GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS SAVINGS
By Anton Antonio
September 12, 2015
Environmental advocates are sometimes asked the seemingly
quizzical question: “Why are you guys into an environmental advocacy?” “Is there money in this for you?” Perhaps for some but for a larger segment of
the environmentalist community, none.
Their concern for the environment is what drives them to do what they
do. The passion to protect Mother Earth
is not a selfish passion but one that will be beneficial to the present and
future generations.
But talking about dollars and cents, is there really an
equivalent monetary value to pro-environment initiatives? Yes there is!
Please read…
“CITIES COULD SAVE $ 17 TRILLION JUST BY REDUCING THEIR
GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
By Katie Valentine
September 8, 2015
Making cities greener could save a lot of, well, green,
according to a new report. The report
published Tuesday by the New Climate Economy, found that if cities around the
world implemented certain
carbon-reducing strategies --- including making buildings more efficient and
investing in public transportation --- they could save a combines total of $ 17
trillion by 2050. The report looked at
actions such as “aggressively” deploying high-efficiency lighting, “ambitiously”
installing solar on buildings, increasing the fraction of methane captured from
landfills, and expanding public transit.
It found that, if all the measures were implemented, cities would reduce
their combined greenhouse gas emissions by 3.7 metric gigatons of carbon
dioxide equivalent by 2030. That’s more,
the report notes, than the annual emissions of India. Nick Godfrey, head of policy and urban
development at the New Climate Economy, said in a statement that the amount of
money saved by cities could be even higher.
“US$17 trillion is savings is actually a very conservative estimate,
because it only looks at direct energy savings generated from investment, which
are a small proportion of the wider social, economic, and environmental
benefits of these investments,” he said.
The report recommends that cities make commitments to undertake these
carbon-saving initiatives by 2020. On
the national level, countries should implement support structures that
incentivize city-wide efforts to reduce emissions. And on the international level, at least $500
million should be made available for cities to expand existing efforts to
tackle climate change. The international
community will be key in helping cities in developing nations find the capital
they need to make these changes --- investing in improving the creditworthiness
of these countries, for instance, can help them raise needed funds. That tactic has worked with cities in Uganda
and Peru, the report points out. “There
is now increasing evidence that emissions can decrease while economies continue
to grow,” Seth Schultz, a researcher for the C40 Cities Climate Leadership
Group, a group of major cities committed to fighting climate change, told the
Guardian. “Becoming more sustainable and
putting the world --- specifically cities --- on a low carbon trajectory is
actually feasible and good economics.”
Cities’ roles in fighting climate change have been showcased in recent
years. In July, mayors from around the
world met at the Vatican to discuss climate change. Last year, a report from the C40 Climate
Leadership Group found that, on their own, cities had the potential to cut 8
billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. In August, former New York City Mayor Michael
Bloomberg wrote in Foreign Policy that cities are “key” to fighting climate
change. “Many of the most important new
initiatives of this century --- from the smoking ban adopted in New York City
to the bus rapid transit system pioneered in Bogota --- have emerged from
cities,” Bloomberg wrote. “Mayors are
turning their city halls into policy labs, conducting experiments on a grand
scale and implementing large-scale ideas to address problems, such as climate
change, that often divide and paralyze national governments.” Cities around the world have suffered
severely from climate change and pollution, so it makes sense that some of them
are starting to find new ways to tackle climate change. Dry weather and major air pollution has made
Santiago, Chile home to some of the worst air in the world. Beijing, China also regularly suffers from
dangerous air pollution. Superstorm
Sandy hit New York City hard, but the city implemented a plan to prepare itself
for future storms.” (thinkprogress.org)
There are several levels by which pro-environment
initiatives could be made: (1) Individual; (2) Family; (3) Community; (4)
Province; (5) Region; (6) Country; and, (7) World. This researched report already talks about
the 3rd Level of initiative.
At least, in some cities in the world, mitigating the impacts of climate
change has progressed substantially. At
this level, however, potential savings or a figure has already been estimated
($17 trillion by 2050). If this these
initiatives move up to the 6th Level, one can only imagine the
enormous amount involved in greenhouse gas emissions savings.
Thoughts to
promote positive action…
(Please
visit, like and share Pro EARTH Crusaders on Facebook or follow me at http://antonantonio.blogspot.com/
and http://twitter.com/EarthCrusader/)
REFERENCE:
thinkprogress.org, (2015). “Cities Could Save $ 17 Trillion
just by Reducing Their Greenhouse Gas Emissions”. Retrieved on September 12,
2015 from http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/09/08/3699273/cities-saving-money-by-fighting-climate-change/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=tptop3&utm_term1&utm_content5
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