Category: Cities and climate change

The Case for a Green and Just Recovery

Posted on by erik

To provide decision-makers with more information on how stimulus packages may affect cities, this report compares how urban greenhouse gas emissions, health and jobs could fare under a green and just recovery compared to a return to a pre-COVID business-as-usual scenario, or a scenario where the world opts to spend stimulus funding on a high-carbon recovery.

The research finds that:

  • Stimulus funding that supports a green and just recovery offers a means to keep global heating below 1.5°C, and could reduce air pollution by as much as 29% between 2020-2030 compared to a return to business-as-usual. In contrast, investing an equivalent amount of stimulus funding in a high-carbon recovery would undoubtedly accelerate global heating.
  • Across the nearly 100 cities in the C40 network and their supply chains, a green and just recovery could also create over 50 million good, sustainable jobs by 2025 – over a third more than would be created by investing equivalent funds into a high-carbon recovery.

This research also shows that the timing of a green and just recovery matters, and presents a clear case for early investment. Modelling of the impacts of an ‘accelerated green recovery’ where faster capital investment enables accelerated climate action over the next five years, compared to a ‘slow green recovery’ where action happens at a slower pace over 15 years, shows that:

  • An ‘accelerated green recovery’ could lead to half the per capita greenhouse gas emissions of a ‘slow green recovery’ by 2030, meaning that an ‘accelerated green recovery’ provides C40 cities with a greater chance of meeting their climate commitments and limiting global heating to 1.5°C.
  • An ‘accelerated green recovery’ could avert almost twice as many premature deaths (1.8 times as many) due to air pollution between 2020 and 2030, compared to a ‘slow green recovery’.
  • Capital investments that are made early on under an ‘accelerated green recovery’ could create over 80 million good, sustainable jobs by 2023, across the nearly 100 cities in the C40 network and their supply chains – more than double a ‘slow green recovery’. At a time of mass unemployment and economic hardship in many parts of the world, generating jobs now will benefit millions of families.

Sustainable urban energy planning in Southeast Europe (SEE)

Posted on by erik

The energy sector influences the vibrancy and sustainability of the entire economy – from job creation to resource efficiency and the environment. Significant shifts in the sector can have a strong ripple effect throughout the economy. Making the energy supply more cost-effective, reliable, secure, and environmentally sustainable thus contributes to the long-term resilience of economic development.

This concept paper describes the current context and importance of sustainable energy in SEE; current trends and scenarios in SEE; how SDG 7 and 13 as well as the Paris agreement affects the energy response in SEE; critical challenges for SEE to be energy responsive; some key steps needed for the future in SEE; energy financing – a key strategy for going forward; and finally the agenda for action for the dialogue event: sustainable urban energy planning in SEE.

Innovative solar energy system in the Navahrudak district hospital

Posted on by erik

A combined system of thermal panels (SWH) with heat pumps (HP) and photovoltaic panels (PV) was installed on the site of Navahrudak district hospital. It was the first time that such a combined project using SWH, HP and PV was implemented in Belarus. Now two buildings of the district hospital have independent heating, electricity system and hot water supply.

Renewables in Cities

Posted on by erik

The report gives an overview of the status, trends and developments of renewable energy in cities, using the most up-todate information and data available. The REC’s neutral, fact-based approach documents in detail the annual developments in policies, markets, investments and citizen action, with a particular focus on renewables in public, residential and commercial buildings as well as public and private urban transport. The REC complements REN21’s Renewables Global Status Report, which covers renewable energy market, industry and policy trends. Jointly, these reports contribute to making renewable energy visible in the global debate, drawing decision makers’ attention to renewables and continuously providing better data and tracking to inform energy decisions worldwide.

REC 2021 is the result of a collaborative effort, building on REN21’s unique data and reporting culture (p see Data Collection and Validation section), with more than 330 data contributors and peer reviewers and over 30 individual interviews from around the world.

