Cities Prove We Can Lower Carbon Emissions Even as Populations and Economies Grow

Here’s some positive news for your day: 27 cities have proven that it’s possible to reduce carbon emissions even as populations and economies grow. That’s according to a C40 Cities study done with the University of Leeds (UK), the University of New South Wales (Australia), and Arup, which I read in this Global Action Climate Summit article.

The cities are: Barcelona, Basel, Berlin, Boston, Chicago, Copenhagen, Heidelberg, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Melbourne, Milan, Montréal, New Orleans, New York City, Oslo, Paris, Philadelphia, Portland, Rome, San Francisco, Stockholm, Sydney, Toronto, Vancouver, Warsaw, Washington D.C. (Nice job, Portland).

Many scientists have calculated that global greenhouse gas emissions need to peak by 2020 and then drop steeply, to avoid the worst effects of climate change. The 27 cities named in the report all peaked before 2012 and have continued to decrease emissions by an average of 2% per year since their peak, while populations grew by 1.4% per year, and their economies by 3% per year on average.

They attribute four primary ways that they are driving down carbon emissions:

  1. Decarbonization of the electricity grid

  2. Optimizing energy use in buildings

  3. Providing cleaner, affordable alternatives to private cars and

  4. Reducing waste and increasing recycling rates

While the outlook for curbing total carbon emissions is still scary, this is evidence that changes in energy, technology and behavior can together set us in the right direction.