The Impact of Urban Economic Activity on Climate Change

This paper presents an overview of global climate policy with a focus on the role of cities in climate action. Urban economic activity is considered to be a major factor of greenhouse gas emissions which are responsible for climate change. Now cities account for more than 70% of global emissions. Taking into consideration high urbanization rates, it is possible to predict further emissions growth. Based on the latest data and research, this paper examines main sources of emissions within urban boundaries, such as urban form, energy sector, transport, buildings, waste. Cities are also centres of economic activity, innovation, technological developments and human resources. The analysis shows that cities may elaborate a set of effcient solutions to cut greenhouse gas emissions, such as sustainable urban planning, a higher use of renewable energy sources, green spaces preservation, transport mode shift, energy efficiency improvements and others. Thus, cities are likely to take a centre stage in addressing climate change.