Vancouver, Canada, has committed to reducing carbon emissions by 50 percent by 2030, and to be a net-zero city by 2050. The areas of focus will include natural gas use in buildings, gas and diesel in vehicles, walkability, and overcoming historic discriminatory legacies of social injustice. By 2030, 90 percent of citizens will be within walking or rolling (bike, scooter) distance of their daily needs. Two-thirds of all trips will be by public transit or nonmotorized active transportation. Half of all mileage will occur in zero-emission vehicles. Carbon pollution limits for existing buildings will be set to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. All replacement heating and water systems will be zero emissions (geothermal heat pumps). Embodied carbon in new building construction will be reduced by 40 percent.
Credit: Robert Harding / Alamy Stock PhotoNet Zero Cities
Rapidly transition all cities to become net zero by 2050 at the latest.
More than half of the world’s population lives in cities. These urban areas account for over 70 percent of global energy use, with the highest emitting one hundred cities generating 18 percent of global carbon emissions. To help solve the climate crisis, cities must attain net-zero emissions rapidly. Net-zero cities balance the amount of greenhouse gases they emit with renewable energy and carbon-reduction practices. Net zero can be accomplished through a combination of strategies, including integrated sources of renewable energy, electrification of buildings and transport, increased efficiency, and a reduction in overall energy consumption. Cities must carry through with their net-zero pledges equitably via initiatives that provide transparency, create equal access to information, empower vulnerable communities, foster innovation, and meet reputable net-zero standards.
Action Items
Individuals
Learn what net zero means for people who live in cities. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), to prevent the most devastating climate change impacts, global greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2025, drop 50 percent by 2030, and then reach net zero globally by 2050 to achieve climate goals. This requires steep reductions in emissions, in contrast to the current reality, in which emissions are increasing at record levels. While the IPCC targets remain out of reach, there is still hope of reducing emissions in many key areas, including in cities. Urbanization is increasing worldwide, meaning emissions reductions in cities can have a significant impact.
- The key to a net-zero city is a plan in which genuine reductions in emissions are prioritized over strategies that allow emissions to continue under a business-as-usual model, such as dubious carbon offsets (see Offsets Nexus) and unproven direct-air capture technologies. A net-zero plan must be followed by concrete actions that reduce emissions in a city’s buildings, transport, energy use, industries, and waste systems.
- More than seven hundred cities in fifty-three countries have committed to reaching net zero by 2050 (see a list below in Key Players: Cities Committed to Net Zero).
- Glasgow, Scotland, has committed to having net-zero emissions by 2045 through a plan that focuses on clean public transport, the provision of renewable energy, and the development of urban green spaces.
Adopt a net-zero lifestyle. Everyday behaviors of city residents contribute to net-zero action plans. These include:
- Reduce energy consumption, power homes with renewable energy, choose electric transport over fossil-fueled options, and invest in clean cookstoves (see Electrify Everything Nexus, Microgrids Nexus, Electric Vehicles Nexus, and Clean Cookstoves Nexus).
- Use micromobility for short-distance trips and rely on low-carbon public transport for longer trips (see Micromobility Nexus and Urban Mobility Nexus).
- Retrofit homes to maximize energy efficiency (see Buildings Nexus and Efficiency Nexus).
- Grow food at home or participate in community gardens or local farms (see Regenerative Agriculture Nexus).
- Support and protect urban green spaces that promote biodiversity, such as through a green roof or community garden (see Nature of Cities Nexus and Urban Farming Nexus).
- Reduce food waste (see Wasting Nothing Nexus).
Speak up about why cities must achieve net zero quickly. In order to create and execute an effective net-zero plan, local governments must consider city-specific features such as climate, resources, and cultural conditions. Citizen engagement is key to persuading cities to enter into net-zero pledges and then to make sure cities are holding true to these commitments. Here are ways to speak up about this pressing matter:
- Write an op-ed on the importance of cities transitioning to net zero. Examples include this piece in the Futurebuild blog and this piece in the Reno Gazette-Journal.
- Contribute to a social media site where net-zero activism is center stage. For instance, the Zero Carbon Cities Action Planning Network (EU) is active on social media. The Net Zero Tracker, an organization that tracks progress on net-zero targets (including those set by cities), can also be followed on X and Instagram.
