April 7, 2022

Cities all over the world are one of the biggest contributors to global warming. For one, they are responsible for about two-thirds of the world’s emissions as of today, according to a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

In 2020, cities were responsible for about 72% of global greenhouse gas emissions, up from 62% in 2015.

Secondly, cities consume a greater part of the energy that the world produces as a result of the increasing population.

As the human population increases in number and size, so does energy consumption; hence, the need to transform urban areas into eco-friendly cities that are self-sufficient in terms of energy and sustainable living.

Considering the effects of climate change on the environment, building resilient cities is a step in the right direction as they can play a major role in addressing climate change in the near future. This must also go hand-in-hand with emissions reduction for urban areas to truly meet target and mitigate global warming.

In light of the above, U.N. scientists, in a report, have laid out ways for individuals, governments, and organizations to reduce emissions and curb climate change, and have also put down actions that city planners can follow.

These actions, as stated in the report, include improving energy efficiency in buildings, placing fees on highly polluting vehicles in city centres, outlawing diesel cars, designing streets to avoid traffic congestion, planting “green roofs“, and incorporating more parks and trees that help sequester carbon dioxide emissions and also help to cool cities.

According to the report, about 55% of the world’s population lived in cities in 2018, a figure expected to jump to 68% by 2050 – with Asian and African cities seeing the biggest increases. Planning for and encouraging population density is recommended to prevent rural and suburban sprawl, which is less energy efficient and destroys natural habitats.

For the world to have a chance of limiting global warming to within 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) of pre-industrial levels, cities need to act fast – and financing would need to be boosted significantly. Also, climate-friendly urban policies would also improve public health by reducing air pollution, the report said.

Aggressive climate action could bring city emissions to net-zero by 2050. But failing to act could instead see urban emissions double in that time, the report said.

Courtesy: Climateaction.africa