Cutting-edge research unveils an exceptional orientation for dozens of European cities to accomplish their net zero carbon emission aspirations within the forthcoming decade. All that is required is the successful incorporation of nature into their urban landscapes.
A groundbreaking study recently conducted by intellectual scholars from Sweden, the U.S., and China, divulged in the authoritative Nature Climate Change journal, discloses that an estimated 54 European metropolises hold the potential to slash their carbon emissions by an impressive 17.4% on average. The proposed avenue to such a dampening in emissions is simple – nature-based approaches such as parks, aesthetic boulevards, and rooftop verdure.
The true prowess of these strategies, however, lies in their capability to transcend their original purpose of carbon capture. As evidenced by Zahra Kalantari, a leading arbiter in the study and associate professor at KTH Royal Institute of Technology dealing in the field of water and environmental engineering, these solutions are multifaceted tools combating climate change. They can measurably reduce not only a city’s emissions but also pare resource consumption.
Green spaces in cities, whether it be parks or verdant havens, can induce better-ecological practices like walking and cycling. Other eco-conscious options that Kalantari and her study’s co-authors explored ranged from urban cultivation, water-permeable pavements enhancing groundwater recharge, slimmer roads boasting higher flora populace, and protective endeavors aiming to uphold wildlife habitats.
The wealth of data collected from preceding studies substantiated that the multi-faceted integration of these solutions could concurrently sequester carbon, accord low impact land and travel utility, balance city and transport emissions, capture air impurities and modulate temperature changes simultaneously. Additionally, their implementation can improve access to green spaces and curb the ‘heat island’ phenomenon commonly associated with urban locales.
This comprehensive merger of nature-based solutions to evaluate their conjunct effect presents a fresh perspective in the study, according to Kalantari. The study also proffers directive recommendations on the priority allocation of these solutions to optimize their efficacy. For instance, the capital of Germany, Berlin, would ideally prioritize green residences and urban green spaces to achieve prospective reductions of carbon emissions in residences, industry and transportation by six, thirteen and fourteen percent respectively.
Surprisingly, the analysis also unearthed that the eastern cities in the European Union held the potential to enjoy the highest carbon reduction, registering at 20.3%, swiftly followed by their northern counterparts whose carbon emissions could be curtailed by 18.2%.
The customary climate change combat tool of carbon sequestration, which engages the trapping of carbon in solid or liquid states, however, was surprisingly overshadowed by these other nature-based solutions. The key to this discovery lies in the profound influence of these solutions on human behavior – an instrumental component in climate change mitigation.
The research paper concludes on a note emphasizing the inevitable policy implications their findings infringe upon for execution of nature-based solutions, thereby reiterating the exigency for a comprehensive understanding of the socio-economic, industrial and cultural aspects unique to each city along with the behavioristic aspects connected to such solutions.
