planted city

From TriplePundit:

Resilient cities, those that are working to transition towards a low-carbon economy while also preparing to avert the worst of climate change, are gaining interest and attention from policy makers, city councils and others worldwide. In fact, today, leaders from the public and private sector, supported by ICLEI (see below) and the U.S. Green Building Council, are launching a National Leadership Speaker Series on Resiliency and Security in the 21^st Century.

“The battle to prevent catastrophic climate change will be won or lost in our cities…” (C40 Cities Initiative)

Cities account for up to 80% of GHG emissions globally and are home to more than 50% of the world’s population (headed to 60%, 5 billion people by 2030). As I mentioned in my previous post, if we refocus our efforts on the right solutions soon enough, we can mitigate the worst of climate change while actually improving our city economies and growing corporate profits.  Hunter Lovins and I recently published a book entitled Climate Capitalism to share stories of cities and companies around the world who are profiting from that transition to the low carbon economy. Furthermore, the longer we wait the more we will have to pay for adaptation.

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The Top 10 Resilient Cities Are….

10.) Tokyo, Japan

9.) London, UK

8.) New York, USA 

7.) San Francisco, USA

6.) Paris, France

5.) Vancouver, Canada

4.) Stockholm, Sweden

3.) Barcelona, Spain

2.) Curitiba, Brazil

1.) Copenhagen, Denmark

You can check out the runners up and why each city ranked where it did here.

From co.Exist:

What can those of us who recognize the overwhelming scientific evidence regarding the existence of climate change and humanity’s role in it do to help? Some, myself included, have started to feel incredibly betrayed by our governments and almost useless in helping our species right the ship before it’s too late.‬

‪But I believe there is still hope. Not anytime soon at the international levels, nor at the federal level in Western countries (like the U.S. and Canada) where the federal governments refuse to take action on climate change. What we need is a Plan B. If national and multi-national commitment to climate action is unobtainable, we need to focus on actors who are prepared to provide bold leadership into the low-carbon economy. We have no choice. ‬

‪So who are these actors? First and foremost, we need to reconsider the role of cities. Cities now house more than 50% of the world’s population and represent up to 80% of global emissions. Cities are not bound by federal or multi-lateral agreements (or in this case lack thereof) like federal governments. We can already see examples of cities taking leadership: in 2005, former Seattle mayor Greg Nickels launched what became the U.S. Mayors for Climate Protection Center. More than 1,000 U.S. mayors have now signed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, committing to reducing their cities’ emissions below 1990 levels.‬

Of course, U.S. cities are far from alone in taking leadership on climate change. ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability) represents some 1,200 cities around the world (U.S. included) who are also promoting climate action. The C40, an initiative of the Clinton Foundation, has brought together some of the largest metropolitan cities around the globe to develop best practices for mitigating and adapting to climate change. The Covenant of Mayors in Europe has more than 3,000 participating cities committed to meeting and exceeding the EU’s regional reduction target of 20% by 2020.‬

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Action at the municipal level requires investment in R&D and innovation. Increasingly, cities around the globe are turning to the private sector for solutions, rather than waiting for federal and multinational funds and legislative support. New York City, led by Mayor Bloomberg’s commitment to the low-carbon economy, has one of the largest EV fleets in North America. Cities like Portland, Oregon are creating their own eco-districts and purchasing localized energy systems. Barcelona’s mayor just announced the launch of a Smart City Campus to bring other cities, the private sector, and the NGO community together to pilot new smart grid and smart city technologies. ‬

Check out the rest of the article here.

(Photo credit: Sustainable Cities)

From Reuters:

Public bicycle sharing schemes such as Barcelona’s “Bicing” program or London’s “Boris Bikes” save lives and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to a study on Friday.

Bike schemes are becoming increasingly popular in cities around the world, with more than 360 already running, but their main aim is usually to ease congestion rather than boost health. 

Researchers at the Center for Research in Environmental Epidemiology in Barcelona found in a study, however, that around 9,000 tons of carbon dioxide pollution are averted and some 12 lives saved each year by Barcelona’s scheme, which was introduced in March 2007.

“Active transport policies such as bike sharing systems promote physical activity among the population and are a good means to improve public health and also reduce expenses in public health services,” said David Rojas-Rueda, whose study was published in the British Medical Journal.

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The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends adults should do at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week and says this could be done by walking for 30 minutes five times per week, or by cycling to work every day.

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The researchers said this initial assessment suggested it was important “to encourage cities to change car use by cycling and stimulate the implementation of bike sharing systems in cities to improve the health of the population.”

Check out the rest of the article, including details about London and Barcelona’s bike share systems, here. For an overview of the rapid growth of bike sharing programs around the world take a look at National Geographic’s recent article, ‘Bike share Schemes Shift Into High Gear’. Ride on!

(Photo credit: Inhabitat)