Call on cities to make or follow through on net-zero pledges. There are a number of ways citizens can persuade cities to adopt net-zero pledges and then hold them accountable to the targets set.
- Find out whether a particular city has already made a net-zero commitment. There are a number of organizations that publish net-zero pledges made by cities, including C40 Cities, the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance, and Race to Zero.
- Speak up at a city council meeting to advocate for a city to commit to net zero or follow through with its established pledge. Attending meetings for local planning commissions may also be useful since these bodies often prepare plans for the physical development of their jurisdiction.
- Submit a public comment as part of a city’s net-zero pledge, such as decisions related to zoning and climate-action plans. Citizens can also comment on actions taken by state energy commissions as a means to accelerate the local transition to renewables.
- Organize a petition campaign to persuade a city to develop a net-zero plan or execute an existing plan. Petitions can even be circulated online through sites such as Change.org, Care2, and iPetitions.
- Donate to or volunteer for campaigns that are advocating for net-zero causes at the city level (see Key Players: Organizations).
Groups
City Officials and Urban Planners
Learn from other cities that have entered into net-zero commitments. Cities often form their net-zero pledges via climate action plans and net-zero roadmaps (see Key Players: Cities Committed to Net Zero). Here are resources for how net-zero pledges can be designed at the local government level:
- The Rocky Mountain Institute’s Carbon-Free City Handbook lists twenty-two actions that cities around the world can take to move toward net zero.
- The Centre for Cities released a report on how cities in the UK are leading the effort to help the country achieve its goal of net-zero emissions.
- Cities on the Route to 2030 report details the progress that has been made over the past ten years for cities disclosing climate data in an effort to halve emissions by 2030.
- C40 Cities is a network of city mayors collaborating to confront climate change.
- The Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance is a collaboration of leading global cities working together to be carbon-neutral within the next two decades (see Key Players: Organizations).
- The Anthesis Group has worked with New York City, Madrid, and other cities to develop net-zero and sustainability plans.
- In its Beyond Carbon report, the engineering group Jacobs explores a holistic approach to decarbonizing cities.
- The sustainable engineering firm Arup released an article that describes how cities can embrace nature to meet their net-zero goals.
- There are also a number of consulting firms that can aid cities in formulating and realizing their net zero goals, such as Pollination, Quantis, and 3Degrees.
Focus on renewable energy solutions that will power cities. The shift to renewable energy is critical for achieving net-zero goals since clean electricity underpins emissions-reduction plans in a number of different sectors, including transportation and heating/cooling (see Solar Nexus and Wind Nexus). In order to run on 100 percent clean energy, cities must:
- Execute effective renewable energy road maps. Such road maps can start with specific commitments, such as by signing the C40 Renewable Energy Declaration.
- Incentivize residents to power their homes and businesses with renewables. There are a number of financial incentives local governments can use to encourage their citizens to install clean energy, the most common of which are solar PV, solar thermal systems, and heat pumps (see Heat Pumps Nexus).
- Power municipal property with renewables. Find ways to convert buildings and other public structures to renewable energy.
- Enter into renewable-energy deals that accelerate local demand. Cities can enter into contracts, such as power-purchase agreements (PPAs), with renewable power generators. For instance, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, entered into a PPA with a local solar farm (see discussion of finance mechanisms below).
Commit to and execute cities’ net-zero goals via concrete actions. This study from Cornell University found that ambitious net-zero targets set by cities use quantitative metrics and target specific high-emitting sectors in their plans, which also helps prevent greenwashing claims. Here are some examples:
- Helsinki, Finland, will decommission the Hanasaari B power plant by 2024 in an effort to transition the city to renewable energy sources. The retired plant may even be transformed into an arts and cultural center.
- European cities are implementing bans on internal combustion vehicles.
- Mexico City is launching a network of cable car lines, particularly to serve the poorer outskirts of the city.
- Milan is transforming many of its streets into bike-friendly paths, and under a new plan, the city will create a web of cycling roads around the city.
- Eighty-five percent of all trips made in Singapore’s planned Jurong Lake District will be made via walking, biking, or public transport.
