United Nations: Global cities could rise by an average of 4°C by the end of the century, with billions of people or affected by severe heat waves

2021-11-07 23:11:43

At the ongoing 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released the "Overcoming High Temperatures: A Handbook of Sustainable Urban Cooling" prepared in cooperation with the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) in the United States on the 3rd, aiming to provide a reference guide to help cities around the world cool down. The report notes that global cities are warming at twice the rate of the global average. If greenhouse gas emissions continue to remain high, temperatures in many cities could rise by 4°C by the end of the century. Even at 1.5°C with global warming, 2.3 billion people could be vulnerable to severe heat waves.

RMI CEO Jules Colttenhorst said the report provides a comprehensive and groundbreaking description of sustainable urban cooling methods within a comprehensive "system-wide" framework. It includes guidance on feasibility to help city organizations prioritize action to achieve sustainable and equitable urban cooling, as well as guidance on reducing emissions and improving urban resilience.

"Science tells us that in order to prevent global temperatures from rising by more than 1.5°C, we need to achieve net zero emissions by the middle of this century. Sustainable and equitable urban cooling must be part of cities' efforts to achieve the net zero energy target. UNEP Executive Director Inge Anderson said.

The report describes how cities are rapidly warming due to the "heat island effect." The "heat island effect" is caused by a combination of reduced green vegetation, the thermal properties of materials commonly used on the surface of cities, and waste heat generated by human activities.

The report notes that the demand for space cooling is increasing. With millions of homes in developing countries buying air conditioners in the coming decades, energy demand for space cooling is expected to triple from 2016 to 2050.

The impact of urban heat is unevenly distributed, the report said. Cool cities, homes and streets are key to ensuring climate justice. Low-income areas are often the most vulnerable to high temperatures, and the negative effects of excessive warming disproportionately affect those least likely to afford or gain thermal comfort. We need to transition to a more equitable and sustainable way to "cool" our cities and make them suitable for all.

At the same time, the benefits of cooling sustainable cities are far-reaching, including improved health and productivity, reduced electricity energy demand, lower emissions and economic benefits.

In addition, the report calls for a system-wide approach that reduces heat within the city limits and reduces and meets the cooling needs of buildings, thereby benefiting from the combined effect.

It is worth noting that the report pointed out in the case of cooling in the six cities mentioned that as one of the measures to build a green and environmentally friendly modern city center, the Guangzhou Municipal Government of China has adopted regional centralized cooling in the core area of the development of Zhujiang New Town, which has reduced the local ambient temperature in the region by 2°C-3°C compared with the use of distributed cooling systems.

Column Editor-in-Chief: Qin Hong Text Editor: Dong Siyun Caption Source: Xinhua News Agency Photo Editor: Zi Xi

Source: Author: Science and Technology Daily

United Nations: Global cities could rise by an average of 4°C by the end of the century, with billions of people or affected by severe heat waves

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