The Partners
The programme has significant targets for all the partners. See what the other partners are working to achieve:
- climate change leadership in cities
The Climate Group (TCG) is an independent non-profit organisation dedicated to accelerating the international uptake of corporate and government best practice in greenhouse gas emission reductions. TCG works to increase international action on climate change with a strong focus on practical solutions. The investment will help to:
- Expand TCG's programme by partnering with five 'world cities', and opening new TCG offices in China and India;
- Add 40 new and influential business and government members to an international 'coalition of the willing' on climate change in Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, New York and Shanghai;
- Launch campaigns in each city during the partnership term to increase consumer awareness of, and access to, climate friendly products and services;
- In the UK and US, working to secure government adoption of strong greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets by 2012, and policy frameworks to meet those targets at city, regional and national levels; and
In China and India, work towards national regional and city policies to limit green house gas emission growth.
- forests and climate change
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) is the world's foremost tropical biology research institute dedicated to increasing our understanding of the past, present and future of tropical biodiversity and its relevance to human welfare.
The investment will enable STRI to:
- Develop a Global Environmental Observatory (20 sites in 17 countries) that will provide baseline information on the health and status of forests worldwide;
- Introduce carbon measurement in the research plots, for the first time creating global measures to illustrate the role tropical forests play in carbon storage;
- For the first time compare the changes in tropical and temperate forests on a large scale and with standardised methods, in the process monitoring some three million trees representing approximately 8,000 species (more than 10 times the number of tree species in all of Europe and North America combined); and
- Create the largest ever field experiment on the role of forests in regulating the quality and quantity of water flow in the Panama Canal, the most important watershed for world commerce.
- freshwater and climate change
WWF is the largest independent conservation organisation with an active global network. It aims to stop the degradation of the planet's natural environment through conservation of biological diversity, addressing global threats to people and nature such as climate change, and ensuring that the use of natural resources is sustainable. The investment will enable WWF to:
- Lead the global initiative to develop solutions to reduce the impacts of climate change on the Amazon, Ganges, Thames and Yangtze, thereby increasing water security for people and their environment. This will benefit 25% of the world's available freshwater and 450 million people;
- Lead the ratification of a UN Convention to improve the management of 263 shared rivers covering half the Earth's land surface, holding 60% of the world's river water, reducing the impact of climate change and so benefiting water security for 40% of the world's population;
- Ensure tens of thousands of farmers adopt WWF models of how to harvest wetlands more sustainably, which reduces pollution, significantly increase their income and benefits wildlife;
- Develop energy efficiency and CO2 reduction strategies for China, Brazil and India to demonstrate how economic growth can still be maintained whilst also reducing greenhouse gases; and
- Launch public campaigns about energy and water efficiency to raise awareness of 50 million people around the world and provide them with practical solutions to make a difference.