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Carbon footprint: these cities are bending over backwards for the climate

2021-04-21T13:53:49.620Z


According to the Climate Chance observatory, despite the health crisis, cities are stepping up initiatives to limit their footprint because


“Make our planet great again.

In the aftermath of the United States' withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement under Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron encouraged his counterparts to re-mobilize.

But that was before the Covid-19 stifled much of the greenhouse gas reduction promises from world leaders.

If the health crisis has slowed down the dynamics of States, the large cities have continued their efforts.

This is what emerges from a study carried out by the Climate Chance observatory.

Europe at the forefront

In this 137-page report, we discover that 1,800 cities of the Old Continent representing around 15% of the EU's greenhouse gas emissions had already reduced their emissions by 26% between 2005 and 2017, more than the 2020 targets. of the European Union.

"Since the start of the Covid-19 crisis, 2,570 km of cycle paths have been announced in Europe, half of which have already been completed and it is a movement that extends to the whole world", rejoices Amaury Panelle, who coordinates the activities of the observatory.

Climate managers in Germany

Proof of the dynamism of cities in the fight against global warming, Germany now has 700 “climate managers” paid by the federal government to coordinate the work of municipal services locally so that the city in which they are appointed respects the commitments of its climate plan.

In Oslo (Norway), the elected representatives of the Norwegian capital vote each year a “local climate budget” which provides for “sectoral mitigation objectives quantified within the framework of their budgetary procedure”.

Green electricity in Melbourne and London

By signing electricity purchase contracts guaranteeing that it does not come from fossil fuels, the cities of Melbourne (Australia) and London (Great Britain) intend to reduce the carbon footprint linked to the lighting of street lamps. , its municipal buildings and other schools.

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"A solar farm with 95,000 panels will be built for the English capital and should notably enable the city to save 3.5 million euros in electricity bills", underlines Antoine Gillod, of Climate Chance.

Nantes is betting on renewable energies

How has Nantes (Loire-Atlantique) managed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 20% since 2003?

By betting on renewable energies.

Wood, waste recovery, geothermal, solar… in 2017, “green” energies represented 12.4% of energy consumption in the tertiary and residential sectors of the metropolis.

That is an increase of 73% compared to 2008.

In the same year, 30,000 homes were connected to one of the city's six heating networks, which are 67% supplied by renewable energies.

A pioneer in the revival of the tram in the 1980s, Nantes launched in September 2019 the e-Busway, a new generation of very long buses (24 m) with rapid electric charging.

They are now packed at peak times.

Result: 1,000 tonnes of CO2 saved since their entry into service, or the equivalent of 1,000 Paris-New York plane round trips avoided.

The swimming pool heated by sewers

Levallois-Perret (Hauts-de-Seine) was one of the first cities in France to imagine recovering the heat emitted by wastewater from sewers to heat its swimming pool.

Since then, other municipalities have followed suit.

“In Finland, some cities use the heat emitted by data centers to heat some of their public buildings,” explains Antoine Gillod.

If Turin (Italy) succeeded in reducing its emissions by 44% between 1990 and 2017, it is partly by modifying its mobility policies but above all by "decarbonizing" its district heating network.

All services within easy reach of your bike in… 15 minutes flat

This concept is called “quarter-hour cities”.

“The principle is that all essential services for residents are within everyone's reach by bike or on foot,” explains the Climate Chance observatory.

This concept was at the heart of the municipal campaign in Paris but is also being emulated across the Atlantic, particularly in Portland and Minneapolis.

"

The idea has gained such ground that it is now available as a “city of the minute” in the Swedish metropolises of Gothenburg and Stockholm.

Source: leparis

All life articles on 2021-04-21

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