A significant proportion of global greenhouse gas emissions are attributed to urban areas, with figures suggesting they account for as much as 80% of global emissions. Therefore, cities worldwide are key players in carbon reduction strategies.
In the article “Visions for post-carbon societies”, CMCC Foundation researcher Margaretha Breil of ECIP Division presents the strategies envisaged for a transition process towards post-carbon cities resulting from in the framework of the EU funded project POCACITO.
More in detail, this contribution presents the outcomes of a set of vision building exercises undertaken with city representatives during the workshops organised in the POCACITO case study cities.
Stakeholders were encouraged to imagine how their city should look in 2050 as a post-carbon city while developing qualitative scenarios describing how the transition to their post-carbon vision might be translated into single steps or actions. Obstacles and opportunities expected to be encountered along the way were identified and actions needed to meet future goals were highlighted.
The analysis showed that the specific mix of strategies envisaged for each city is influenced by local characteristics such as geographical location and city size. Meanwhile, economic considerations, such as the cities’ GDP per capita, seem to be less influential in driving the policy mix.
The article has been published on the report “Realising long-term transitions towards low carbon societies” – Impulses from the 8th Annual Meeting of the International Research Network for Low Carbon Societies.
The publication has been released by the Low Carbon Society Research Network (LCS-RNet) and delivers insights into cutting edge research on the necessary transitions towards low carbon societies and by this aims to contribute to international as well as national policymaking.
The reports is made up by twenty articles covering the most important issues for progressing solutions for climate change and sustainable development.