Clinton advocates for reducing the energy consumption of urban buildings

New York/Prague - Former U.S. President Bill Clinton proposes that buildings in New York and other global metropolises owned by the city be modified to require less energy for their operation. Cities would thus contribute to reducing global energy consumption, lowering carbon dioxide emissions, and ultimately saving on energy bills. The project supported by the Clinton Foundation has, according to the former president, received commitments of billions in investments from several multinational financial institutions.
    "These are high-return investments," Clinton claims. The proposed measures have enormous potential for economic growth and also address a significant global problem, stated the former president, who was one of the hosts at last week's meeting of mayors and senior officials from major cities around the world focused on the role of cities in global climate change.
    Although large urban agglomerations occupy only about one percent of the Earth's surface, they account for up to 80 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions deemed responsible for the planet's warming, as mentioned in connection with the New York meeting. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg noted that 79 percent of the city's carbon compound emissions come from buildings owned by the city.
    To reverse this situation, Clinton's project envisions replacing current heating, cooling, and lighting methods in urban buildings with new, energy-efficient systems. Additionally, the windows should be airtight, glass should be replaced with panes that allow more daylight to enter, and roofs should be painted white or reflective to reflect more sunlight.
    The changes are expected to reduce energy consumption in these modified buildings by 20 to 50 percent, which should also be reflected in lower bills, Clinton stated before the press.
    New York is one of 16 major cities that have signed up for Clinton's project. Others include Chicago, Houston, Mexico City, Tokyo, Toronto, and Rome.
    Funding is expected to come from banks Citi, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase, UBS, and ABN Amro, each of which has pledged one billion dollars. Cities are expected to use the money saved from lower energy bills to pay back the loans.
    According to Clinton, cities and private owners are interested in building or renovating energy-efficient buildings but often lack the initial investment. The former U.S. president believes that the partnerships achieved in his project address this problem, allowing all participants to benefit.
    The Prague City Hall has already started addressing energy savings earlier. It has conducted audits of about 2,000 municipal buildings. It was found that modifications aimed at reducing energy consumption would cost about 2.4 billion crowns. The return on investment would be roughly ten years, with city authorities saving 256 million crowns annually.
    Building modifications include renovations of boiler rooms, equipping them with regulatory devices, replacing windows, and insulating facades. "In certain cases, it’s only possible to proceed with repairing the heating system. In many cases, a complete renovation of the buildings is necessary," previously stated councilor Petr Štěpánek (Green Party) to CTK. For this reason, savings cannot be achieved in all municipal buildings in less than ten years.