Cities ignore climate change at their peril, says UN report
Baku, March 31 (AZERTAC). URBAN areas are set to become the battleground in the global effort to curb climate change, the UN has warned.
The assessment by UN-Habitat said that the world`s cities were responsible for about 70 per cent of emissions, yet only occupied 2 per cent of the planet`s land cover.
While cities were energy intensive, the study also said that effective urban planning could deliver huge savings.
The authors warned of a “deadly collision between climate change and urbanization” if no action was taken.
The Global Report on Human Settlements 2011, Cities and Climate Change: Policy Directions, said its goal was to improve knowledge of how cities contribute to climate change, and what adaptation measures are available.
Executive Director of UN-Habitat, Joan Clos, said the global urbanization trend was worrying as far as looking to curb emissions were concerned.
“We are seeing how urbanization is growing - we have passed the threshold of 50 per cent (of the world`s population living in urban areas),” he told BBC News.
“There are no signs that we are going to diminish this path of growth, and we know that with urbanization, energy consumption is higher.
According to UN data, an estimated 59per cent of the world`s population will be living in urban areas by 2030.
Every year, the number of people who live in cities and town grows by 67 million each year - 91per cent of this figure is being added to urban populations in developing countries.
The main reasons why urban areas were energy intensive, the UN report observed, was a result of increased transport use, heating and cooling homes and offices, as well as economic activity to generate income.
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