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11 - Cities
- from Cities and Industry
- Edited by Kenneth G. H. Baldwin, Australian National University, Canberra, Mark Howden, Australian National University, Canberra, Michael H. Smith, Australian National University, Canberra, Karen Hussey, University of Queensland, Peter J. Dawson
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- Book:
- Transitioning to a Prosperous, Resilient and Carbon-Free Economy
- Published online:
- 08 October 2021
- Print publication:
- 28 October 2021, pp 271-300
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- Chapter
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Summary
Cities are responsible for over 70% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from energy use. Building and upgrading city infrastructure in developing countries could release 226 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide by 2050, if these cities obtain levels of infrastructure in developed countries today. Urban GHG emissions vary across economies, geography, wealth and urban form. The largest direct and indirect GHG emission sources are buildings, industry and transport. Urban climate change impacts of heat, sea-level rise, extreme weather, and water scarcity will exacerbate extant stressors in developing countries. Mitigation and adaptation measures interact, sometimes with unintended consequences. Systems approaches, integrated planning and strategy that recognises synergies and conflicts, are crucial to optimal outcomes. The city scale is good for innovation, aligned with national governance, for effective climate action. Many cities are committed to 100% renewable energy and net zero emissions by 2030. Key enablers are: a shared city region vision; effective stakeholder engagement; relevant, credible, accessible knowledge for decision-making; and aligned institutional arrangements.
Chapter 18 - Urban Energy Systems
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- By Arnulf Grubler, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Austria and Yale University, Xuemei Bai, Australian National University, Thomas Buettner, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Shobhakar Dhakal, Global Carbon Project and National Institute for Environmental Studies, David J. Fisk, Imperial College London, Toshiaki Ichinose, National Institute for Environmental Studies, James E. Keirstead, Imperial College London, Gerd Sammer, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, David Satterthwaite, International Institute for Environment and Development, Niels B. Schulz, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Austria and Imperial College, Nilay Shah, Imperial College London, Julia Steinberger, The Institute of Social Ecology, Austria and University of Leeds, Helga Weisz, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Gilbert Ahamer, University of Graz, Timothy Baynes, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Daniel Curtis, Oxford University Centre for the Environment, Michael Doherty, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Nick Eyre, Oxford University Centre for the Environment, Junichi Fujino, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Keisuke Hanaki, University of Tokyo, Mikiko Kainuma, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Shinji Kaneko, Hiroshima University, Manfred Lenzen, University of Sydney, Jacqui Meyers, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Hitomi Nakanishi, University of Canberra, Victoria Novikova, Oxford University Centre for the Environment, Krishnan S. Rajan, International Institute of Information Technology, Seongwon Seo, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Ram M. Shrestha, Asian Institute of Technology, Priyadarshi R. Shukla, Indian Institute of Management, Alice Sverdlik, International Institute for Environment and Development, Jayant Sathaye, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- Global Energy Assessment Writing Team
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- Book:
- Global Energy Assessment
- Published online:
- 05 September 2012
- Print publication:
- 27 August 2012, pp 1307-1400
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Summary
Executive Summary
More than 50% of the global population already lives in urban settlements and urban areas are projected to absorb almost all the global population growth to 2050, amounting to some additional three billion people. Over the next decades the increase in rural population in many developing countries will be overshadowed by population flows to cities. Rural populations globally are expected to peak at a level of 3.5 billion people by around 2020 and decline thereafter, albeit with heterogeneous regional trends. This adds urgency in addressing rural energy access, but our common future will be predominantly urban. Most of urban growth will continue to occur in small-to medium-sized urban centers. Growth in these smaller cities poses serious policy challenges, especially in the developing world. In small cities, data and information to guide policy are largely absent, local resources to tackle development challenges are limited, and governance and institutional capacities are weak, requiring serious efforts in capacity building, novel applications of remote sensing, information, and decision support techniques, and new institutional partnerships. While ‘megacities’ with more than 10 million inhabitants have distinctive challenges, their contribution to global urban growth will remain comparatively small.
Energy-wise, the world is already predominantly urban. This assessment estimates that between 60–80% of final energy use globally is urban, with a central estimate of 75%. Applying national energy (or GHG inventory) reporting formats to the urban scale and to urban administrative boundaries is often referred to as a ‘production’ accounting approach and underlies the above GEA estimate.