Five Ways to Make Cities More Sustainable

The pollution we have been pumping into our shared atmosphere over the last decades presents us with an enormous challenge: we need to halve emissions within 5 years to have even a chance of remaining within the 1.5°C average global temperature rise agreed under the Paris Agreement in 2015. This calls for the rapid phaseout of fossil fuels, and cities – where more than half of humanity lives and 75% of the world’s energy is consumed – are in a position to dramatically reduce demand. One year on from COP28, which saw the historic agreement from countries to “transition away” from fossil fuels, here are my top five recommended actions for accelerating the transition in your city, and what we need to see from national governments at COP29.

Zero emission transport areas

Removing polluting vehicles from our streets delivers multiple benefits for the planet and for everyone who spends time in cities. Clean air zones cut carbon emissions and bring immediate gains for people, such as breathable air, less noise, and safer roads, while in the long term setting the direction of travel for vehicle markets. In London, where I live, Mayor Khan overcame opposition, suspicion and misinformation to succeed in implementing what is now the world’s largest clean air zone. A report last year confirmed that nitrogen dioxide levels in central London were 46% lower than they would have been without the scheme. The success of the initiative, and mayors’ willingness to learn from each other, paves a way for other cities to follow.

15 Minute City

The ‘15 Minute City’ is an increasingly popular urban planning concept which makes it easier for city residents to thrive without burning fossil fuels. The idea is simple – everyone who lives in cities should be able to access parks, shops, schools, work and health services within a 15 minute walk or cycle from their home. The concept is being adapted to local contexts and implemented in cities across the world. It reduces the amount of time people spend commuting – improving quality of life and fostering community – while cutting emissions. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change calculates that designing cities around these principles could reduce global carbon emissions 25% by 2050.

Climate budgeting

Large-scale systemic change demands innovative models of governance. One that has been successfully implemented in cities is climate budgeting, which transforms a government’s long term climate commitments into immediate action by including them as part of the ordinary annual budget. The city government then sets the climate targets for the year and outlines the actions for achieving them across all departments, alongside their costs and impacts. Essentially, it distributes climate action across all departments and ensures every decision becomes a climate decision. Oslo pioneered the concept at city level, and now numerous cities across the globe, from Mumbai to New York, are developing climate budgets of their own.

Decarbonising Energy

City governments have huge power to cut fossil fuel use by reducing and decarbonising energy use. Cities use a range of tools to achieve this, from mandating zero-carbon building regulations, like Johannesburg, to making solar PV systems mandatory on public buildings, as in Seoul. Cities can push building owners to do more. In New York, the city passed Local Law 97 requiring the owners of large buildings to meet energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions limits, cutting 6 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, which is equal to removing 1.3 million cars from the road.

Be part of a network

One of the characteristics that makes cities successful climate leaders is their capacity to collaborate. Following the outcome of the US election, and renewed concern over the future of multilateral climate action, this matters more than ever. One of the most effective ways to gain vital knowledge and to share learnings and experiences is to join a network of cities working towards the same goal. City leaders’ inclination to reach out, rather than withdraw, means that good ideas spread quickly. Of the nearly 100 cities who are part of C40, 82% of are reducing emissions faster than their respective national governments. Countries who are serious about taking action on climate can work with cities to accelerate progress, and many are through the Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships (CHAMP).

COP29 begins today. This year, countries are expected to outline a new finance goal and negotiate financing for the ‘loss and damage’ fund agreed to last year, offering a key opportunity to help close the gap in finance for urban climate action, particularly for cities in the Global South that are facing the brunt of the impacts of climate breakdown. Mayors will be at COP29 to rally behind a quantified finance task that national governments and development finance institutions should as a minimum make available for mitigation and adaptation projects in global cities.

The climate crisis is the challenge of our lifetimes, but the solutions are at hand. With political courage and by working together, we can achieve greener and cleaner cities for all.

Author: Mark Watts, Executive Director at C40 Cities