Urban Sustainability: What Efforts Are Each Region Making?
Cities present a unique conundrum. On one hand, they account for four-fifths of our economic yields. But on the other hand, cities are responsible for 70% of global emissions. To create urban sustainability, governing bodies are introducing regulations that target four main areas: energy, transportation, infrastructure, and waste. This creates an enormous market opportunity for tech vendors and solution providers. While there are underlying themes that encompass climate action, there are certainly regional differences when it comes to achieving urban decarbonization. Not only will observing regional policies help city authorities gain inspiration for their upcoming green projects, but companies that work in the eco-friendly sector can prepare for product rollouts.
U.S. Legislature Confronts Climate Change
Most sustainability policies in the United States are done at the state, county, or city level because of the diverse nature of the climate in the country. For example, hurricanes are a big concern in North Carolina, while wildfires are a priority in California. Although local policy has been and will continue to be an influential factor in decarbonizing urban environments in the United States, the Biden administration has made great strides in unifying the states through legislation. Of the more than US$1 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, US$500 million is reserved for funding smart city projects — key to building a sustainable city. More recently, the White House passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which grants US$370 billion toward climate and clean energy investments. This funding provides crucial financial backing for smart city projects, such as automation, connected vehicles, roadside sensors, smart grids, and dynamic traffic signals.
U.S. cities like Ithaca and Los Angeles are fully committed to decarbonization, with aggressive zero-emissions target dates. In Ithaca, the city partnered with Brooklyn-based startup BlocPower to install air source heat pumps, an act that will reduce Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions by 40% and create 400 new green jobs. Los Angeles, which recently moved up its zero-emissions target date to 2035, has nearly 4,000 Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations, with 525 of them being free. Residents of the city will need to drastically change their lifestyle habits if the sustainability goals are to be met; while EV adoption must reach between 30% and 80%, that number is currently in the single digits. Los Angeles also has eight hydroelectric power plants to provide the city with clean, cost-effective electricity. The Owens Valley hydropower plants produce about 122 Megawatts (MW) of energy, which can serve around 179,000 households.
The Many Sustainability Moves Being Made in Europe
Carbon tracking and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have become a prevailing trend in Europe. For example, the European Union (EU) stipulates a Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions report from every member nation at 2-year intervals. Moreover, the report must compare the results of current measures with proposed changes. The EU also declared its commitment to delivering 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030. These cities will serve as important experimentation projects that will lay the grassroots for urban sustainability in the rest of Europe.
The United Kingdom tackles climate change with a variety of tactics. For starters, the government has set up a few funds, such as:
· £1.75 billion funding for social housing decarbonization and home upgrade grants
· £620 million for zero-emission vehicle grants and EV infrastructure
· £2 billion investment to enable half of the journeys in cities and towns to be cycled or walked by 2030.
Another major trend in Europe is sustainable mobility, which was pointed out in a recent blog post from ABI Research. In London, the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), a geofencing tactic affecting 3.8 million people, has resulted in 92% of vehicles entering the zone now adhering to the city’s low emissions targets. London’s biggest taxi company, Addison Lee, is planning to have an all-electric fleet by 2023, which could possibly set an example for other fleet services. Some European cities incentivize residents to switch to EVs — by offering tax cuts and free parking in certain areas.
Shared micro-mobility (scooters, bicycles, and mopeds) are becoming a more popular form of transportation in Europe. For example, according to ABI Research forecasts, Europe will have a shared micro-mobility installed base of 3.8 million by 2027. However, city governments want companies to improve vehicle safety before investing in widespread infrastructure like dedicated lanes and parking spaces.
A classic and simple way for cities to start their decarbonization journey is the installation of smart streetlights, as they are a proven way to reduce energy consumption. Another method is the introduction of micro-mobility services such as e-bikes and e-scooters. This encourages citizens to use green methods of travel for short journeys. — Lindsey Vest, Sustainable Technologies Research Analyst at ABI Research
Electrification in Europe also extends to public transportation; in cities like Barcelona and Hamburg, electric buses are becoming the norm. According to Sustainable Bus, there were 48% more electric bus registrations in 2021 than in 2020 — signaling a rapid transition. Like in the United States, some initiatives involve retrofitting older buildings to make them more energy efficient (e.g., solar farms and district heating).
Read: What Makes a City Sustainable Anyway?
India and China Serve as Examples to the Rest of Asia
Given Asia’s rapid population growth, urban decarbonization presents a significant challenge. India, which has a net-zero commitment by 2070, was recently added to the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the National Institute of Urban Affairs’ list of Sustainable Cities program. As a crucial first step, India is launching one of the largest electricity smart meter programs in the world to increase energy efficiency and provide greater control to utilities. The program is fully financed by India’s Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) under the Ministry of Power.
