Carbon emissions have peaked in 30 major cities

Greenhouse gas emissions have already peaked, and are continuing to fall, in 30 major cities including New York, London and Paris.

Austin, Athens, Lisbon and Venice are the latest places to hit that milestone in the fight against climate change, according to analysis from C40, a coalition of 94 large and influential cities around the world working to limit global warming and protect the environment.

Cities are home to growing numbers of people. By 2050, 68% of the world’s population will live in urban areas, up from 55% today. Cities consume 78% of the world’s energy and produce more than 60% of greenhouse gas emissions. That means they have a critical role to play in helping the world to limit dangerous climate change.

But, almost four years after nearly 200 countries signed the Paris Agreement, the world is still seriously off-track from meeting its goals. Global emissions hit a record high in 2018.

Green leaders

The good news is that many cities are stepping up efforts to address the climate crisis.

To keep the increase in Earth’s temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has calculated that emissions must peak by 2020.

Nearly one-third of all C40 cities have already hit that target, with more projected to reach peak emissions by 2020.

And since reaching that marker, those 30 cities, which together are home to more than 58 million people, have gone on to cut their emissions by an average of 22%.

Emissions in San Francisco, California, peaked in 2000 and have been declining steadily since. The city has committed to achieving 100% renewable energy by 2030, and today 77% of its electricity supply comes from greenhouse-gas-free sources.

Copenhagen has cut its emissions by up to 61% from peak levels in 1991 and aims to become the world's first carbon-neutral capital by 2025.

The Danish capital is known for its wind turbines, efficient public transport and being the world’s most bike-friendly city: almost one-third (29%) of all journeys around the city are made by bike.

But crucially, the city has also expanded its district heating system, which means it can generate heat for entire neighbourhoods rather than individual households and businesses. And it has now introduced a district cooling system.

Copenhagen recently hosted the seventh C40 World Mayors Summit, at which leaders of the 94 member cities recognized the climate emergency and gave their backing to the Global New Green Deal.

The initiative commits cities to keeping global warming below the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement, which will require peaking emissions by 2020 and halving them by 2030.

The 30 cities that have already hit peak emissions are: Athens, Austin, Barcelona, Berlin, Boston, Chicago, Copenhagen, Heidelberg, Lisbon, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Melbourne, Milan, Montréal, New Orleans, New York City, Oslo, Paris, Philadelphia, Portland, Rome, San Francisco, Stockholm, Sydney, Toronto, Vancouver, Venice, Warsaw, and Washington DC.