Cities are critical for delivery of UK’s net zero goals, says new Report

The density of cities such as London makes them key to efforts to combat climate change, argues the Centre for Cities.

Emissions per capita in urban areas in the UK are 41 per cent lower than the rest of the country and have fallen faster over the last two decades. This is because the density of cities supports lower carbon lifestyles.

This means our cities will need to continue to make an outsized contribution if the UK is to meet its net zero target, the Report  ‘Accelerating net zero delivery: What can UK cities learn from around the world?’ says.

For example, the higher density of cities makes lower carbon transport choices like public and active travel more convenient. Density also changes the nature of what we build, with smaller houses using less energy than detached homes.

Policy-makers will need to take advantage of the relationship between density and emissions to encourage more walking, cycling and public transport usage in particular.

Urban emissions have fallen by 53 per cent in the last 17 years (2005-2022), compared with 43 per cent in non-urban areas but there is still work to be done.

Evidence from international case studies shows cities across the world with powers over key areas of transport policy – such as public transport network integration – and planning use these powers to encourage and enable their citizens to live more environmentally friendly lives.

They do this by building homes at higher density and retrofitting existing homes, by encouraging people to use low-carbon modes of transport, and by providing heating networks and district energy supply to heat and cool buildings.

Cities with greater density are at an advantage because this provides public transport and heating networks with the scale to operate efficiently.

The report also shows that in many countries, cities are leading national efforts to reach net zero – for example, Melbourne and Montreal’s higher energy efficiency standards and Tokyo’s city-level legislation requiring new developments to be fitted with solar panels.

UK cities have the potential to do the same if they were given equal powers and resources. Not doing so is likely to make it harder for the UK to meet its net zero ambitions.

You can read the Report in full here Accelerating net zero delivery (September 2024)

CPRE London campaigns for a greener city https://www.cprelondon.org.uk/what-we-care-about-2/working-for-a-greener-city/