schwarzenegger was at the One Planet Summit in Paris to celebrate the two-year anniversary of the Paris Agreement. Aside from his notorious selfie with French President, Emmanuel Macron, Schwarzenegger had an important message about the power of cities and regions to deliver on the Paris Agreement. “Do not worry about the United States dropping
Read more
Region Ile-de-France taking the lead for G20’s regions to join R20 for investment lobbying.
In parallel with the One Planet Summit, Arnold Schwarzenegger met with Valérie Pécresse, President of the Ile-de-France Region, and Jérôme Chatrier, Vice President of the Ile-de-France Region in charge of economy and labor, in order to prepare the creation of a consortium of top G20 regions that would be welcomed as new members of the
Read more
Arnold Schwarzenegger joins Anne Hidalgo to tackle air pollution
On the eve of the One Planet Summit, Arnold Schwarzenegger arrived on a green bicycle at the Paris City Hall where he joined Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris and Chair of C40, to demonstrate the health benefits of climate and air pollution policies for cities and regions. Together, they presented the findings of a new
Read more
European Commission, Global Covenant of Mayors and R20 announce cooperation on innovative sustainable investment at sub-national level in developing countries.
A joint venture involving the European Commission, the Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM) and R20 was announced at the One Planet Summit in Paris on Tuesday. Aiming to support the identification, structuring and development of bankable low carbon and climate resilient infrastructure projects from African sub-national authorities, including financing through the SnCF Africa managed by
Read more
Climate Summit of Local and Regional Leaders
On November 12, hundreds of local and regional leaders from around the world gathered at COP23, in Bonn, to demonstrate the power and potential of cities and regions to deliver on the goals of the Paris Agreement and keep the global temperature rise well below 2°C. This is the moment to take what we know
Read more
COP23: Schwarzenegger places health at the centre of the climate debate.
The “COP Presidency’s High-level event on health” which was held on Nov. 12 in Bonn was important for R20 Founding Chair, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Because for him, failing to talk about the impact of pollution on health is why communication around climate change has been so unsuccessful over the past years. There is something off with
Read more
Signature Ceremony with selected African Projects
On November 14, during the World Climate Summit, held in Bonn in light of COP23, R20 and EGIS, under their common initiative, the Waste Project Facilitator (WPF), have signed Letters of Intent with project developers in Mali and Ivory Coast. Within this agreement, the WPF will facilitate the feasibility studies for 3 municipal waste infrastructure
Read more
R20 @COP23, Bonn
The R20 delegation is getting ready to head to Bonn for COP23 and we are excited to share with you the list of events in which we will be demonstrating R20’s unique approach to addressing the funding gap for low carbon and climate resilient infrastructure at the sub national level. Health Actions for the Implementation
Read more
R20, the City of Hamburg and the Renewable Energy Hamburg Cluster sign a collaboration agreement
On September 27th, the R20 Foundation, the Free and Hanseatic city of Hamburg, and The Renewable Energy Hamburg Cluster (EEHH) have signed a memorandum of cooperation to facilitate wind infrastructure projects in emerging countries. The signature ceremony was held in the Hamburg Elbphilarmonie, in the presence of Dr. Rolf Boesinger, State Secretary of Hamburg Ministry
Read more
First Sacred Cities Investment meeting, London July 24-25
On July 24th and 25th in London, representatives of faith-based sacred city proposals totaling nearly a billion dollars discussed how their initiatives could be funded through the investment community’s growing commitment to ethical or “impact” investment. The event was organized by the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC), and co-hosted by R20 at The Wesley,
Read moreThe R20 Austrian World Summit kicks off!
The R20 Austrian World Summit kicked off this morning in the Hofburg in Vienna. The R20 Founding Chair, Arnold Schwarzenegger greeted participants before the plenary started. The event is bringing together leading politicians, businesses, civil society & NGOs, start-ups, representatives of regions and cities as well as scientists and experts to develop and discuss solutions
Read moreArnold Schwarzenegger, the R20 Founding Chair, received the Legion of Honour after high-level environmental meetings in Paris
Paris, April 28th 2017 Former California Governor, and R20 Founding Chair, Mr. Arnold Schwarzenegger, attended meetings in Paris last Friday with French President Mr. François Hollande, Mr. Laurent Fabius (President of the French Constitutional Council), and Ms. Anne Hidalgo (Mayor of Paris and Chair of C40 Cities). They shared their common vision for tackling climate
Read moreJoint Call to Scale-up Project Preparation Processes for Green Infrastructure Implementation through SOURCE
The Sustainable Infrastructure Foundation (SIF) held its 2017 annual meeting in Washington D.C. on April 19th, hosted by the World Bank, bringing together Development Banks, and leaders of international sub-national government networks such as AER, FMDV, ICLEI, ORU-Fogar & R20. The agenda focused on the launching of Source (a global scale software that supports the preparation
Read moreThe R20 MED extends its activities on two new wilayas of Algeria
Under the patronage of the Algerian Minister of Water and Environment Resources, the R20 MED team hosted study days on sustainable development and sustainable urban development. These were held on April 3rd at the wilaya of Béjaïa (East of the country) and on April 9th at the wilaya Mostaganem (West of the country). The purpose
Read moreR20, SIF and partners conduct Source training in South Africa
On April 3rd and 4th, R20 and its partners conducted a training workshop for well-prepared infrastructure projects, hosted by the City of Tshwane. The workshop focused on Source, a Project preparation software for public sector users to prepare projects in a consistent and standardized format that has been fully endorsed by the major Multilateral Development
Read moreR20 Regions of Climate Action and PEMSEA Announce Partnership
R20 Regions of Climate Action and PEMSEA announce partnership to reduce pollution & facilitate low-carbon, blue economy investment in East Asia R20 Regions of Climate Action and Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA) announced a new partnership this week to facilitate the scale up of investments at the intersection of
Read moreAustrian World Summit Inaugural Conference To Be Center Stage On June 20th in Vienna, Austria
SAVE THE DATE – June 20, 2017 We invite you to the AUSTRIAN WORLD SUMMIT – a hub for sharing best practice examples of green infrastructure projects that help businesses and policy makers implement the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and meet the global climate protection goals set by the United Nations Framework Convention
Read moreBuilding Capacities in Public-Private Financing for Renewable Energies in West Africa
February 17, 2017 On February 16, 2017, the Global Sustainable Electricity Partnership (GSEP) concluded a high-level capacity building conference in Dakar, Senegal on renewable energies and public-private financing targeting the West African region. The conference was a part of GSEP’s flagship capacity building series, Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) for Sustainable Electricity Development. Organized in partnership with
Read morePope Francis greets R20 Founding Chair, Arnold Schwarzenegger at General Audience
Wednesday, January 25th 2017 Former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger met with His Holiness Pope Francis after the general audience at the Vatican on Wednesday. Mr Schwarzenegger thanked and congratulated Pope Francis for the Laudato Si’ Encyclical Letter on the Environment published May 24th 2015. Mr. Schwarzenegger presented to Pope Francis the environmental and energy efficiency legacy achieved
Read moreEgis and R20 sign partnership agreement for sustainable waste management
On Wednesday December 14th in Paris, an agreement was signed between Egis, an international consulting and engineering group and subsidiary of French Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC), and R20, an international non-profit organization working to develop waste management, renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. The signing took place in the
Read more