Cities must step up to reach climate accord

Simon Henschel is Chief Operating Officer of Sunlabob Renewable Energy, a Laos-based company specialising in solar renewable energy and clean water solutions. (Photo via Sunlabob.com)

One highlight from last week's United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany, was an announcement from the Syrian delegate that Damascus will ratify the Paris Agreement.

Embroiled in ongoing war, sparked in large part by climate change-related drought, Syria will become the penultimate nation to sign the Paris Agreement.

This move leaves the Trump administration, which retracted the United States' signature on the agreement in June, on a lone island of denial in the midst of a global movement toward climate action.

The Trump administration's anti-science and climate change denial ideology has led to federal defunding of scientific research, defunding of renewable energy subsidies, imminent tax-policy change to punish higher learning, and stripping of standards and regulations that require firms to act responsibly toward the environment.

However, despite the absence of official American backing, millions of people in communities across that nation and the world, are taking responsibility for achieving the goals set out by the climate accord.

On Nov 5 at Carnegie Hall in New York, Pathway to Paris launched its 1,000 Cities Initiative that unabashedly aims for one thousand cities across the globe to commit to 100% renewable energy by 2040.

The initiative acknowledges the limitations of non-binding national agreements to reduce harmful emissions, and the need for the "biggest coordinated effort of our time", as powerfully worded by Jesse Paris Smith, co-host of the night and co-founder of the Pathway to Paris organisation.

Cities have been stepping up to carry forward the goals of the Paris accord, for the past few years, especially since Mr Trump, arguably the most anti-science president the US has seen, took office.

While the initiative doesn't provide specific guidelines for the weaning off of fossil fuels, there are a few tried and true cases of success.

According to the National Resources Defence Council (NDRC), a New York-based non-profit environmental advocacy group, in 2017, "More than 30 of America's 51 biggest cities have improved their approaches to and the implementation of energy efficiency."

Here are a couple things that have worked for cities that sit near the top of the NRDC's list:

In 2007, Boston's then mayor Thomas Menino "set the goal of reducing municipal greenhouse gas emissions by 7% by 2012 and 80% by 2050 compared to 1990", but is ahead of its own curve, already having reached reductions it would have met in 2020 according to the plan.

The Boston Transportation Mobility Plan has prioritised equity, responsiveness, and economic opportunity, in a vision of sustainability that encompasses people, environment and the economy.

The city has also initiated interdepartmental collaboration -- with more than 20 public offices and organisations coming together to implement this shared vision.

More specifically, Boston's Transportation Plan aims to increase public transit use by 30%, bike riders by four times, and decrease the number of people driving alone by half.

How? By creating markets, including a market for fuel-efficient transportation; using public planning and investment.

The action "required that municipal departments purchase hybrid, alternative-fuelled, or high-efficiency vehicles whenever possible; new motor vehicles shall be the most fuel-efficient within their vehicle class", according to the American Council for Energy Efficient Economy.

The city also established FleetHub, a car-sharing technology, alongside a management tool for tracking and efficient use of the fleet.

Boston seems to be following in the footsteps of cities like Oslo, Norway, that aggressively grew their market for alternative energy through transportation.

In the pursuit of zero-carbon transportation in the city, legislation added a variety of financial incentives like subsidies for electric vehicles and taxes on fossil fuel powered vehicles -- for sale, travel, parking, etc. And it worked.

Sales of electric vehicles exploded, and soon there will only be electric cars on the road in the city. Beyond market incentives, the city has invested in upgrading its own systems, all to be fossil fuel free by 2020.

New York City, despite being the "city that never sleeps", is the most energy efficient city in the US. Building efficiency. Cool roofs.

Making it known that energy efficiency is not a zero sum game, it's a win-win for the environment, for consumers through lower energy bills, and also for businesses, including schools, hospitals and developers.

Similar to tracking Boston's car-share initiative, technology helps with monitoring, and helps to make sure progress is on track for meeting energy goals.

For example, New York recently released NYC-building-specific online tools including a savings calculator EfficienSEE, and the Urban Green Council's Metered.NYC.

To get users started, there's also a guide to best practices that can help universities and hospitals start reducing their energy footprint.

New York walks the walk in terms of energy, especially building efficiency, and is setting an example for cities around the world.

It may not be easy for all cities to invest in this type of energy transformation, whether it's because of more urgent priorities, public funding, or less capabilities for coordination and technology than what is at the fingertips of the public sector in Boston and New York City.

However, there are tools being developed for use by cities worldwide. The World Bank's Tool for Rapid Assessment of City Energy (Trace), gives simple but high-impact recommendations for cities to meet energy goals.

For example, the Assessment found that "Belo Horizonte, Brazil [could save up to] US$20 million (653.6 million baht) in annual energy through LED improvements in street lighting".

Trace is part of the World Bank's Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme, which offers a variety of suggestions for "design standards and regulations that promote compact and mixed-use neighbourhoods, optimised distribution of space, and prioritisation of walking, cycling, and public transportation".

For a real climate accord, all cities need to take action.

There is not one single path, and none of them are straight -- they are networks of people, innovators, legislators, coming together in order to, some day, land in a more sustainable city for a more sustainable future for ourselves, the earth and future generations.