Specific Local Plans for Cities Crucial in Environmental Drive

The negotiations in Copenhagen last month and their outcome have shown the complexity of the issues they were intended to address on a global and multinational scale.

But here's a simple thought: we also need specific local plans and actions for cities around the world. Today, cities cover less than 1 per cent of the earth’s surface but they are said to consume some 75 per cent of world energy and generate 75 per cent of our greenhouse gas emissions.

Half the world’s population lives in cities and urban areas and it is predicted that this will rise to two thirds by 2050. The concentration of resources in cities is a growing challenge but it can also be a useful weapon in fighting climate change.

Cities today are often centres of new thinking and policy innovation that can lead the way for others and this is something that we need to harness effectively as we strive to address this problem and kick start a new phase of sustainable growth.

Today we are seeing cities take the lead on the climate challenge. For example the EU’s 20/20 targets for the reduction of emissions focus on the role cities play and in many cases they are not only looking at meeting these targets but exceeding them.

Last month in Copenhagen I announced that GE has become the sole industry sponsor of an initiative ‘EUCO2 80/50’ with 15 European cities such as Hamburg, Paris and Rotterdam which commits them to reaching a 30 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030 and an 80 per cent reduction by 2050. It is hoped that this is something that can be expanded to other cities across the globe.

Well-planned and governed cities are key to balancing a high quality of life with reduced resource consumption. GE invests billions of dollars in technologies that make cities more sustainable, more economically efficient, and which support high skilled jobs to create the products and to install and operate them over the long term.

Even though sustainable development, as a practical concept, is of recent origin, the Middle East region has made rapid advancements, and GE is partnering in several of these initiatives, most notably with the Masdar City initiative, the first world’s first carbon neutral, zero waste city being built in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi.

One exciting example is the partnership between Masdar City and GE Consumer & Industrial to embark on a landmark pilot programme that will investigate the reduction of peak power demand through the use of smart home appliances.

Involving some of the first residents of Masdar City, the programme will test how GE smart (or Demand Response enabled) appliances and GE Home Energy Manager (HEM) can lower power demand in the home and across the city.

GE specifically designed and manufactured the appliances and networks for this pilot, which leverages Masdar City’s status as a clean-tech cluster and one-of-a-kind “living laboratory” for exciting new sustainability technologies.

The equipment will be installed in early 2010 in the first building to be completed at Masdar City, the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology. While Masdar City is admittedly unique as a greenfield city, this pilot will prove these smart appliances for deployment to existing cities around the world.

While there is an environmental imperative to addressing the issue of climate change, the scarcity of resources and infrastructural challenges, there is also an economic imperative.

Cities are the powerhouses of economies and they are a significant portion of a country’s GDP. For example Seoul, Brussels and Budapest generate over one third of the GDP of their respective countries and as a result their efficiency is crucial to the prosperity of their nation.

As people continue to migrate towards large urban areas, this creates its own challenges for national and city governments. Attracting investment is crucial. Development and employment will migrate towards those cities and regions where it is attractive, easiest and cost competitive to do business.

In today’s highly competitive environment cities need to keep a focus on what it is that can create competitive advantage and attract investment and ultimately employment like their infrastructure. Those cities that get this will be those who will emerge in a position to capitalize on the next stage of growth.

Addressing climate change can not only solve a major environmental problem it can also have the added benefit of stimulating economic growth. We can solve one of the world’s biggest problems while we create millions of jobs for workers to build technology for the global economy for decades to come.

The global market in low carbon goods and services is already worth $4.3 trillion and is expected to grow by half again in the next decade – supporting as many as 10 million new sustainable green jobs globally in the process.

The prize of taking action is great in social, economic and environmental terms. Cities are where the action is.