Cities, which are home to more than half the world's population, are stepping up efforts to slash pollution, often wresting the fight against climate change away from national governments. That's the conclusion of CDP, a non-profit group that pushes institutions to detail their greenhouse-gas emissions. Often able to move faster than their national counterparts, metropolitan authorities from London to Sydney and Boston are among a group of 15 setting out the most rigorous plans to achieve carbon or climate neutrality by 2050. The moves are evidence of ambition by local authorities to do their part in reining in global warming, almost two-thirds of global emissions come from cities. CDP wants to draw attention to their actions to encourage others to make similar commitments. "Cities are doing a lot of the work, but they can't get there alone," said Kyra Appleby, global director of cities, states and regions at CDP. "Businesses need to act, national governments need to act as well, people need to change their own behavior in order for us to limit carbon emissions." A smaller group consisting of five cities including Paris and San Francisco have set themselves 100% renewable energy targets. Reykjavik, population 123,000, says it already uses 100% renewable power. How fast other cities get to that point is largely down to the policies they enact.
展开▼
