The responsibility for reducing world energy use and moving closer to climate targets rests heavily on cities. That’s the view of a new report from German and American researchers, published in the influential journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
With world population shifting drastically towards urban areas, and cities consuming the vast majority of energy and contributing the most carbon emissions, it certainly makes sense that it’s the metropolis where any energy and climate interventions are going to make the most profound impact.
The researchers lamented that each city often views sustainability as its own, local problem. But while infrastructure and socio-economic conditions do vary significantly across the cities of the world, there are also key similarities.
Giving careful consideration to transport systems and investing in meaningfully renewable energy seem to be top ways to make progress. The job may be far greater in the developing world – but the opportunity too, as John Upton points out:
Of the overall opportunity to reduce projected urban energy use by 2050, which the researchers called the urbanization mitigation wedge, 57 percent was found to be in Asia. Another 29 percent was in Africa and the Middle East.”
The report’s views on what it will take the developed world to get greener received a cynical review from environment news and comment site Grist.org:
For cities in developed countries, the study says high gas prices could nudge future development in the right direction. Too bad those are gone now, yesterday’s news.”
Despite the scale of the job, there is lots of positive initiative to be found. There are a number of cities worldwide that are already aiming to be powered by 100 per cent renewable energy within the next 10-20 years. They include Munich, Sydney, San Francisco and of course the recently-profiled Copenhagen. Making our cities ‘smart’ may also be a significant factor in improving resource efficiency for both citizens and city governance alike – but there’s some way to go before this is a widespread reality, in the UK at least.
Glasgow received a £24 million windfall from the government’s smart cities programme, but according to the BBC has had a few teething problems since then, mostly centred on how data is used, and by whom. And its not the open vision smart technology enthusiasts endorse.
But it’s far from all doom and gloom – 2015’s European Green Capital, Bristol, is linking renewable energy and retrofit with smart meters, as well as inviting those with innovative ways of involving people in their local environment through smart technologies. Public space, green initiatives and technology colliding in new and interesting ways is certainly something you can expect to see more of over the coming years.