Shenzhen, situated on China’s southeast coast, has been the pinnacle of urban sustainability in the country for years. The city essentially serves as a pet project for Chinese policymakers to experiment with new green policies that follow the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, such as eliminating harmful industries, restoring natural waterways, improving air quality, and introducing EVs en masse. No doubt, it helps that BYD, a global EV supplier, operates locally. To help with EV adoption, the city government has installed 8,000 light poles that serve as charging stations, too. Impressively, Shenzhen is the first city in the world to use 100% electric buses (16,000 [CJH1] buses). On top of that, 99% (21,689 vehicles) of the city’s taxi fleet is electrified.
Singaporean city Tengah leverages several techniques to promote environmental friendliness, including:
· A city center forest that gives back to the local wildlife and prohibits the use of vehicles. This encourages citizens to walk and bicycle as a means of transportation.
· Swapping air conditioner units with centralized solar power-cooled water systems.
· Installment of smart city streetlights that dynamically switch on and off based on the population in the area. As a result, these streetlights reduce the waste of unnecessary energy consumption.
· Instead of using a carbon-emitting garbage truck, waste disposal is done with a Pneumatic Waste Conveyance System (PWCS). A PWCS uses high-speed air to retrieve trash.
· Citizens can use a mobile app to track and report their household energy consumption. This technique educates citizens and gets them actively involved in reaching sustainable goals.
Nairobi Leads the Way for Sustainability in Africa
While much of Africa’s rural population is migrating to urban areas, most of these people still live in informal settlements that are tough to deliver services to. However, African cities don’t use nearly as much carbon as European and American cities, so the focus should be on sustainable development instead of decarbonization.
Nairobi has been a leader in sustainable technologies on the continent, with the deployment of PayGo’s Energy Smart Meter for Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG). Users walk up to the LPG cylinder and use their mobile phones to pay for LPG by the gram. With this solution, poverty-stricken residents have greater control over their energy consumption. A similar mobile approach is used with Mobi-Water’s water tank meter and platform.
Konza Tech City, located 64 Kilometers (Km) south of Nairobi, is an important project in Kenya, as it serves as a tech hub for sustainability. Investments in the smart city are reserved for green urban planning, such as roadside sensors, smart traffic signals, and building design. A similar smart city project is underway in Nigeria for Eko Atlantic.
Urban Transport Has South and Latin American Governments Scrambling
The most pressing challenge that authorities in South and Latin America are facing is the decarbonization of the transportation sector and the waste management of informal settlements. Behind this issue is the fact that, in Latin America and the Caribbean, the growth rates for local urban passenger and freight transport services are outpacing the global average. As urban transport becomes more widespread, the ensuing CO2 emission increases must be properly mitigated.
As a step in the right direction, the Decarbonising Transport in Latin America Cities (DTLA) project was created, in conjunction with the International Transport Forum (ITF) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). However, just three cities are included in the policy (Bogotá, Buenos Aires, and Mexico City). One of the main plans is to establish a modeling mechanism that will allow city officials to test and gauge the effect of proposed policy measures on passenger transport activity and CO2 emissions.
Bogotá, one of the busiest Latin American cities, has introduced hybrid buses to the public transportation system. Although the number of hybrid buses is low, the move has shown promising results. According to IDB, since the introduction of hybrid buses, the city of Bogotá has reduced CO2 emissions by 92,000 tons per year.
Urban Decarbonization will Take a Consistent and Long-Term Approach
Sustainability starts with cities, given that they produce the majority of carbon emissions on the planet. To keep our cities flowing and enrich countries’ Gross Domestic Products (GDPs) sustainably, governing bodies and authorities must look at issues holistically. As long as the approach is consistent, doing this will enable a solution that will bear fruit in various departments and use cases. The journey to decarbonization will likely take decades to reach, so another important action to take is to collaborate with nonprofits and charities to leverage their expertise and resources. There’s no reason for cities to tackle climate change completely alone when there are organizations out there that are just as motivated about green initiatives.
Tech suppliers need to raise awareness about their solutions and gain the trust of authorities. One good starting point is approaching microcities, such as campuses, transport hubs, etc. Because the stakes are lower in microcities, it’s easier to deploy sustainable technologies, which can then serve as valuable proofs of concept before broader implementation. Finally, suppliers must always keep up to date with the latest emissions targets issued by the Paris Agreement, so that new products will meet the demands of customers.
To learn about how to achieve sustainability in our cities, read ABI Research’s Urban Decarbonization Strategies and the Role of Smart Cities research report.
