Opinion: As cities lead on climate, national governments must pitch in

As a former mayor, I know cities are key to winning the battle against climate change. Cities produce around 70% of global carbon emissions through traffic congestion, manufacturing, and poorly insulated homes and workplaces. In the lower-income world, rapidly growing cities produce ever-increasing amounts of domestic and industrial waste without proper disposal infrastructure in place. Compounding this, the effects of COVID-19, conflicts, and climate change itself — the “triple C” of contemporary crises — are often felt most acutely in urban areas, straining their resources and damaging their environment further. Despite often giving the right signals and voicing the right commitments, national governments have, in all honesty, continually fallen short of delivering effective climate policy. Meanwhile, cities are increasingly at the front line of the required responses. I have been inspired by urban leaders and planners in Japan since my first working visit to the country in 1997. Japanese cities have shown sophistication and creativity in delivering the Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goal 11 of making cities “inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.” In my discussions with Japanese policymakers during my recent visit to Japan, I heard strong voices for cities and sub-national governments as crucial players on climate and the environment. In order to grow sustainably and ensure our planet remains habitable in the long term, we must create cleaner, more liveable cities. --— Decarbonization requires a host of innovations. We need green infrastructure, green buildings, and renewable energy. The costs are undeniably high — expected annual adaptation costs globally in 2050 could reach more than $4.5 trillion. However, there is increasing evidence that innovative technologies that will speed up decarbonization are available for cities in both the low- and high-income settings. Fukuoka, the main city on Japan’s Kyushu island, has provided a prime example. In the 1970s, the city, along with its university, developed the Fukuoka Method to reduce landfill fires, pollution, and other hazards. Cheap to build and maintain, the method quickly became used across Japan and then in more than 15 countries around the world, including my own, Malaysia. In short, this method introduces air into the lower levels of a landfill site to allow the solid waste to “breathe” and decompose more quickly. Pipes drain away leachate or contaminated water and the level of contamination is reduced. It is described as the “semi-aerobic” landfill method. Now, this method has gained relevance to achieve carbon-neutrality, as it strongly decreases the emissions of methane and carbon dioxide from landfills. In 2011, the Fukuoka Method was designated by the United Nations as an effective technology for mitigating global warming. UN-Habitat, the organization I lead, has since helped to introduce it to Ethiopia, Kenya, and Myanmar, all with support from Japan. In order to grow sustainably and ensure our planet remains habitable in the long term, we must create cleaner, more liveable cities. Without bold leadership and the proper resources, this is next to impossible. I am inspired when working with cities like Fukuoka as an example of how leaders can create thriving, vibrant cities that move towards net-zero emissions while simultaneously serving as a resource for others around the world. In UN-Habitat’s conversations with city and community leaders across the world, we routinely find that they request expertise and experience, especially in environmental technology. It is up to us to empower and support these local leaders through both technical expertise and partnerships. This November, at the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP 27, in Egypt, we will hold the first housing and urban development ministerial meeting on cities and climate change. I hope that these discussions will lead to stronger collaboration between different tiers of government and their involvement with other actors to move towards achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change. We also plan to launch a sustainable cities initiative, with the COP 27 presidency and more than 100 stakeholders, to generate new resources for climate action in cities. National governments, specifically, are invited to join the initiative and offer their support to local action. With the SDG target date of 2030 looming large on the horizon, I hope that national governments can dramatically raise the stakes and do much more to move toward our climate targets.