Cities are the epicenters of human activity, contributing more than 70% of greenhouse gas emissions, and they are also hotspots for innovation and change, which are essential for achieving sustainable development for all of society and building a low-carbon economy. As one of the important goals of emission reduction actions, how is the progress of carbon neutrality in global cities?
Sun Yat-sen University, Alibaba Cloud Energy Pal, China Environment Publishing Group and other units jointly compiled the "Global Urban Carbon Neutrality Progress 2023", which was released at the previous COP28 China Corner "Telling China's Story on Climate Change and Global Low-carbon Cities and Urban Agglomerations Climate Governance Theme Side Event". Jiemian News' joint report compilation team provides an in-depth interpretation of the global urban carbon neutrality inventory.
The vast majority of cities aim to be carbon neutral by 2050. Copenhagen, Denmark, which set the earliest target, previously announced in its 2015 policy document "Copenhagen 2025 Climate Plan" that it would achieve carbon neutrality by 2025, but in 2022, Copenhagen said that it would temporarily abandon its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2025 because an environmental company could not meet the requirements.
More than half of the 75 cities surveyed have the same carbon neutrality goals as their host countries. There are also some cities that are more ambitious, and the carbon neutrality goal is achieved earlier than the country. In 2021, Germany advanced its carbon neutrality from 2050 to 2045, leaving Hamburg, a city that was previously in sync with the country, falling behind.
Institutional support for urban carbon neutrality
Urban carbon neutrality not only needs to face the challenges brought about by scientific and technological innovation, but also needs to put forward new requirements for the existing legal framework. In terms of institutional progress, as of 2023, among the megacities with a total population of more than 500,000 in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, five megacities have promulgated carbon neutrality target laws in Berlin, Detroit, Honolulu, Jakarta and Antwerp, and 162 cities have introduced carbon neutrality-related policies or are in the status of proposals. However, there are still 926 megacities that have not set specific carbon neutrality targets, accounting for more than 78%.
However, whether a city's carbon neutrality goal is incorporated into the legal and policy system does not depend entirely on the stage of a country's economic development. For example, only one city in New Zealand has enacted a carbon neutrality policy, while India has 22. Five cities in Australia and 11 cities in Canada have enacted carbon neutrality policies, while China has 16.
In the three years from 2019 to 2021, some cities have seen significant reductions year on year, some cities have accumulated little by little, and some cities have gone around in circles, and carbon emission intensity has become higher after three years. Driven by the optimization of power mix and technology, the cities of Beijing and Shanghai maintained GDP growth from 2019 to 2021 while achieving a continuous reduction in carbon emission intensity. The per capita carbon footprint of New York citizens in the United States is about 7 times that of São Paulo, Brazil, and 2 times that of Beijing.
In terms of specific city cases, Beijing's policy focus is on a low-carbon economic system, efficient use of energy, improving ecological carbon sinks, improving laws and regulations, and improving "carbon neutrality" policies.
Compared with Beijing, which emphasizes energy utilization and ecological carbon sinks, Shanghai has paid more attention to carbon finance, which is also in line with Shanghai's positioning as an international economic, financial and trade city. In addition, both Shanghai and Beijing mentioned improving "carbon neutrality" policies and related systems.
Hong Kong's policy priorities are quite different from those of mainland cities, with a focus on the energy sector. The development of zero-carbon energy, new energy transportation, solid waste charging system, resource recycling and other measures are specific and direct. The solid waste charging system will come into effect on 1 April 2024.
Dubai is the host city of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, and their focus is on protecting blue carbon ecosystems, sustainable finance, and reducing emissions in key areas.
Copenhagen, which initially set the ambition to build the world's first carbon-neutral city, focused on energy, electricity and public transport. Although the 2025 carbon neutrality target has been temporarily abandoned, the "Bicycle Capital" has mentioned in its carbon neutrality plan to achieve 100% carbon neutrality in public transportation and increase the commuting rate of bicycles by 50%.
From the issuance of the Notice of the National Development and Reform Commission on Launching Pilot Projects in Low-Carbon Provinces, Autonomous Regions and Low-Carbon Cities in August 2010, which opened the curtain on the pilot work of low-carbon provinces, cities and cities in China's "five provinces and eight cities", to the introduction of the National Carbon Peak Pilot Construction Plan in 2023, which will carry out carbon peak pilot construction in 100 cities and parks, the Chinese government has gradually accelerated the process of promoting carbon-neutral cities, and the policy efforts have also increased.
In recent years, local governments have also intensively introduced policies or proposals, and their support has been increasing. Except for Hong Kong, which has set a clear target of carbon neutrality by 2050, the rest of China's cities have not yet announced city-level carbon neutrality targets, so it is tacitly assumed that all cities are generally in line with the national 2030 (carbon peaking) and 2060 (carbon neutrality) goals, but the time to achieve them will inevitably be based on differences in urban development.
Key technologies and urban cases for urban carbon neutrality
Technology is an important guarantee for achieving the goal of carbon neutrality and supporting high-quality economic development. From the construction of green financial institutions, to the utilization and storage of clean energy, to the construction of intelligent infrastructure, to the green transformation of transportation, and the energy conservation and emission reduction of buildings, new technologies to reduce urban emissions are emerging in various fields.
Why is carbon neutrality important for cities?
As of 2022, 4.5 billion people live in cities (Source: World Bank). Cities that occupy only 3-4% of the Earth's surface consume about 66% of energy and emit 75% of carbon dioxide. With large populations, high consumption and high emissions, cities are also facing the risks of climate change, as a key player in the global response to climate change.
In response, cities should strengthen their understanding of the "global climate community with a shared future", and combine their differences and strengths to exchange governance experience and technology. The differences in carbon emission reduction methods and their local characteristics between cities provide rich and diverse solutions for cities around the world to achieve "carbon neutrality".
Many cities around the world are already taking action in areas such as energy, infrastructure, buildings and transport, but there is still a big gap between our efforts and climate goals. More cities need to be involved in driving social transformation on their own terms to create a more sustainable future.
Curator: Jiemian News ESG Li Xun Zheng Cuiying
Design: Gu Lexiao