02/07/2017 10:55 AM IST | Updated 24/09/2018 6:55 PM IST

Cities Rally Around The Paris Deal, A Reminder That Global Problems Can Have Local Solutions

Luc Soete, United Nations University


Given that the US is one of the world's largest greenhouse gas emitters, its June 1 reneging on the deal delivered a blow to the global agreement. But, as many commentators were quick to point out, as long as other leaders didn't follow Trump's lead, it was largely a symbolic one.


Making the planet great again

China has reiterated its support for the Paris agreement, and India, the world's fourth-largest greenhouse gas emitter, seems likely to continue the renewable energy revolution already underway there.


"Make our planet great again," French President Emmanuel Macron retorted from the Élysée Palace on June 1, inviting American scientists to France for work on developing solutions to climate change.


More than any other European leader, the 39-year-old French president seems to represent younger generations' concerns about climate change. And, of course, the Paris agreement wouldn't be the Paris agreement without France.

Heat islands


US cities, companies, universities and states are now taking the initiative to cooperate directly with other countries and coordinate initiatives on reducing greenhouse gas emissions via the UN's Non-State Actor Zone for Climate Action portal (NAZCA), which recognises the importance of sub-national actors in climate action. As of June 24, 331 US cities had adopted the Paris agreement, and at a mayors' conference that concluded yesterday in Miami Republican and Democratic leaders supported

These pledges may not be legally binding, as they are when countries sign agreements, but the commitments of US cities, states and companies, which will be reported and measured through NAZCA's data partners, may well have a significant environmental impact.

As former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, a billionaire philanthropist who has invested US$15 million in American cities' effort to engage internationally, said about mitigating climate change in a recent interview on National Public Radio, "Local governments can do something, state governments less and federal governments almost nothing."

Large cities give rise to the "urban heat island" effect, in which heat-trapping concrete and asphalt replace natural vegetation and water. This steamy situation is exacerbated by heat from cars, subway systems, air conditioners and the like.

Asphalt, buildings and other urban realities can trap heat.NOAA/Wikimedia

According to new research reported in the journal Nature Climate Change, the heat island effect in the world's most populous cities - a clutch of sprawling megalopolises that includes Chicago, Houston, and San Diego in the US, as well as Shanghai in China and Lagos in Nigeria - is expected to add two degrees to global warming by 2050.




In Chicago, the City Hall's green roof helps keep things cool.TonyTheTiger/Wikimedia, CC BY-SA

According the the study, converting just 20% of a city's rooftops and half of its pavements to modern heat-reducing versions could save up to 12 times what they cost to install and maintain, and reduce local air temperatures citywide by up to 0.8°C.

As study author Richard Tol has noted, "City-level adaptation strategies to limit local warming have important economic net benefits for almost all cities around the world. It is clear that we have until now underestimated the dramatic impact that local policies could make in reducing urban warming."

Global problems, local response




Mayors and governors are also the public officials responsible for common infrastructural needs that can help population centres mitigate climate change, such as reinforcing dikes and improving public transit - eco-friendly investments that also improve quality of life for residents.


The world's response to Trump's withdrawal from the Paris agreement is a powerful reminder that global challenges - not just climate change but also conflict, migration and others - are profoundly intertwined with local and regional issues.

At a time when countries' openness to the world has become a matter of contention, many of the world's most pressing problems still require not just active international collaboration between nation states but also engagement on all levels of government, whether the administration in Washington likes it or not.

Paris, in this sense, was just the beginning.

Luc Soete, Professorial Fellow, United Nations University
