CITIES are shouldering too much of the blame for heating up the planet, while the effects of deforestation, agriculture and wasteful lifestyles are not getting the attention they deserve.
So says David Satterthwaite of the International Institute for Environment and Development in London. Some 75 to 80 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions are usually attributed to cities, but calculations he publishes in Environment and Urbanization () tell a different story.
Emissions from within city boundaries may make up as little as 30 to 40 per cent of the total, he says. Taking into account the emissions generated by producing goods and services consumed by city dwellers raises the figure to 60 to 70 per cent. This is still lower than the usual figure, and most of it is accounted for by rich North American and European cities.
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鈥淚鈥檓 sick of cities being blamed,鈥� says Satterthwaite, who claims city dwellers use cars less and have smaller, better-insulated homes than rich rural dwellers. The key to greening cities, he says, is to have excellent public transport and safe pedestrian and cycling routes, as in many European cities.
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