Carbon-Free Cities: Achievable Utopia?
In The Climate Action Summit [1], over 70 countries and over 100 cities announced a major commitment to combat the climate crisis: achieve Net-Zero global emissions by 2050.
‘Net-Zero’ means that any emissions are balanced by absorbing an equivalent amount from the atmosphere. In order to meet the 1.5°C global warming target in the Paris Agreement, global carbon emissions should reach Net-Zero around mid-century [2].
The United Nations (UN) also adopted the term ‘Carbon Neutral’ when “Climate-damaging emissions are reduced where possible and the remaining emissions are netted out through the purchase of carbon offsets.”
Some examples of carbon offset projects are renewable energy generation, tree planting and reducing deforestation, replacing traditional coal-fired cooking stoves with clean solar cookers, landfill gas management, clean drinking water systems, among others.
Why does ‘Net Zero’ matter so much?
Human activity is the main cause of climate change. We have been influencing the climate and the earth's temperature by burning fossil fuels, cutting down rainforests, and farming livestock. The result of all these activities are the emissions of enormous amounts of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) to those naturally occurring in the atmosphere, increasing the greenhouse effect and global warming [3].
Global warming is altering the world in many ways. According to the UN, 2020 may be the third hottest year on record, we are facing a global pandemic and we are breathing unhealthy air pollutants, which can lead to asthma attacks and other respiratory and cardiovascular health effects. Also, global warming can represent a threat to our food security, and wild animals face new challenges for survival too.
If we want all these Climate Change effects to decrease, we need to start implementing new ways of doing not only industrial processes but also our daily activities. Cities consume over two-thirds of the world’s energy and account for more than 70% of global CO2 emissions, therefore, we have several opportunity areas to implement carbon-free strategies to mitigate global warming while reducing GHG emissions.
How can we start having Carbon-Free Cities?
In addition to carbon offset projects, several actions can be implemented to achieve this ambitious goal, and all of them come in different scales. Some actions can be implemented from day to day with a low-carbon lifestyle and others need the government's support to reach all sectors and citizens.
The Carbon-Free City Handbook [4], by the Rocky Mountain Institute, describes 22 actions that help cities become carbon-free. In the picture below I summarize all of them but I highly recommend you to check out the full handbook as it explains some key considerations.
An outstanding example is the extensive cycling infrastructure by the Netherlands to promote bike use, and the existing central London Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to help improve air quality by charging a fee to the most polluting vehicles.
In the US, Boston, Massachusetts has developed a Greenovate Boston Climate Action Plan intending to reduce carbon emissions 80% below 2005 levels by 2050. Las Vegas has replaced 80% of their street lights with LED lamps and Aspen, Colorado has a city-owned utility company that is providing all the city’s electric needs from 100% renewable sources [5].
Plant-based diets and urban food farms can help feed local populations without depleting resources while cutting transport emissions and promoting the local economy.
Achieving Net-Zero and transforming our urban areas into Carbon-Free Cities is an effort that involves everyone. We need to implement solutions that are reliable, accessible, and affordable for all. Ensuring an energy transition is vital. Implementing social and political drivers as well as climate finance and carbon pricing is also a way to accelerate this transformation.
The Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance (CNCA) is a collaboration of leading global cities such as Oslo, Rio de Janeiro, and Yokohama, working to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80-100% by 2050 or sooner. Check out the CNCA member city profiles [6] to learn more about the city's targets and timelines and its latest game changing initiatives.
For instance, the City Council of Copenhagen adopted in 2012 the ‘CPH Climate Plan 2025’, which is based on four pillars:
Energy Consumption
Energy Production
Mobility
City Administration Initiatives.
and aims to be the first carbon neutral capital in 2025.
Each city is going about achieving the goal in its own way. What does it take to make your city climate-resilient? Do you think the Net-Zero goal by 2050 is reachable?
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[1] The Climate Action Summit, United Nations, New York, September 2019
[2] Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit.
[3] Climate Action, Energy, Climate Change and Environment, European Commission.
[4] Carbon-Free City Handbook, by the Rocky Mountain Institute.
[5] Zero Energy Project.
