Page 4 - AfrElec Week 01 2021

AfrElec COMMENTARY AfrElec

Satellite data to play key

role in finding new ways

to cut urban emissions

GLOBAL INVESTING in low-carbon and resilient urban Rapid decarbonisation will need to be pro-
development will play a key role in meeting moted or rewarded by emissions-based perfor-
WHAT: global climate change goals and cutting city mance ratings that make urban governments
Woodside has emissions, according to new research from the and businesses more accountable to their
earmarked $5bn worth World Bank. stakeholders. However, effective performance
of investments in “new Cities account for over 70% of global CO2 measures cannot ignore the effects of differing
energy” products by 2030 emissions, most of which come from industrial demographic, economic and geographic condi-
and motorised transport systems that use huge tions on actual CO2 levels in cities.
WHY: quantities of fossil fuels and rely on far-flung Many older cities have inherited carbon-in-
The company wants to infrastructure constructed with carbon-intensiv tensive infrastructure. More populous cities
remain profitable as materials, the bank noted. have more emissions, while higher-income cites
the energy transition The decarbonisation measures necessary have fewer emissions-intensive heavy industries.
accelerates, while to keep global warming below 1.5° C by 2100 Higher-income cities have higher land costs
leveraging its oil and gas will require investments in low-carbon energy and stricter pollution regulations; and cities in
expertise and transport systems, programmes to reduce particularly cold or hot climates produce more
urban sprawl, and nature-based solutions for emissions from energy for heating or cooling.
WHAT NEXT: urban cooling and disaster risk management, Decarbonisation by different cities must be rated
The update came during said World Bank economists Susmita Dasgupta, against benchmarks that account for these innate
the same week that Somik Lall and David Wheeler. differences.
Woodside announced The World Bank’s latest Climate Change Assessing city progress on emissions reduc-
plans for a green Action Plan (2021–2025) recognises city sys- tions has been hindered by the near-total absence
hydrogen project in the tems as one of five key systems that generate the of directly measured CO2 emissions data.
US most greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and face Consistently measured emissions estimates
significant adaptation challenges. are only available for about 80 cities, only half in

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