Climate Tech reduces emissions and improves urban landscapes and lives

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If we hope to see a climate-resilient world in the coming years, we need to rethink the way we design our urban environments – making them ecologically sound and resilient, sustainable spaces. Possible paths to achieving such goals are certainly winding and difficult, and a range of novel innovations will be required to make urban net-zero targets viable. Admittedly, progress in urban decarbonization has been regularly interrupted and influenced by the ever-changing landscape of climate change, geopolitical dynamics and supply chain challenges. But the climate technology sector is emerging with life-changing solutions that can transform cities around the world.

With targeted research and development, Climate Tech offers urban planners, architectural engineers, developers and contractors a way to focus on a viable, low-emission urban environment. In fact, clean energy innovations are no longer rare; City leaders are now ready to provide practical, climate technology-based solutions to create thriving, adaptable, and vertically integrated cities.

By channeling the power of climate technology, promoting transformative policies, and welcoming community input and policies, city leaders can help us all resist what is sometimes seen as an inevitable evolution beyond the Paris Agreement goals of a temperature rise of 1 .5 °C. Instead, we can imagine our cities as green oases.

From Burden to Revelation: Urban Centers and Climate Technology

Cities face specific and often devastating consequences of the climate crisis – urban areas produce 70% of global CO2 emissions and consume a staggering 75% of global energy. This influence will increase due to rapid expansion: by 2050, more than two thirds of the world's population – around 6.5 billion people – will call cities their home. This will put enormous strain on resources, use even more energy and increase the city's environmental footprint.

What actions can cities take given their burden of carbon emissions and enormous energy consumption? Urban dilemmas related to decarbonization are not hopeless. Investment is needed to redirect urban landscapes towards net zero targets. Here is an overview of recent publications from the Center for Urban Transformation at the World Economic Forum that provide some answers on cities, energy consumption and climate technology.

Previous investments in climate technology: Between 2020 and 2021, investments in climate technology increased to $56 billion. Supportive measures and innovative financing models are crucial for the success of climate technology. Governments and private sector organizations must also work together to incentivize green investments and ensure that regulatory frameworks facilitate, rather than hinder, sustainable development. In the US, the Inflation Reduction Act aims to encourage large-scale investment in the low-carbon energy sector, increasing investment in clean technologies by 225% to $303 billion since its passage. This means that great progress is being made. Global clean energy financing increased 17% to $1.8 trillion in 2023, according to BNEF. Meanwhile, investments in the clean energy supply chain reached $135 billion, and the electrified transportation sector saw a more than 8% increase in funding compared to last year.

Cities of the future and decarbonization: Approximately 60% of the buildings that will exist in 2050 have not yet been built, so cities have a unique opportunity and responsibility to become smarter, more sustainable and more resilient. This means building systems that can withstand the challenges of the future. Experts estimate that global spending on the transition, including areas such as building renovation, could reach $275 trillion between 2021 and 2050. Closing this funding gap requires breakthrough climate technology solutions to accelerate the decarbonization of our urban environment.

Innovative sources for urban decarbonization: The pursuit of innovative clean energy technologies is critical to addressing the climate crisis and achieving sustainability goals. By investing in research, development and deployment of low-carbon solutions, countries can spur economic growth, improve energy security and mitigate the impacts of climate change. To decarbonize, cities must also use innovative building materials, solar panels, green roofs and nature-based climate technologies. A major challenge is to efficiently recycle large quantities of materials.

New regulations drive climate technology innovations: New regulations are being introduced around the world to take into account the environmental impact of building materials. This forces developers to reduce their carbon emissions to meet building standards. With sufficient support and investment from the public and private sectors, climate technology could help make the world's cities more sustainable alongside urban needs.

The connection between buildings and embodied carbon: Understanding and addressing embodied carbon – the total greenhouse gas emissions produced in the production of a building’s materials – is critical. Embodied carbon can account for 80-90% of a real estate developer's annual emissions, but is often overshadowed by emissions from heating, cooling and lighting.

What clean technologies can do for cities: Innovations not only enable the expansion and scalability of promising new resources, but can also have an invaluable impact on urban centers by improving the sustainability of existing resources. Current climate engineering innovations address embodied carbon, make reclaimed materials more usable, and adapt green architecture to develop nature-based building materials.

Reducing energy consumption: As outlined in the IEA report “Energy Technology Perspectives”, innovation is key to the sustainable development scenario. About 35% of carbon reductions by 2070 depend on early-stage technologies that require more research and development, while another 40% depend on technologies that have yet to be deployed. These advances reduce energy consumption and create spaces that promote health and well-being. LEED-certified buildings are designed to be 25-30% more energy efficient than traditional buildings. Addressing the climate crisis requires a fundamental redesign of the existing energy framework, a breakthrough change that must take into account global dependence on existing energy resources and infrastructure.

Nature-based building materials: Nature-based building technology can significantly decarbonize cities. The integration of biophilic design, which brings elements of nature into urban spaces, further increases the quality of life in the city. Reclaimed lumber can significantly reduce the carbon footprint of wood and the demand for new wood. This not only protects forests, but also minimizes waste. A report in the journal Nature estimates that greening just 35% of urban areas in the EU could reduce CO2 emissions by up to 55.8 million tonnes annually. The use of nature-based building materials increases living comfort in cities, helps clean air, improves insulation, reduces pollution and promotes ecosystems that are critical for habitats to thrive.

Final thoughts

The path towards net zero is not a linear path, warns the WEF. But amidst this complexity, climate technology is proving to be a “savior” and a crucial facilitator in resource management. In fact, climate technology innovations promise to accelerate the processes of decarbonization and energy transition and lead cities towards a sustainable future.

While some countries are leading the race to develop and scale such innovative solutions, the transition to a low-carbon economy is not solely the responsibility of individual nations. It requires collective action and collaboration on a global scale. Given this reality, key global policymakers and business leaders are seizing every opportunity to help expand low-carbon climate technologies.