Sustainable cities

“Digitisation and decarbonisation have both now become drivers of change for our cities.”  Prof Greg Clark, Urbanist and Senior Advisor on Future Cities, explains how.

People don’t often think about cities when it comes to decarbonising the planet, but Greg describes the important role they play in bringing individual sectors together. 

“When we think about how to decarbonise the planet and how to achieve sustainability, we often start by thinking about individual sectors,” says Greg. He cites oil and gas, energy, logistics or consumption, which are important sectors to decarbonise given the carbon emissions they produce. However, we need to take a more holistic approach and think about how we can leverage the benefits of cities in bringing large populations and sectors together, to help create a more sustainable future. 

“While the decarbonisation of [these] sectors is important and essential, within our cities, it's possible to do three other things.” says Greg.

1. We can motivate and incentivise our citizens to change their behaviours. For example, promoting the use of public transport over combustion car commutes, or providing subsidies for renewable energy use. 
2. We can account for the interaction between these sectors. For example, Greg explains how decarbonising a transport system can lead to better air quality. This in turn can help people embrace outdoor activities which can create new cultural and economic opportunities. 
3. We can potentially cross finance these activities through the co-benefits that they bring.

Greg sums it up by saying, “cities are critical to this journey towards a sustainable future and a net zero planet, by focusing on changing citizen behaviour, integrating the impact of sectors, and then using the dividends of decarbonisation in savings or in job creation to drive new kinds of value creation in the city itself. Without cities, we can't decarbonise the planet.”