Just ahead of the fifth anniversary of the landmark Paris climate agreement, a new study by the C40 cities network has some great news. A total of 54 of the world’s leading cities are on track to meet targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris agreement, which is crucial for keeping global heating below 1.5C.
Amongst those cities are Houston, Texas, which has long been the center of America’s oil and gas industries and is now aiming to plant 4.6 million trees in the next 10 years as well as build 500 miles of new cycle lanes. Other notable cities include Mexico City, Milan, and Rio de Janeiro, which is doubling tree cover in the city’s streets and has pledged to be carbon neutral by 2050.
According to the C40 report, the efforts from these 54 cities will help prevent at least 1.9 gigatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions from being released into the atmosphere between 2020 and 2030. That is roughly equivalent to five times the UK’s annual emissions.
“Now, five years on I am proud to see so many cities from all over the world launch their plans to keep global temperature rises below 1.5°C,” said Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris. “This marks an important milestone in our efforts to accelerate climate action and demonstrates the incredible leadership from cities on this issue.”
