NewWays for Environmental and Social Change

By Pippa Sorley via ecotimes.com

Every year urban sprawl spreads upon farmland, forests, and shorelines. Rural areas are rapidly losing ground to their rival cities. Hundreds of thousands of people flock each year to their nearest city in search of sustainable employment. Farmers are losing their farms, ranchers are losing their pastures, and fishermen their livelihoods. Some say it is unavoidable-with population growth comes development. And with development, comes a loss of nature. So, in light of this inevitability, we face a predicament. If cities generate the greatest pollution across continents, which ones are taking the lead in their fight against climate change? eCo Times searched for the greenest cities, attempting to find one on each continent. We picked out our Top 5 and a couple of runners up which seemed to deserve it. Each of these cities have gone above and beyond standard operating practices to implement policies and incentives to create a truly sustainable urban environment.

CURITIBA, BRAZIL (SOUTH AMERICA)
With a population of 1.6 million, Curitiba represents a model sustainable city. Faced with a fast-rising population, worsening air pollution and imminent gridlock, this city turned its center into a pedestrian-only zone and transformed several key highways into roadways reserved solely for mass transit. By planting millions of trees, the city created “green moats” to buffer against the harmful effects of polluting industry. Perhaps Curitaba’s most famous greening story is that of its innovative recycling program. The Mayor created a social and environmental revolution by offering groceries and bus passes to the city’s poor in return for bags of recyclables. The result? Two-thirds of Curitiba’s garbage is recycled.

VAXJO, SWEDEN (EUROPE)
The Nordic countries of Europe continue to excel when it comes to environmental stewardship. Winner of the Sustainable Energy for Europe Campaign Award in 2007, Växjö , Sweden, is a stark example . The city made a pledge in 1996 to become fossil-fuel free. With the cooperation of the city’s administration, NGO’s, universities, and individuals, as well as the energy, housing, and transport sectors, Växjö is well on its way to meeting this goal. In 1980, at a time when environmental issues were barely a blip on the planetary radar, Vaxjo created an energy company that used biomass to produce heating and electricity. By 2006, the city had succeeded in reducing its CO2 emissions per capita by 30% since 1993. US citizens emit around 20 tonnes per year, the EU’s per capita emissions average 10 tonnes, and China’s roughly 5 tonnes. Today, the citizens of Växjö emit a mere 3 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year, a level far below the global average. With such impressive numbers, Växjö produces a carbon footprint similar to that found in many developing countries, while still maintaining high living standards.

TORONTO, CANADA (NORTH AMERICA)
Toronto boasts a population of over 5 million, a number that represents almost one sixth of the whole population of Canada. By implementing programs to cut overall emissions from its own facilities by 42%, Toronto is recognized as one of the greenest cities in North America. It uses cold water from Lake Ontario to cool its buildings in summer, saving up to 90% on electricity compared to conventional air-conditioning systems. The city has also established the Toronto Atmospheric Fund which creates new programs to accelerate the incubation and scale-up of low carbon initiatives in Toronto.

KAMPALA, UGANDA (AFRICA)
Uganda has long been hailed as Africa’s friendliest country, but in a continent that is plagued by poverty, corruption, and political instability there are few cities that stand out for their environmental leadership. Kampala is the exception to the rule. Under the present Ugandan administration, it has created six new national parks and implemented community-based eco-tourism projects at the grassroots level. In 2006, the city mayor launched their new bus service and dramatically reduced congestion by commuter taxis, while also making transport fares more affordable. The city of Kampala is also one of the most socially progressive cities in Africa by promoting women’s rights and developing revolutionary policies towards curbing the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (AUSTRALIA)
This city of 4 million embraces eco-friendly energy usage on a daily basis by creating innovative programs like Earth Power, a green waste generator that turns waste into gas through anaerobic digestion (no, not a new diet trend). This combustion-free process produces power by converting thousands of tons of leftover food from participating restaurants and supermarkets into electricity and high-nutrient fertilizer. Projections show that by the year 2030, Sydney will demand 95% of energy required for its entire home state. In light of this stark fact, the administration has made a goal to reduce energy usage in buildings and transportation, and has identified significant energy savings potential for its city properties and street lighting.

REYKJAVIK, ICELAND (RUNNER-UP)
Although the population of Reykjavik is small with 118,000 residents, its ambition is large. The city plans to become the world’s first hydrogen city. With access to remarkable geothermal and hydro electric resources, Iceland is able to provide 70% of the energy to its inhabitants, and aims to become a hydrogen economy by 2050. Although still dependent on oil, Reykjavik opened a hydrogen fueling station in 2003 to test three hydrogen fuel cell buses. The hydrogen gas is produced by electrolysis -a process that sends a current through water to split it into hydrogen and oxygen. The public buses could run all day before needing refueling. General Motors, Toyota and DaimlerChrysler are using the island-nation as a test market for their hydrogen fuel cell prototypes, with plans to sell the fuel-cell vehicles by 2010.

PUERTO PRINCESA, PHILIPPINES (RUNNER-UP)
Puerto Princesa City, located on Palawan Island, is geographically the largest city in the Philippines. With 75% forest cover, Puerto Princesa is one of the largest sanctuaries of old growth and replanted forest in the world and is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Through the vision of their Mayor, the city’s dump – once located meters away from a school – was relocated and transformed into the first engineered sanitary landfill in the Philippines. It is also home to one of the most advanced waste management systems in the world. The city government is ISO 9001 certified, making ecology a central focus. To protect the oceans, the administration has halted destructive fishing techniques such as trawling, dynamite fishing, and cyanide fishing. Puerto Princesa is also one of the first cities to mandate that all tricycle taxis convert to LPG (liquid petroleum gas).

On the whole, it is a challenge to identify the greenest cities in the world, as there are so many different factors to consider and varying criteria to measure. For instance, several cities and countries have been named the greenest place simply due to the fact that they have lots of parks and green land, but what if those same areas are making minimal effort to reduce greenhouse gases, improve energy efficiency, and invest in renewables? What about those cities that lack recycling incentives and rather ship their trash abroad? Or is it fair to compare a resource-rich Reykjavik to an arid, energy-starved city in Africa? Nevertheless, it is important to recognize those cities that serve as models to their neighbors. Several cities are being built with sustainability as the key feature, like Dongtan, China and Clonburris, Ireland, which should be constructed within the next few years. If you know of some great cities that are making headway towards urban sustainability, please post your recommendations here. We’d love to learn about the top eco cities according to you!