This report is underpinned by a three-year research effort by a coalition of 50 of the world’s foremost research institutes, networks of national and city governments, investors, infrastructure providers, strategic advisory companies, non-governmental organisations, and social movements. Together, they call for national governments to prioritise compact, connected, and clean cities in order to secure economic prosperity and tackle the climate crisis.
The report quantifies the necessary investments as well as the potential benefits available to governments willing to invest in zero-carbon cities and it sets out a six-part action plan on advocating for ambitious, coordinated climate action. The report concludes that it is possible to reduce emissions from cities by almost 90 percent by 2050 using already proven technologies and practices. These cuts would be made up mainly by buildings (58 percent), transport (21 percent), materials efficiency (16 percent), and handling of waste (5 percent).