Cities at the forefront of climate action

The document highlights the critical role of cities in meeting the EU's 2020 and 2030 climate targets, noting that urban areas deliver over a third of the 2020 target. It warns that national governments—specifically Poland, Italy, and Spain—are pushing for regulatory loopholes in the Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR) that could stifle local climate actions. The briefing provides case studies from Barcelona, Gijón, Niepolomice, Gdynia, Salerno, and Parma to demonstrate the effectiveness of local initiatives in transport, energy efficiency, and waste management, and recommends closing ESR loopholes to unlock these co-benefits.

• Cities are essential for achieving European climate goals, with over a third of the EU's 2020 climate target—approximately 240 million tonnes of CO2 reductions—delivered by cities.
• The Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR) is the EU's primary tool for implementing the Paris Agreement for sectors not covered by the EU Emissions Trading System, specifically transport, buildings, agriculture, and waste.
• Regulatory loopholes pushed by some member states could eliminate the need for further climate action between 2021 and 2030, potentially erasing 1,025 Mt CO2 of theoretical reductions. These loopholes include misleading baselines, forestry offsets, EU ETS surpluses, and 'hot air' carry-overs.
• There is a disconnect between national governments and local authorities in some countries; while Poland, Italy, and Spain are ranked poorly on the EU Climate Leader Board for their stance on the ESR, many of their municipalities are actively pursuing low-carbon transitions via the EU Covenant of Mayors.
• Local initiatives in Spain demonstrate high mitigation potential: Barcelona's 'Super-blocks' programme aims to save 159,100 tons of CO2 annually, and Gijón has launched a €20 million investment programme to renovate public infrastructure to cut emissions by 35% by 2020.
• Polish cities are implementing viable alternatives to coal: Niepolomice and three partner municipalities invested €17.3 million (2012-2015) in renewable energy for 3,841 households and 32 public buildings, while Gdynia uses a waste-to-energy plant to produce biofuel for its bus fleet.
• Italian cities are advancing circular economy and energy efficiency: Salerno recycles over 70% of solid waste and uses a composting plant to cut yearly CO2 emissions by over 24,000 tons, while Parma provides 2.9% interest loans to citizens for home retrofitting.

APA

Carbon Market Watch (2017). Cities at the forefront of climate action. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/ACHIEVING-THE-PARIS-CLIMATE-GOALS-THROUGH-THE-EFFORT-SHARING-REGULATION.pdf

Chicago

Carbon Market Watch. Cities at the forefront of climate action. 2017. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/ACHIEVING-THE-PARIS-CLIMATE-GOALS-THROUGH-THE-EFFORT-SHARING-REGULATION.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Carbon Market Watch |title=Cities at the forefront of climate action |date=October 2017 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/ACHIEVING-THE-PARIS-CLIMATE-GOALS-THROUGH-THE-EFFORT-SHARING-REGULATION.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{carbonmarketwatch2017cities, author = {{Carbon Market Watch}}, title = {{Cities at the forefront of climate action}}, institution = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2017}, month = oct, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/ACHIEVING-THE-PARIS-CLIMATE-GOALS-THROUGH-THE-EFFORT-SHARING-REGULATION.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }