Advancing climate ambition: cities as partners in global climate action

The report argues that cities can significantly reduce global GHG emissions, potentially decreasing them by 3.7 GtCO2e by 2030 and 8.0 GtCO2e by 2050. The greatest abatement opportunities are found in urban building energy efficiency, followed by transport and waste management. Because city-level actions are often not captured in national pledges, they offer a critical path for countries to deepen their climate ambition.

• Aggressive urban action could reduce global GHG emissions by 3.7 GtCO2e by 2030 and 8.0 GtCO2e by 2050, potentially closing the global emissions gap by at least 10% in 2030 and approximately 15% in later years.
• The most significant opportunity for GHG reduction is in urban building energy use, which could reduce emissions by 2.4 GtCO2e in 2030 and 4.5 GtCO2e in 2050 through new building efficiency standards, retrofits, and low-energy appliances.
• Urban passenger transport emissions can be reduced by 0.9 GtCO2e in 2030 and 2.3 GtCO2e in 2050 by planning compact, transit-oriented communities and improving vehicle technology, particularly in rapidly urbanizing areas like China and India.
• Improvements in urban road freight logistics and vehicle efficiency could reduce GHG emissions by approximately 0.2 GtCO2e in 2030 and 0.6 GtCO2e in 2050.
• Urban waste management, specifically through increased recycling and landfill methane capture, can lead to a total GHG emissions reduction of 0.2 GtCO2e in 2030 and 0.6 GtCO2e in 2050.
• Cities are uniquely positioned to partner with nation states because mayors control key policy levers—such as urban planning and public transportation—that are often not reflected in national emissions pledges.

APA

Erickson, P., & Tempest, K. (2014). Advancing climate ambition: cities as partners in global climate action. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/C40-Bloomberg-SEI-2014-Cities-Climate.pdf

Chicago

Erickson, Peter, and Kevin Tempest. Advancing climate ambition: cities as partners in global climate action. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2014. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/C40-Bloomberg-SEI-2014-Cities-Climate.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Erickson |first1=Peter |last2=Tempest |first2=Kevin |title=Advancing climate ambition: cities as partners in global climate action |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=September 2014 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/C40-Bloomberg-SEI-2014-Cities-Climate.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{erickson2014advancing, author = {Erickson, Peter and Tempest, Kevin}, title = {{Advancing climate ambition: cities as partners in global climate action}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2014}, month = sep, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/C40-Bloomberg-SEI-2014-Cities-Climate.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }