HORIZON INTERNATIONAL SOLUTIONS SITE

“Integrating the Environment in Urban Planning and Management: Key Principles and Approaches for Cities in the 21st Century,” a report launched on 8 April 2014 jointly by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Cities Alliance at the 2014 World Urban Forum in Medellin, Colombia, says that as consumers of over 75% of natural resources, cities can be major contributors to efficiency and sustainability.

. In July 2014, NASA will launch the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) to study the fate of carbon dioxide worldwide. Natural processes are working hard to keep the carbon cycle in balance by absorbing about half of our carbon emissions, limiting the extent of climate change. There's a lot we don't know about these processes, including where they are occurring and how they might change as the climate warms. To understand and prepare for the carbon cycle of the future, we have an urgent need to find out.

A total of five percent of global electricity consumption could be saved every year through a transition to efficient lighting, resulting in annual worldwide savings of over US$ 110 billion. These are among the main findings of 150 country lighting assessments and a new global policy map on efficient lighting.  An en.lighten press conference at Rio +20 highlighted the planned phase-out of inefficient lighting which is designed to deliver major economic and climate benefits by 2016.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced on September 21, 2010 the formation of the Clean Cooking Alliance, a more than $60 million dollar public-private partnership to save lives, improve livelihoods, empower women and combat climate change by creating a thriving global market for clean and efficient household cooking solutions.