- Vancouver, British Columbia, is setting limits on emissions and energy use in new buildings in order to transition to zero-emissions buildings by 2030.
Execute innovative finance mechanisms to support net-zero commitments. Many of the actions needed to meet net-zero pledges are capital intensive, including the necessary $4–$5 trillion needed annually by 2030 to fund clean-energy investments around the world. This means that financial innovation is necessary, especially at the city level. Here are some ideas to aid on this front:
- Use local financing mechanisms. Burlington, Vermont, introduced one of the first Net Zero Energy Revenue Bonds in the United States in order to provide its citizens an incentive to switch to clean electricity sources.
- Establish funds dedicated to net-zero initiatives. The Sustainable Australia Fund, established by the Melbourne City Council in Australia, is a trust that offers environmental upgrade finance options and loans to businesses in support of energy-efficiency projects.
- Participate in partnerships that can accelerate net-zero objectives. Belo Horizonte, Brazil, entered into a public-private partnership that unlocked funding to upgrade 178,000 city streetlights with LED bulbs.
Prioritize areas of city infrastructure that can best help cities achieve their net-zero goals. Transformation of the buildings and transportation sectors will significantly impact achieving net-zero goals. Here are some specific strategies urban planners can take:
- Plan locations where electric vehicle charging stations can be located. C40 Cities offers a framework for deploying charging infrastructure.
- Promote smart, digital infrastructure as a means to increase energy efficiency. Plan and design with digitation in mind, such as by linking buildings to a grid powered by renewables and forming zones where data centers can be located.
- Design city zones that optimize walkability and cycling. This study discusses walkable cities from the perspective of urban planning (see Fifteen-Minute City Nexus).
- Transform city waste management toward a zero-waste system. Cities can do this through a variety of actions and incentives, including the separate collection of organics, encouragement of reuse, and prevention of food waste (see Wasting Nothing Nexus and Compost Nexus).
- Advocate for urban planning reforms that will reduce carbon emissions. Flexible zoning can both promote green spaces and ameliorate housing crises, and spatial planning promotes dense, walkable neighborhoods (see Fifteen-Minute City Nexus).
Scientists
Bring scientific scrutiny to bear on cities’ net-zero pledges. Scientists will be relied on throughout the worldwide transition to net zero. They must encourage this transition and critique it when the science behind a pledge does not add up.
- Scientists must continue to bring to light false equivalency in carbon accounting, which is when emissions reductions and carbon removal are treated as analogs.
Companies
Partner with cities as a means to accelerate local net-zero commitments. Some cities control just 4 percent of their greenhouse gas emissions, meaning that help from companies and local businesses will be key to developing net-zero cities. This paper details how net-zero goals can be met through public-private partnerships that allow the financial risk of climate projects to be shared. Here are additional resources and examples:
- The City-Business Climate Alliance brings together city governments and private-sector actors through a platform that helps cities implement their climate-action plans and businesses meet their climate targets. Their pilot project led to the formation of the London Business Climate Leaders initiative.
- Trellis Group provides tips on how companies and cities can partner to hit net-zero targets, including property-assessed clean energy (PACE) programs that provide incentives for renewable energy improvements on private property.
- Center for Climate and Energy Solutions provides examples of city-business partnerships, including one between St. Petersburg, Florida, and CycleHop to bring a bikeshare program to the area.
- World Economic Forum explains how cities and businesses can partner to decarbonize real estate. The article proposes five steps: promote a collaborative business model, balance regulation and encouragement, share knowledge, tackle the retrofitting challenge, and scale up technology.
- Partnerships can be between businesses. Envision Digital and ST Engineering have a memorandum of understanding to develop a net-zero carbon digital building suite to advance Singapore’s Green Plan 2030.
- The University of Strathclyde, insurance group AIG, and engineering company Wood have started an initiative to help cities develop strategies to become net zero. The consortium will provide advice on low-carbon energy and infrastructure projects to cities.
