BEST PRACTICE
Greening Our Cities & Industry
Cities take up only 3% of global land area, but account for most of the world’s energy use, industry, consumer activity, and waste, generating 70% of all global climate emissions.
Suburban households generate up to six times more climate emissions per capita than households in dense urban centers.
From mining to manufacturing, industrial supply chains account for roughly 13% of global climate emissions and release toxic chemicals into the atmosphere, water, and soil, including mercury, sulfuric acid, lead, and carbon monoxide.
Over 2 billion tonnes of waste is produced every year, accounting for 3% of all climate emissions. Only 16% is recycled. By 2050 there may be more plastic in the ocean than fish.
Rethinking where we live, how we live, what we buy, and what we throw away could reduce emissions up to 20%. With renewable energy, we can reduce up to 60%.
Dense cities are more resource efficient. By sprawling up, rather than out, we can build sustainable efficient cities and reduce emissions from construction, heating and lighting, transportation and waste management.
By reforming industrial materials and energy sources, and refusing to buy products from the dirtiest industries, we could reduce climate emissions up to 7% and prevent the flow of toxic chemicals into our environment.
By curbing our consumption and recycling our waste, we can reduce emissions by 3%, reduce reliance on raw materials, and keep trash out of our rivers, oceans, and food.
