Sydney City at Dusk - Courtesy of Sacha Fernandez - Flickr
What makes a city appealing? Breathable air, orderly streets, wide green spaces, low-polluting transport options, and basic services that work.
There is a growing recognition that cities give most room to address global sustainable development challenges.
Cities drive and grow our economies, generating about 80% of gross domestic product (GDP) globally. They absorb 70% of global energy and emit as much greenhouse gas.
Densely populated and economically active cities have the brunt of pollution fall on their residents. For instance, air pollution contributes to half a million deaths a year in Asia, with two-thirds of cities failing to meet a key air quality standard, according to the Asian Development Bank.
The world is now undergoing an urbanization that is unprecedented in scale and scope. Every month, five million people move to cities globally. By 2050, 2.4 billion more people will live in cities, mainly in developing countries. The projected urban, energy, and land use infrastructure development needs in the next 15 to 20 years are enormous – estimated around $90 trillion in the recent New Climate Economy report.
Unsustainable consumption of resources in these cities will cause significant local and global environmental degradation, lowering the quality of life of billions and putting the health of the planet at peril.
If these cities are planned, developed, and managed sustainably and innovatively, they will enhance economic growth while addressing climate change and other global environmental challenges.
More mayors and local leaders are addressing urbanization: developing innovative solutions, making commitments to act, and forming partnerships to share knowledge and lessons. They are also working to attract sustainable resources and be recognized as stakeholders of the global climate regime.
Their voices were heard. The landmark agreement between the United States and China announced on 11 November 2014 included an announcement of a new initiative on cities. It acknowledged the increasingly significant greenhouse gas emissions from cities and potential for local leaders to take climate action.
Recognizing the need to harness local action for global benefits, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) is launching a $100-million Sustainable Cities integrated program to demonstrate innovative models of sustainable urban management. Within this program, the GEF is working with governments at all levels to support integrated urban policy and strategies, piloting of high impact options, and facilitating replication of successful urban management models.
La Paz City, Bolivia, courtesy of Boris G, Flickr
Partnerships are being enhanced by joining forces with key city-based institutions and programs. The Sustainable Cities program builds on GEF’s experiences supporting urban programs since 1999. To date, the GEF has invested in projects in 110 cities across 60 countries, with $580 million in grants that leveraged over $7 billion in co-financing from the private sector and other sources. These projects cover all major urban sectors, such as energy, transport, water, waste management, and resilience.
Time is key in keeping the global temperature below the 2-degree target and, at manageable costs, in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40%-70% by 2050. We believe that working with the world’s cities is one the most impactful ways to address the global climate challenges, with long-term, local dividends of cleaner, more efficient, resilient, and prosperous cities for the next generation and beyond.
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By Chizuru Aoki, originally published in Spanish in the El Pais newspaper.
Chizuru joined the GEF in 2010 as Senior Technology Transfer Officer. Her work focuses on coordinating technology transfer initiatives in climate change as well as other emerging activities within the GEF.
Media Contact:
Christian Hofer
Senior Communications Officer
Phone: +1 202 458 0936
E-mail: chofer@thegef.org