News Release

First Canada, and Now the World?

Edmonton finalist in global sustainability challenge

For the second year in a row, the City of Edmonton is a finalist in the Earth Hour City Challenge. The 44 finalist cities were chosen by the World Wildlife Fund from among 163 entrants for impressive actions on climate change.

“We were honoured to have been selected as the 2014 Earth Hour Capital of Canada and are looking forward to trying to repeat this year, and hopefully taking home the global title,” said Mayor Don Iveson. “Our sustainability efforts continue to grow year by year, and it is reassuring to know that our goal of creating a carbon neutral future is being recognized in our nation and around the world.”

Edmonton was selected as a finalist this year based on our waste-to-biofuel facility, the world’s first municipal industrial-scale plant that transforms solid waste into biofuels. We were also recognized for coordinating the installation of solar systems at various community leagues and also piloting a rebate program for solar installations.

An expert jury will now review the actions and commitments reported by these cities and identify one sustainability leader per country for the National Earth Hour Capital Awards and one Global Earth Hour Capital to be presented on April 9 in Seoul, South Korea. Edmonton is among three Canadian cities in the running.

“Our global ecological footprint is continuing to grow, threatening species and habitats, and our own well-being,” said David Miller, President and CEO of WWF-Canada. “WWF congratulates and thanks the City of Edmonton and Mayor Don Iveson for ongoing leadership in building a future where both people and nature thrive.”

Citizens can also show their civic pride and help Edmonton become a winner, by participating in the people’s choice version of the Earth Hour City Challenge. The We Love Cities campaign goes live today and you can vote for Edmonton in a few ways:

• Tweet what you love about our city with hashtag #weloveedmonton
• Post a picture or video on Instagram of your favourite thing about Edmonton with hashtag #weloveedmonton
• Vote by visiting welovecities.org/edmonton

Voting ends on March 28, 2015 and the winner of the We Love Cities campaign will be announced on April 9 in Seoul, South Korea in conjunction with the ICLEI World Congress.