Committing to net zero: the cities leading the way
As of the middle of 2022, the world’s cities consumed 78% of the world’s energy and produced over 60% of its greenhouse gas emissions. Most of this comes from historical carbon leaders in Europe and North America. On top of that, the United Nations predicts that roughly 60% of the global population will be living in cities by 2030, which is only going to make carbon neutral ambitions even more challenging. If the world is to be net zero in 27 years — one generation — the built environment and the real estate industry must lead the way to creating cleaner, greener, smarter cities. In many of the world’s biggest cities, it is.
According to Savills World Research, since November 2021’s COP26 climate conference, countries have surpassed individual cities for setting carbon reduction targets, a reversal from the years prior to 2019, but cities continue to set more ambitious goals and create more innovative solutions. New York City remains committed to the Paris Agreement despite the US withdrawing, and Barcelona Municipal Council beat Spain’s congress to a greenhouse gas emission reduction target commitment by four years.
Almost 40% of North American and European cities have clearly defined carbon neutrality roadmaps, rightly so as the largest net contributors. In contrast, Latin America boasting 18% of its cities outlining pathways, and 14% of Asia Pacific cities do so, with the Middle East and North Africa lagging at 4%. Those mature markets, however, will be challenged by the need to upgrade existing stock to hit their targets, while emerging markets in the Middle East, Africa and India are adding new, sustainable stock from the start.
Nonetheless, cities are demonstrating a diverse range of solutions for combatting climate change and mitigating risk. São Paulo’s aggressive PlanClimaSP has moved the city’s neutrality target up by a decade, and includes reforestation of native plants to mitigate flood risk. In Seoul, the municipal government is targeting old buildings for eco-friendly boilers and exploiting rooftops to reduce energy consumed for heating and cooling. New York is not alone in the US, as San Jose has set a Paris-compliant target for 2030 that includes investment in renewable energies and mandatory net zero standards for both residential and commercial buildings. In addition to these, Toronto, Washington DC, Sydney, Oslo, London, Copenhagen and Berlin are paving new pathways and setting new examples for the rest of the world.
Read “Committing to net zero: the cities leading the way” at Savills Impacts for all the details about the world’s most ambitious urban innovators http://sav.li/2rv
