Decisions Made in Your City Could Determine Our Carbon Future
C40 Cities and Climate Leadership Group, an organization devoted to empowering cities worldwide, just released a new report examining the role of cities in shaping the world’s carbon budget. Their research suggests that urban policies can have a major impact in the global fight against climate change, and that the onus is on mayors and municipal officials to take the lead in this struggle.
This comes as the reality of comprehensive global climate agreements seem less and less likely, and as policy makers are beginning to explore new avenues for action. According to the organization’s Chair, and Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, the report shows that “mayors and city leaders in office right now have the opportunity to protect a large share of the world’s carbon budget.”
Action at the city level is not only good for the climate, but also for the budget. The report points to data illustrating that investments in efficient and green infrastructure now will make retrofits down the road four times less expensive. This provides reasons for swift action that will boost the economy, and save taxpayer dollars.
Mayors are already signing on to climate agreements that are more bold and comprehensive than is seen at the national and international levels. Through their continued leadership, substantiative climate solutions will be implemented in major urban centers throughout the U.S.. and abroad. To see how to get your city involved in advancing climate solutions, visit Path to Positive Communities.
C40 Cities Press Release | October 8, 2015
Washington, D.C. (8 October, 2015) – The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) announced a new report today, which demonstrates that urban policy decisions before 2020 could determine up to a third of the remaining global carbon budget that is not already ‘locked-in’ by past decisions.
Existing research has shown that investing in low carbon infrastructure in the next five years will be four times less expensive than building high carbon infrastructure now, and then having to replace it in the future. Mayors and local leaders in power today thus have a major role to play in determining whether or not we have a cost-effective and, therefore, realistic path to a climate safe world.