Global Cool Cities Alliance

Global Cool Cities Alliance (GCCA) is a global initiative dedicated to advancing policies and actions that increase the solar reflectance of buildings and pavements (i.e., cool surfaces) as a low- or no-cost way to promote cool buildings and cool cities, and mitigate the effects of climate change through global cooling. Global Cool Cities Alliance (GCCA) will pursue this mission through the development of four program areas. Using a range of mechanisms (including municipal action and advancements in research and development), these programs act in concert to accelerate the adoption of white roofs and other cool surfaces. Specifically, GCCA’s program areas include:

• City-Level Action – GCCA aims to recruit and obtain “cool roof” commitments from cities across the globe by 2015, leading to widespread installation of cool surfaces by 2020 and a growing coalition of municipal cool roof advocates.
• Building Codes and Pavement Specification – GCCA promotes the inclusion of cool surfaces—mainly white roofs—in the building and pavement codes of key US states and major foreign countries.
• Financial Mechanisms – GCCA develops financial mechanisms (tools and policies) that support the installation of cool surfaces in the US and other key countries.
• Dissemination of Research and Development – GCCA ensures that information about cool surface research, development, and demonstrations is broadly disseminated.

GCCA was launched in the summer of 2010 and expects to establish offices in either Washington, DC, or San Francisco, CA.