A total of 27 of the world’s greatest cities, representing 54 million urban citizens and $6 trillion in GDP have seen emissions fall over a five-year period, according to a new analysis released by C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group at the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco on Friday.
The list of cities are all members of the C40 Network in which mayors committed to bold climate action were revealed by the Mayor of Paris and C40 Chair Anne Hidalgo. The announcement came on the opening day of the Global Climate Action Summit.
The cities were disclosed as 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.
The analysis reveals that these cities are now at least 10 percent lower in emissions than their peak. These 27 cities have continued to decrease emissions by an average of 2 percent per year from their peak, while their populations grew on average by 1.4 percent per year, and their economies by 3 percent per year, the report shows.
C40’s analysis reports that these 27 cities, in fact, already peaked their emissions before 2012, the latest year for which peaking can be identified. Many more cities worldwide are also on track to peak their emissions by 2020.
'At present, global emissions are still rising. That is why it is so important that many of the world’s greatest cities are bucking the trend and showing that a low carbon world is possible,' the report underlined.
The report shows that the world’s leading scientists have calculated that global greenhouse gas emissions need to peak by 2020 at the latest and then drop very steeply, specifically in cities in Europe, North America and Australia, while all cities globally should reach the same milestone by around 2030.
C40 chair and Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo in her speech made it clear that she takes her responsibility to combat climate change seriously to the extent that she has made it a personal campaign as she said it affects her directly.
She shared that if she is not able to work for the improvement of citizens, her kids could ask her 'why she didn't do anything against climate change during her duty as mayor.'
She hailed the incredible achievement that these 27 cities, including Paris, made to have peaked their emissions.
'As the greatest custodians of the Paris Agreement, mayors of the world’s great cities have once again shown that cities are getting the job done. The commitment of so many of my fellow mayors to deliver on the highest ambition of the Paris Agreement, and the dedication I have witnessed from so many cities, businesses and citizens here at the Global Climate Action summit, means many more cities will achieve this key milestone before 2020,' she added.
During his speech, Michael R. Bloomberg, the UN secretary-general’s special envoy for Climate Action and president of the C40 board, said that in order to prevent the worst impacts of climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, even as the population grows, should be cut.
'Cities are showing that it can be done - and that the same steps they're taking to reduce their carbon footprint are also strengthening their local economies, creating jobs, and improving public health,' he said.
To date, mayors of more than 60 C40 cities have publicly committed to develop and begin implementing ambitious climate action plans by 2020 that go beyond national commitments, in order to achieve the highest goals of the Paris Agreement at local level.
'These plans will see many more cities achieve peak emissions in the years ahead, and become emissions neutral by no later than 2050,' the report concluded.
By Gulsen Cagatay in San Francisco
Anadolu Agency
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