Cities are important and complex places when it comes to addressing climate mitigation and adaptation. The planning related to climate is getting started and indications are that it just may be getting better and better.
Cities around the world are setting out ambitious formal plans to achieve net-zero emissions. Net-zero emissions (mostly) means that a city emits as much CO2 only as much as it takes out. This is a tall order and requires dozens of actions and investments over a multi-year time frame.
NOTE: For further reading on the net-zero terminology, see The New Climate briefing: “Net Zero Limitations”
City organizations are complex and full of operational challenges. They are usually large cumbersome bureaucracies. The transition to net-zero emissions must look at a comprehensive and integrated approach to take into account the city’s energy use. A typical city’s emissions come from transportation, buildings, industrial processes, police and fire services and hundreds of other community programs ranging from streetlights, to skating rinks to dog catching.
LEADING EXAMPLES
A look at some of the climate action plans across cities can look encouraging. They are implementing energy efficiency measures in buildings. They commit to increase the use of renewable energy and use electric vehicles. There are proposed investments to develop smart grid systems and sustainable mass transit. There are also advocacy communications to encourage sustainable land use planning and cycling.
One of the leading examples in the world is Oslo, Norway with an ambitious target to become carbon neutral by 2030, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 95% by 2050. The city is taking a wide-scope approach to achieving its goal, including reducing energy consumption through energy-efficient buildings, investing in renewable energy sources, and promoting sustainable transportation options such as cycling and public transportation. There are new infrastructure investments involved and a carbon budget. “The climate budget is a tool to operationalize our climate goals and the climate strategy on an annual basis,” Heidi Sørensen, says the head of Oslo’s climate agency.
Cities in the neighbourhood are following suit. London, UK’s “Climate Action Strategy” committed to achieve net zero carbon emissions from operations by 2027; net zero across supply chain by 2040; net zero for the Square Mile by 2040; invest almost £68m in infrastructure and mitigations.
In the European Union there is plenty of action at the municipal level. Copenhagen has set a goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2025, with a focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transportation and heating. Berlin is planning to be carbon neutral by 2045 and has a long set of specific action and investments to get there. Paris, also has hundreds of measures focused around key themes will enable the attainment of carbon neutrality in 2050: thermal renovation of buildings; renewable energy supply; shared, active and clean transport; circular economy; sustainable food; development of financing tools.
…AND IN CANADA
In Canada, the climate action plans for municipalities are just getting started. At the summary level, we can see there are some good directions and that there is still a ways to go.
Vancouver’s Climate Emergency Action Plan addresses a number of actions in planning, transportation and energy use areas to commit to reduce our carbon pollution by 50% by 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2050. The city is taking a multi-faceted approach including reducing energy consumption through energy-efficient buildings, investing in renewable energy sources, and promoting sustainable transportation options such as cycling and public transportation.
The City of Toronto City adopted an ambitious strategy to reduce community-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to net zero by 2040 – 10 years earlier than initially proposed. The City’s 2040 target is being boosted as one of the most ambitious in North America. Toronto’s approach includes addressing emissions from buildings, transportation, using renewable energy sources, and promoting cycling.
Montréal is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions with the objective of becoming carbon-neutral by 2050. The 46 measures in their Climate Plan will set Montréal “on the path to being a resilient, inclusive and carbon-neutral city” the communications say.
According to Mississauga Mayor, Bonnie Crombie, Climate change is an issue that can no longer be ignored, denied or pushed aside – it must be made a top priority. Mississauga is proud of what we have already accomplished to be part of the climate solution.” For its part, Mississauga’s plan includes Action Pathways for the next 10 years, including buildings, energy, infrastructure, innovation, mobility, and business partnerships. Just recently, March 27, 2023, the City committed to examine new interim 2030 targets to help reach net zero by or before 2050.
These ambitious new targets along with identified actions will help limit the effects of climate change in Mississauga and aims to keep global warming within the global 1.5 degree Celsius goal.
C40 AND THE MEGA-CITIES AROUND THE WORLD
Hundreds of millions of people live in the big cities around the world and these are increasingly becoming our future. As the world becomes increasingly urbanized, mega-cities in particular are emerging as critical players in the fight against climate change. Cities are already responsible for about 60% of global greenhouse gas emissions and, with projected population increases, that number is expected to rise to 70% by mid-century.
C40 is a network of the world’s largest cities committed to addressing climate change. The network was founded in 2005 and brings together over 90 cities across the globe. The group works together to reduce GHGs, adapt to the impacts of climate change, and improve the overall sustainability of cities. Today, C40 cities represent more than 700 million citizens and over 25% of the global economy.
The organization works with its member cities to develop and implement climate action plans, share best practices, and advocate for stronger climate policies at the local, national, and international levels.
Currently, there are 27 mega-cities that are part of the C40, including Rio de Janeiro, New York, Paris, Mexico City, London, Milan, Cape Town, Buenos Aires, Caracas and others. These cities built climate action plans and most pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050. This is significant because mega-cities are increasingly important population centres and mega-cities are a significant focus of governance of climate related investments.
As an example, Tokyo (TMG) just recently joined the C40 and has charted out its planning path to net zero. In the plan measures being put into effect across multiple sectors and a clear roadmap to a 50% cut in CO2 emissions by 2030 and zero emissions by 2050. The TMG government is working with private companies, large and small, and leveraging the full range of climate initiatives under the banner of a “TIME TO ACT” movement dedicated to accelerating action towards de-carbonization.
TOWARD MOMENTUM AND RIGOUR
There is definitely room to say that the plans are not robust enough – yet! Cities are challenging places for policy and change initiatives at the best of times. A naysayer could say that city’s structures are not robust enough to implement the grand strategies. There will be areas where the actions to meet the grand plans fall short, the funding is to low, the enforcement mechanisms are too weak. Governing structures in cities may well fall short of effectiveness when it comes to multi-sectoral transformations at the scale and speed and level of accountability required.
In addition, there are concerns that a net-zero framework may not be sufficient to address the scale of the challenge. Further definition work is needed to put a fully nuanced set of activities in place that actually drive down GHGs in measurable degrees.
One other caution is that net-zero targets may overlook the impact of urbanization on surrounding natural ecosystems and ignore the full life cycle of emissions. As cities expand, they encroach on surrounding natural areas (example of Green Belt in Ontario), leading to deforestation, biodiversity loss. As consumers buy goods, these are associated with fossil fuels from another part of the country or the world (life-cycle and scope 3 emissions). Overlooking these impacts in city net-zero plans will be increasingly problematic.
Overtime, city climate plans will have to be more robust, include accountability measures, be more holistic to address issues like scope 3 emissions.
On the constructive side of things, however, the planning momentum has arrived and city councils and their equivalents around the world are taking points from each other and setting out plans and strategies. This is a promising start to be sure because any actions on this kind of scale without associated plans and strategies would founder. The cities, most of them, will report on the progress with the plans through the years leading to the 2030 and 2050 commitment dates. This will be a telling area for review.
Cities are a serious part of the way forward for climate policy and investment. Here in Canada, leaders can help move the focus toward effectiveness and rigour.
