Chapter 5: Securing a Greener Urban Future

Chapter 5:

Securing a Greener Urban Future

Quick facts

1. Current net zero policies have pitfalls, including an overreliance on underdeveloped technologies that overlook local resources and the lack of integration of local governance strategies in national programmes for action.

2. Climate impacts and other environmental crises interact with drivers of urban inequality, which threatens the futures of cities.

3. Greener futures cannot be secured without just transitions.

4. The world is losing the opportunity to use the post-pandemic context as a catalytic moment to facilitate investment for a transition to net zero carbon emissions.

Policy points

1. Achieving net zero is also dependent on subnational and city-level action.

Policymakers at all levels must therefore recognize and support the role of urban areas in the net zero transition.

2. Nature-based solutions must be part of inclusive planning processes for sustainable urban futures—local action to secure greener futures cannot overlook their vital role.

3. In environmental decision-making, diverse voices and perspectives must be heard to minimize uncertainties in the pathways to securing greener urban futures.

4. Various levels of government and institutions should harness the potential of international partnerships such as transnational networks and social movements in delivering greener urban futures.