Cities take the lead by setting emission reduction targets

(Eco Business, 9 Jun 2016) Cities are responsible for a large chunk of greenhouse gas emissions due to concentration of economic activity.

More than 200 cities with a combined population of 439 million have set greenhouse gas emission reduction goals for themselves so far, contributing to their countries’ overall climate action pledges included in the Paris Agreement. Cities have come together under many initiatives such as the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and the Compact of Mayors, launched at the 2014 United Nations Climate Summit.

A report titled “ Can a City Be Sustainable? ” by US-based research organisation Worldwatch Institute has highlighted the sustainability efforts of some of these cities. The list includes Shanghai in China, Melbourne in Australia, Ahmedabad and Pune in India and Vancouver in Canada.

“The challenge over the next several decades is an enormous one,” write Michael Renner and Tom Prugh, contributing authors and co-directors of the report. “This requires not change around the edges, but a fundamental restructuring of how cities operate, how much they consume in resources and how much waste they produce, what they look like, and how they are structured.”

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Eco Business, 9 Jun 2016: Cities take the lead by setting emission reduction targets