The Contribution of Cities to Global Warming and their Potential Contributions to Solutions

Abstract

Cities are often considered to be major causes of climate change (through being centres of carbon intensive production and consumption). But as this article explains, the proportion of greenhouse gas emissions that are generated in cities is usually over-stated. In addition, blaming cities misses the point that they can be potential solutions as places where high living standards are achieved with much lower levels of greenhouse gas emissions per person. It also misses the very low greenhouse gas emissions per person in most cities in low-income nations and obscures the issue that it is not cities but high individual and household consumption that underpins most greenhouse gas emissions. The article ends by considering what can moderate, stop and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from two perspectives: where the emissions are produced; and where these are consumed.