Saving The Climate Must Begin In Cities

Cities account for 75% of the world's enegry use. A few successful strategies to reduce emissions could cause massive changes in the environment.

1 minute read

October 10, 2005, 12:00 PM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"Cities are also the place where most of the world's people live. This year, the proportion of the world population living in urban areas passed 50% for the first time. And because of their dense transport and power systems, cities account for 75% of the world's energy use. But cities also have the power to change rapidly through schemes that make big cuts in emissions. Look at London's anti-congestion car toll...

...Other cities that have led successful initiatives include Toronto, which uses nearby lake water to cool its downtown buildings, and Seattle, the champion greenhouse-gas reducer with a 48% cut from 1990 to 2000. Even lowly Woking, near London, has built a leisure centre powered by a hydrogen fuel cell that emits only water."

Thanks to Ashwani Vasishth

Sunday, October 9, 2005 in Nature

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