New analysis shows major cities on track to meet 1.5°C target of Paris Agreement

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The analysis includes reviews of comprehensive new plans from 14 cities - Montreal, Vancouver, Buenos Aires, Curitiba, Guadalajara, Medellin, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, São Paulo, Mexico City, Milan, Lisbon, Dakar, and Johannesburg.

C40’s research reveals that efforts by these cities will prevent at least 1.9 gigatonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from being released into the atmosphere between 2020 and 2030, equivalent to half the combined annual emissions of the EU’s 27 member states.

The new analysis was presented recently by Mark Watts, C40’s executive director, at an event hosted by Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo to mark five years since the signing of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Participating cities

Cities with climate action plans reviewed by C40’s Deadline 2020 programme and confirmed as having science-based targets consistent with the Paris Agreement goals include:

Los Angeles, Boston, Houston, New York City, Portland, Seattle, and Washington DC, USA; Vancouver and Montreal, Canada; Mexico City and Guadalajara, Mexico; Curitiba, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and São Paulo, Brazil; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Medellin, Colombia; Melbourne, Australia; Stockholm, Sweden; Oslo, Norway; Copenhagen, Denmark; Barcelona, Spain; Paris, France; London, UK; Amsterdam and Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Milan, Italy; Lisbon; Portugal; Accra, Ghana; Durban and Johannesburg, South Africa; and Dakar, Senegal.

Amongst the details contained in the climate plans reviewed by C40 are the following:

• In Mexico City, more than 100km of public transport corridors and four new cable car lines will be open by 2024, providing better access to essential services for low income communities.
  
• In Dakar, the city will improve flood management, protecting citizens and livelihoods by including climate risks in urban planning.
  
• In São Paulo, the city will incentivise and prioritise local and organic food production, providing residents with access to affordable and quality food.
  
• In Johannesburg, by 2030, all new public and private buildings will operate at net zero carbon, generating hundreds of jobs.
  
• In Buenos Aires, 100,000 new trees will be planted by 2025, helping clean the air.
  
• In Milan, the city will reallocate 100km of street space for cycling and walking by the end of 2021, delivering a green and just recovery to the Covid crisis.
  
• Lisbon will multiply its production of solar energy by 50 by 2030, ensuring the energy transition ends energy poverty and benefits all city residents.

Important milestone

Hidalgo, who hosted the event at Paris City Hall, said: "I was chair of C40 Cities when Deadline 2020 was set, challenging global cities to set their own climate action plan that will protect residents, create green jobs, address inequality and build the future we want. Now, five years on from the Paris Climate Agreement, I am proud to see so many cities from all over the world launch their plans to keep global temperature rises below 1.5°C. This marks an important milestone in our efforts to accelerate climate action and demonstrates the incredible leadership from cities on this issue."