Barcelona and Madrid begin to reduce CO ₂ emissions after reaching their peak

Barcelona, Madrid and 28 other large cities, which total more than 58 million inhabitants, have reached their peak of greenhouse gas emissions and begun to reduce them, according to a report released on Tuesday, on the eve of the Summit of Mayors of the Climate Leadership Group (C40).

The list includes, among others, Athens, Berlin, Copenhagen, Lisbon, London, Oslo, Paris, Rome, Stockholm, Warsaw, Washington and 9 more American cities such as Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York; Australia’s Melbourne and Sydney, Milan (Italy) and Canada’s Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.

All are part of the group of cities for climate leadership (C40), which from tomorrow until Saturday hold a global summit in Copenhagen that brings together dozens of mayors and other political, business and scientific representatives. After reaching the peak marked to be able to limit the rise in global temperature by 1.5 degrees, these thirty cities have reduced their emissions by an average of 22%, with Copenhagen highlighted with a fall of 62%.

Half of the nearly 90 cities in the C40 have reached their peak, will do so in 2020 or have made concrete commitments to achieve it, says the report, which highlights the climate leadership of cities in a context of global emissions increases. “The fact that thirty of the largest and most influential cities have already reached their cap demonstrates that a rapid and equitable low-carbon transition is possible and already underway,” according to a statement.

The study highlights that 82 of these cities have promoted bicycle rental systems (by 13 in 2009), that there are more than 66,000 electric buses on their streets (a hundred in 2009) and that 18 localities have banned or restricted non-recyclable or single-use plastic (two a decade ago). “Cities that have reached their emissions cap raise the bar for climate ambition while exemplifying how climate action creates healthier, fairer and stronger communities,” said C40 Executive Director Mark Watts.

The C40 announced that it will launch a digital platform to share knowledge, practical experiences and proven approaches among the group’s cities.

Source: The Newspaper