International environmental leaders and city officials will flock to New York City to attend the C40 & Siemens City Climate Leadership Awards on Monday night.

The German engineering giant Siemens and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, or C40, will honor 10 cities for excellence in urban sustainability and leadership in the global fight against climate change.

C40 is a network of large cities from around the world committed to implementing meaningful and sustainable climate-related actions locally.

According to the organizers, the focus of this year’s competition is on recognizing innovative and environmentally positive city projects as well as bringing to light the so-called “hidden champions” ― high-performing urban projects that were achieved in spite of financial constraints or difficult economic circumstances.

This year, a total of 31 projects representing 26 cities were selected as finalists for the awards. The list includes Seoul and Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, which were chosen to compete in the categories of green energy and sustainable communities.

C40 board president and former New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Roland Busch, CEO of Siemens’ Infrastructure & Cities Sector, will participate in the ceremony along with over 250 decision makers from cities around the world, including mayors, city planners, policymakers and influential thinkers, the award organizers said.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)