City Practitioners Handbook: Circular Food Systems

Posted on by erik

This handbook provides local governments with concrete tools their peers are using to facilitate the transition to circular food systems, from stakeholder engagement to designing effective policies. It draws on experiences from the ICLEI network and its Circular Development pathway, learnings from the ICLEI-RUAF CITYFOOD Network and best practices from the Milan Pact Awards. This publication features experiences from 50 local governments and was designed by ICLEI experts in collaboration with champion cities for the benefit of city practitioners.

Are we on track for a green recovery? Not Yet

Posted on by erik

One year from the onset of the pandemic, recovery spending has fallen short of nations’ commitments to build back more sustainably. An analysis of spending by leading economies, led by Oxford’s Economic Recovery Project and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), finds only 18.0% of announced recovery spending can be considered ‘green.’. The report “Are We Building Back Better? Evidence from 2020 and Pathways for Inclusive Green Recovery Spending” was supported by  the International Monetary Fund and GIZ through the Green Fiscal Policy Network (GFPN).  

It calls for governments to invest more sustainably and tackle inequalities as they stimulate growth in the wake of the devastation wrought by the pandemic.

The most comprehensive analysis of COVID-19-related fiscal rescue and recovery efforts by 50 leading economies so far, the report reveals that only $368bn of $14.6tn COVID-induced spending (rescue and recovery) in 2020 was green.

More: Are we on track for a green recovery? Not Yet – UNEP

Creating sustainable cities through low-carbon freight

Posted on by erik

Freight transport demand is expected to triple and its associated emissions to more than double by 2050 compared to the 2015 levels, if left unchecked.To reverse this trend, cities and companies need to turn promises into actions.

The purpose of this report is to review existing urban freight movement characteristics across the nine project cities in Argentina, Colombia and India, provide an account of baseline GHG emissions (2019) from urban freight and identify possible interventions to minimize its negative impacts.  The emissions have been established using the EcoLogistics Self-monitoring Tool.

Drawing on the analysis, policy recommendations and interventions are also presented in this report and will be used as part of the Low Carbon Action Plan for Urban Freight (LCAP-UF) in the cities.

Final Report: Virtual Global Exchange

Posted on by erik

The exchange was designed to bring together urban practitioners from all over the globe. The goal was to ignite creativity, innovation, solidarity and motivation, while creating and enhancing this global community of practice around the common purpose of combating the global COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences with smart local solutions and strategies.

During the first week, urban practitioners and experts from different municipalities, the civil society, business and academia, presented a total of 56 Good Practices in 18 sessions and gave insights into their experienced challenges and local solutions to deal with the pandemic. The exchange were centered around the nine topics were Public Health, Crisis Management, Economic Response, Housing, Education, Digitalisation, Crisis Communication, Innovation, and Green Urban Recovery.

The second week was about receiving practical “How To” capsules with practical exercises on topics that came up repeatedly during the exchange events such as: social media usage, digital tools, and how to plan for virtual meetings. Finally, the newly learned mindsets and tools could be applied in a 4-hour solution design workshop.

Local Development Program for the City of Agadir in Morocco

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Agadir municipality has pursued ambitious policies aimed at enhancing the quality of life of the city’s inhabitants, while protecting the environment and fostering sustainable development. The undertaken efforts targeted various key areas, in which the requirements and responsibilities for achieving environmental, social and economic sustainability were met.

The Value of Sustainable Urbanization

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“The world we live in has been transformed in a manner not witnessed in recent times. In a rapidly urbanizing and globalized world, cities have been the epicentres of COVID-19. The virus has spread to virtually all parts of the world; first, among globally connected cities, and now, through community transmission and from the city to the countryside.
The World Cities Report 2020 shows that the intrinsic value of sustainable urbanization can and should be harnessed for the wellbeing of all. The report provides evidence and policy analysis of the value of urbanization from an economic, social and environmental perspective, including the unquantifiable value that gives cities their unique character; and also explores the role of innovation and technology, local governments, targeted investments and the effective implementation of the New Urban Agenda in fostering the value of sustainable urbanization.”