Addressing Climate Change In The Megacities

Posted by: Nate Berg

3 January 2008 - 7:00am

The increasing populations of the world's cities have a large impact on energy use and global warming. These populations should be a major focus of efforts to address climate change, according to this article from CNN.

"According to U.N. Habitat, the world's cities emit almost 80 percent of global carbon dioxide as well as 'significant amounts of other greenhouse gases.'"

"Put simply, if you want to tackle climate change, tackle the cities."

"Today, there are 20 so-called megacities, whose populations -- and therefore energy needs -- easily exceed that of countries, according to Earth Policy Institute (more people now live in Tokyo than Canada, for example)."

"Naturally, these cities are -- and will continue to be -- resource-hungry."

"Despite only representing 2 percent of the world's surface area, they are responsible for 75 percent of the world's energy consumption. London, for example, requires a staggering 125 times its own area in resources to sustain itself, according to the New Scientist."

Full Story: All About: Cities and energy consumption

Source: CNN, December 31, 2007