The Carbon-Free City Handbook: Biological Resources

The document outlines three primary actions for cities to reduce their carbon footprint through biological resource management: diverting organic waste from landfills to prevent methane emissions, expanding urban forestry to create carbon sinks and reduce cooling energy needs, and promoting plant-based diets to lower food-related emissions.

• Diverting organic waste—such as food waste, landscaping debris, and paper and cardboard packaging—from landfills reduces greenhouse gas impacts because organic materials produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas, when they decompose anaerobically in landfills.
• Urban forests serve as carbon sinks that remove carbon from the atmosphere and offset emissions, while also lowering energy requirements for cooling by mitigating the urban heat-island effect.
• Transitioning to plant-based diets reduces climate-related emissions, as diets high in meats, particularly pork and beef, have a significantly higher carbon footprint.

APA

RMI (2017). The Carbon-Free City Handbook: Biological Resources. https://rmi.org/resources/the-carbon-free-city-handbook-biological-resources/

Chicago

RMI. The Carbon-Free City Handbook: Biological Resources. 2017. https://rmi.org/resources/the-carbon-free-city-handbook-biological-resources/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=The Carbon-Free City Handbook: Biological Resources |date=9 November 2017 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/the-carbon-free-city-handbook-biological-resources/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2017carbonfree, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{The Carbon-Free City Handbook: Biological Resources}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2017}, month = nov, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/the-carbon-free-city-handbook-biological-resources/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }