Operation Green Capital: Will Richard Branson Take The Carbon War Room to a City Near You?

Billionaire, adventurer, and clean energy enthusiast, Richard Branson is issuing a new global challenge to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions.

The Carbon War Room, a non-profit organization which Branson co-founded, has announced Operation Green Capital -- Global Challenge [pdf].  Green Capital is a civic initiative in which the Carbon War Room is looking for 10 cities to participate in a 30-month pilot program to provide governments and private sectors with the financing to aggressively pursue energy efficiency projects.

According to the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) over 20% of carbon dioxide emissions come from buildings.  The Carbon War Room says that mayors and civic leaders know that building retrofits and city energy efficiency programs are not only beneficial to the environment but are also great economic sparkplugs.  Nevertheless, cities and their leaders are hampered by a lack of access to investment capital.

This is where Operation Green Capital comes in, the project will aim at setting up the mechanisms to allow for a more dependable flow of money from financial institutions that are looking to invest in clean and green projects.  The cities that are chosen to participate will have to meet a series of conditions including a commitment to funding targets, establishing a team dedicated solely to the challenge, and recruiting funding and administrative partners.

The Carbon War Room announced the initiative in Vancouver, a city which hopes to be a participant in Operation Green Challenge.  As Vancouver City Mayor Gregor Robertson said, "The demand for cleaner energy, for reduced waste, for clean water and air and for safe food supply, all of these are attracting capital, and are collectively the emerging powerhouse in the world's economy."

Read the full story at the Vancouver Sun:  Branson launches civic carbon challenge in Vancouver

Image courtesy of Carbon War Room