Governance
Develop international standards for citywide net-zero commitments. Although many governments and companies are developing net-zero pledges, international standards are needed to make sure these pledges are credible. Specifically, standards can establish a definition of “net zero” and shape the milestones needed to show progress. The standards must be credible in order to prevent issues such as greenwashing and regulatory capture. Steps are currently being made to enact reputable standards:
- The International Organization for Standardization’s London Declaration may signal progress toward international standards that will evaluate net-zero commitments.
- UN Secretary-General António Guterres has launched the High-Level Expert Group on the Net-Zero Commitments of Non-State Entities, which will develop standards for net-zero pledges set by businesses, investors, cities, and regions.
Guarantee that a city’s net-zero plans protect and empower vulnerable communities. Vulnerable communities, including low-income populations and Indigenous peoples, are at risk of being disproportionately burdened and displaced during the transition to net zero. This risk can be eliminated by efforts such as:
- Avoidance of net zero strategies that encumber vulnerable communities. For example, carbon offsets often target lands held by Indigenous peoples and traditional communities, while cities and businesses using the offsets carry on under a business-as-usual model (see Offsets Nexus and Onsets Nexus). Instead, cities must focus on real emissions reductions.
- Tailored economic incentives in net-zero plans that foster innovation and growth in vulnerable communities. The governor of North Carolina recently ordered his administration to develop strategies to diversify clean energy occupations and prepare youth from underrepresented communities for careers in a green economy.
- Collaboration with vulnerable communities throughout all stages of the net-zero transition. Members of vulnerable communities are key stakeholders in this process (see next bullet).
Ensure citizen engagement is incorporated into the development and execution of net-zero plans. Net zero is an economy-wide transformation that requires community support. While the exact structure of citizen engagement will vary from city to city, here are some useful resources to get this key aspect of net-zero cities right:
- The UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy released a briefing note that highlights a number of ways to assist citizen engagement, including through participatory and deliberative democracy, citizen-led initiatives, and behavioral approaches.
- In an article from the National Civic League (U.S.), examples are provided of how civic engagement has been successfully deployed in a number of local sustainability initiatives. One such initiative is the creation of EcoDistricts (U.S.), which are urban districts certified as fostering social equity, economic opportunity, and ecological health.
- The First Nations Major Projects Coalition (Canada) and the First Peoples Worldwide (U.S.) hosted an Indigenous-led net-zero conference where they collaborated with industry and government officials about how net-zero strategies will impact Indigenous rights and how Indigenous voices must be included in formulating the strategies.
- C40 Cities publishes case studies of climate actions taken in cities around the world, including one such study on how Dakar, Senegal, successfully institutionalized civic participation in the city’s climate-action planning.
- C40 Cities’ Inclusive Climate Action Forum provides a networking platform where mayors can share best practices and opportunities for putting equity and inclusion at the forefront of local climate actions.
- Companies such as Go Vocal (formerly CitizenLab) can provide insights and a community engagement platform for local governments.
- Polisdigitocracy, a concept coined by the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, calls for executing participatory climate action at the city level with the aid of digital technologies.
Hold cities accountable to their net-zero pledges via transparency and equitable access to information. The Climate Action Tracker has developed a ten-step analysis that incorporates the need for transparent assessment of national net-zero targets. By providing transparency and access to information, local activists can hold cities accountable.
- One example of transparency is New York City’s Local Law 84, which requires the annual public disclosure of energy and water use in many buildings throughout the city.
- A number of cities around the world disclose their climate-related data and emissions-reduction progress through CDP Cities, which has an Open Data Portal where the public can search datasets.
- C40 Cities’ greenhouse gas emissions interactive dashboard can be a starting point for transparency. This system tracks city-level production-based emissions inventories in the organization’s member cities.
- The Greenhouse Gas Protocol provides standards and tools for cities to measure and track progress toward net-zero commitments that can then be shared with citizens.
Adopt green government procurement policies. Green procurement refers to the purchase of goods and services that minimize adverse environmental impacts. They include local sourcing, the use of biodegradable materials, and the construction of energy-efficient buildings. Public procurement is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, particularly for the materials and construction services purchased in connection with large infrastructure projects such as roads, buildings, railways, and energy production.
- A number of cities in the U.S. have enacted green procurement policies, including Orlando, Florida, which committed to purchasing goods and services in line with third-party certification standards such as those offered by the Biodegradable Products Institute and the Forest Stewardship Council.
