Photo: Frank-Jensen-Lord-Mayor-of-Copenhagen

Cities hold the key to a sustainable future

16 December 2014

by Richard Forster

Cities play a decisive role in ensuring a more sustainable future. In Copenhagen we have some of the most ambitious sustainability goals of any city and by 2025 we will become the first carbon-neutral capital. We are already well on our way. By Frank Jensen, Lord Mayor of Copenhagen

More than half of the world’s population lives in cities, and cities are responsible for about 75 per cent of all CO2 emissions. Mayors all over the world are responsible for more than just dealing with the effects of climate change; they hold the key to preventing it from getting worse.

In Copenhagen, we face the dual challenge of a rapidly growing population and limited space to build. Intelligent urban planning is essential to prevent a massive increase in CO2 emissions during a period when the city’s population is projected to grow 20 percent in the span of ten years.

In Copenhagen we are rising to the challenge and taking it a step further: by 2025 we will be the world’s first CO2- neutral capital. We are already well on our way; CO2 emissions are down 40 percent since 1995. Other gains will be made by installing 100 new wind turbines, expanding our public transport system and converting our power stations from fossil fuels to biomass.

Going green pays off

But being CO2-neutral is just one part of being a sustainable city. Equally important are economic growth and, ultimately, a high quality of life. In times of economic challenges, we need to find new ways to create growth and jobs. And we have found that going green pays off.

There are benefits to improving bicycle infrastructure, building more sustainably and cleaning the harbour. The returns can be measured in terms of more than just a healthier climate, improved health and increased quality of life. They can be also calculated in terms of hard cash; investments will bring returns.

Building up a bicycle infrastructure, for example, does more than just reduce CO2 emissions and air pollution. It also leads to more people taking their bikes to work, which in turn leads to improved individual health and lower medical costs. And it is estimated that more than a half of the investments put into improving the energy efficiency of school buildings, cultural centres, homes and offices will be repaid through lower energy costs by 2025.

Cycling leads to lower medical costs
Cycling leads to lower medical costs

Copenhagen is a clean tech centre

Initiatives like these cannot be accomplished by a city council alone. In order to succeed, it requires a great deal of involvement by residents and, not least, partnerships with business.

By co-operating with business, we hope to make Copenhagen an international centre for clean tech development. There are currently about 500 clean tech companies employing 30,000 people in Greater Copenhagen, but more are on the way. The OECD has identified Copenhagen as a global leader when it comes to creating growth and jobs in the sector, and at the national level it outpaces all other sectors of the Danish economy.

A big part of the reason for the success of clean tech business in Copenhagen is the political willingness to invest in the sector. A CO2-neutral Copenhagen will provide Danish clean tech companies a local proving ground for testing and demonstrating their technologies.

Our focus on creating a city that is not only green and liveable but also includes a vibrant economy has earned us the prestigious title of European Green Capital 2014. Sharing solutions among businesses, residents and other cities is the primary focus for our year as Green Capital.

Cities hold the power

We need to acknowledge the crucial role cities play in the effort to reduce CO2 emissions. By sharing our best ideas and solutions, we can go from great solutions locally to brilliant advances globally.

That is why Copenhagen is working with cities globally to find new sustainable solutions and share the ones we already have in place. We are deeply involved in the work of the global city network C40 to implement sustainable initiatives that will help address climate change. We were recently elected to represent the 19 Innovator Cities in the C40 Steering Committee, which is an important forum for sharing and creating new sustainable urban solutions. Copenhagen is already leading the C40 Green Growth Network, which seeks to develop new ways of creating sustainable urban solutions combined with economic growth, innovation and job creation.

Cities play an important role in managing climate change. Cities are on the frontline when it comes to resolving specific problems, and we are responsible for putting strategy into action. We have the experience required to tackle the problems locally and globally.

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