Cities around the world need $375 billion in green investment to avoid catastrophic global climate change, the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group says.
According to a report by Arup on behalf of the C40 group, without serious action before 2020, the world will have locked in future emissions to the point where global temperatures will surpass the 2 degrees Celsius mark—the upper safe limit in the Paris Climate Agreement. The report says that megacities need to reduce their average emissions from more than five tons of carbon per capita today to around 2.9 tons over the next decade.
The report provides guidelines for global cities to take 14,000 climate actions over the next four years in transportation, efficiency, energy production, and waste management in order to reduce emissions. If C40 cities and their partners take on the recommended actions, the report says they can deliver 51% of the carbon reductions necessary to ensure cities are on course with Paris Agreement objectives. The remaining 49% of emission reductions would need to come from external structural changes such as de-carbonizing national energy supplies.
Established 11 years ago, the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group includes more than 85 world cities, representing more than 650 million people and one-quarter of the global economy.
Related Stories
Higher Education | May 5, 2022
To keep pace with demand, higher ed will have to add 45,000 beds by year-end
The higher education residential sector will have to add 45,000 beds by the end of 2022 to keep pace with demand, according to a report by Humphreys & Partners Architects.
Legislation | May 4, 2022
Washington is first state to mandate all-electric heat for new large buildings
Washington recently became the first state to require all electric heat for new buildings.
Sponsored | Healthcare Facilities | May 3, 2022
Planning for hospital campus access that works for people
This course defines the elements of hospital campus access that are essential to promoting the efficient, stress-free movement of patients, staff, family, and visitors. Campus access elements include signage and wayfinding, parking facilities, transportation demand management, shuttle buses, curb access, valet parking management, roadways, and pedestrian walkways.
Codes and Standards | May 3, 2022
American Institute of Steel Construction updates environmental product declarations
The American Institute of Steel Construction has released updated environmental product declarations (EPDs) “to help designers and building owners design more environmentally friendly buildings and bridges,” according to an AISC news release.
Codes and Standards | May 2, 2022
Developer Hines, engineer MKA develop free embodied carbon reduction guide
Real estate management and investment firm Hines has released the Hines Embodied Carbon Reduction Guide. The free guide, produced with Magnusson Klemencic Associates (MKA), is the result of a two-year effort, relying on MKA’s industry-leading knowledge of carbon accounting and involvement in programs such as the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3) Tool.
Codes and Standards | Apr 28, 2022
Architecture firm Perkins&Will to deliver ‘carbon forecasts’ for clients
Global architecture firm Perkins&Will says it will issue its clients a “carbon forecast” for their projects.
Codes and Standards | Apr 27, 2022
White House guidance on Buy American for infrastructure includes waiver process
Recently released guidance on the Buy American provision within the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act released by the Office of Management and Budget includes a waiver process.
Multifamily Housing | Apr 26, 2022
Investment firm Blackstone makes $13 billion acquisition in student-housing sector
Blackstone Inc., a New York-based investment firm, has agreed to buy student-housing owner American Campus Communities Inc.
Codes and Standards | Apr 25, 2022
Supply chain constraints, shifting consumer demands adding cost pressures to office fit-outs
Cushman & Wakefield’s 2022 Americas Office Fit-Out Cost Guide found supply chain constraints and shifting consumer demands will continue to add pressure to costs, both in materials and labor.
Legislation | Apr 21, 2022
NIMBYism in the Sunbelt stymies new apartment development
Population growth in Sunbelt metro areas is driving demand for new apartment development, but resistance is growing against these projects.