- Cape Town, South Africa has finalized a Green Procurement Action Plan, which in part has a goal of developing sustainable building guidelines in line with standards set by the Green Building Council of South Africa.
- Seoul, South Korea, has enacted the Seoul Metropolitan Government Ordinance on the Promotion of Purchase of Green Products, which requires public institutions in the city to procure green products when available through an online purchasing platform.
Understand where coal-fired power plants can be phased out and decommissioned. The World Economic Forum provides four steps to such a decommissioning process, and this International Energy Agency report provides phase-out case studies from Canada, the UK, and Germany.
Key Players
Cities Committed to Net Zero
Race to Zero provides a list of over 1,100 member cities around the world that have committed to reducing emissions in line with the Paris Agreement. Likewise, C40 Cities has a list of over 100 member cities that have committed to taking urgent climate action in line with science-backed targets. Here is a sampling of cities that have made net-zero commitments:
Organizations
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations Smart Cities Network (Asia) is a collaborative platform where cities from the ten ASEAN Member States (AMS) work towards the common goal of smart and sustainable urban development.
C40 Cities (Global) is a global network of nearly 100 mayors of the world’s leading cities that are united in action to confront the climate crisis.
Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance (Global) mobilizes transformative climate action in cities in order to achieve prosperity, social equity, resilience, and better quality of life for all on a thriving planet.
CDP (Global) is a not-for-profit charity that runs a global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states, and regions to manage their environmental impacts.
City-Business Climate Alliance (Global) is a network for leading cities, or leaders of local business networks, to exchange ideas on how cities can use their formal and informal powers to influence, regulate, and collaborate with the private sector to achieve ambitious climate actions.
Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (Global) supports ambitious, locally relevant solutions in sectors where cities can have the most significant impact.
ICLEI—Local Governments for Sustainability (Global) is a global network of more than 2500 local and regional governments committed to sustainable urban development.
Institute for Local Self-Reliance (U.S.) has a vision of thriving, diverse, equitable communities. To reach this vision, we build local power and fight corporate control.
NetZeroCities (EU) supports European cities to drastically cut down greenhouse gas emissions through climate action to achieve climate neutrality, one of the biggest challenges our societies face today.
Transformative Cities (Global) is an opportunity for progressive local governments, municipal coalitions, social movements, and civil society organizations to popularize and share their experiences of building solutions to our planet’s systemic economic, social, political, and ecological crises.
Urban Sustainability Directors Network (U.S. and Canada) strives to create equitable, resilient, and sustainable communities by advancing the field of local government sustainability and equipping practitioners to be catalysts of transformative change.
Individuals
Dr. Anu Ramaswami is a professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Princeton University and developer of a data tool to help city planners prioritize net-zero actions.
Catherine McKenna is Canada’s former Minister of Environment and Climate Change, a lead negotiator of the Paris Agreement, and chair of the UN’s High-Level Expert Group on the Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities.
Learn
Watch
Building “Net-Zero” Cities Part 1 (36 mins.) and Part 2 (28 mins.) by the World Economic Forum
How Cities Are Cutting Carbon by the BBC (4 mins.)
How to Turn a City into a Smart and Net-Zero City? by EU Climate Action (62 mins.)
These Cities Are Leading the Net-Zero Transformation by the Trellis Group (46 mins.)
Read
The Carbon-Free City Handbook by the Rocky Mountain Institute
Empowering Cities for a Net Zero Future: Unlocking Resilient, Smart, Sustainable Urban Energy Systems by the International Energy Agency
Net Zero Carbon Cities: An Integrated Approach by the World Economic Forum
Net Zero City: How to Overcome the Climate Crisis by 2032 by Langdon Morris and Farah Naz / Independent
"First-of-its-kind Project is Helping Canadian Cities Transition to Net Zero" by Samantha Pope / Canadian Geographic
Listen
Deep Dive: Net-Zero Cities in China by Sustainable Communities Podcast (15 mins.)
Net Zero Cities—Singapore by Sparks Podcast series (22 mins.)
Smart and Sustainable City Podcast by Pierre Mirlesse
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