Category: Homes

Cities can change the game: the fight against emissions and air pollution

Fossil fuel bans jump fivefold in 2020

The pandemic has thrown into stark relief the global battle of cities for cleaner air and a better future. The 2021 edition of REN21’s Renewables in Cities Global Status Report, the only stock-taking of cities’ energy transition efforts worldwide, shows that one billion people live in cities with a renewable energy target or policy,^{^[i]} The number of cities that have enforced partial or complete bans on fossil fuels jumped fivefold in 2020.^{^[ii]}

For the second year, REN21 takes the temperature of how cities worldwide use renewable energy to battle emissions to prevent air pollution and climate change.[iii] More than half of the global population lives in cities, which account for three-quarters of global final energy consumption.

“With their impact at scale, cities are our best bet to plan, develop and build a renewable future. But all too often their potential for transformation remains massively underused,” says REN21’s Executive Director, Rana Adib. “It’s a tough job to turn low-carbon ambitions into reality in built and densely packed environments. National governments must put money, capacity and above all legislative powers into the hands of local authorities.”

Cities must transition to renewables and set end dates for fossil fuels in all sectors

A critical factor for the success of cities’ climate strategies is to rapidly replace fossil fuels with renewable energy in heating and cooling as well as in transport. These sectors are responsible for the biggest share of global emissions, and they are best addressed at the local level.

The report shows that often, purchasing renewable electricity for the city’s own operations is one of the first steps local leaders take. But according to Adib, this is not enough. “Cities like Hamburg, San Francisco and Shanghai show, the more ambitious they are, the more they think of renewable energy everywhere. They impose strict building codes and renewable energy obligations. But most importantly, they set an end date to the use of gas, oil and coal.”

By 2020, 43 cities had done so and enforced fossil fuel bans in heating and/or transport, five times as many as in 2019.[iv] In total, one billion people – about one-quarter of the global urban population – live in cities with a renewable energy target or policy.[v] “But as inspiring as these examples are,” says Adib, “we are still a far cry from what is needed to curb climate change in time.”

A flavour of clean air and clear skies

Last year’s lockdowns with the sudden disappearance of traffic, the complete alteration of lifestyles resulting in cleaner air and less noisy environments, have given citizens a flavour of how alternatives to packed roads and polluted skies could look.

City leaders are now building on this momentum, moving away from polluting fossil fuels and building clean and resilient energy systems in their place. “Growing citizen support gives Santiago a real mandate to take action against climate change. Our residents demand that the government take bold measures,” explains Isabel Aguilera, Environmental Director for the city of Santiago (Chile).

The race towards renewables is an obstacle course

The Renewables in Cities 2021 Global Status Report also shows that besides emission reductions, many other local benefits await those who take their energy future into their own hands: from the creation of local jobs and welfare to greater quality of life and healthier citizens. “The transition to a zero-carbon economy presents tremendous economic development opportunities for Orlando and the Central Florida region, some that we are already beginning to see stimulate our local economy, improve public health, reduce environmental impacts, and create meaningful high-wage jobs for our residents,” says Mayor Buddy Dyer of the City of Orlando (Florida, USA).

Sometimes, like in recent examples from Japan and the Republic of Korea, city governments can even push national governments to be more ambitious.[vi] But, while the report features encouraging stories from all regions of the world,^[vii] the large majority of cities have not yet figured out how to take ambitious action, or they lack the power and resources to do it.

“Provide cities around the world with support”

Even those who seem ready and willing to move forward, run into obstacles. All too often, powerful fossil fuel interests put a stop to cities’ decarbonisation plans.

“It’s a sad fact that wherever in the world cities seek to phase-out fossil fuels, the industry puts a lot of resources into fighting back.

“They take local authorities to court or, as seen recently in the US, convince state policymakers to make it legally impossible for cities to take such decisions at all,” says Adib.

Martina Otto, heading the cities work at the United Nations Environmental Programme, concludes: “There is huge untapped potential. We can both increase the level of ambition and progress in meeting national climate commitments if national and regional governments around the world provide cities with support well beyond the creation of better financial conditions. Getting over territorial boundaries to empower cities means unleashing the power of our strongest allies.”

About REN21 and the Renewables in Cities Global Status Report

REN21 is the only global renewable energy community of actors from science, governments, NGOs and industry. We provide up-to-date and peer-reviewed facts, figures and analysis of global developments in technology, policies and markets. Our goal: enable decision-makers to make the shift to renewable energy happen – now.

The Renewables in Cities Global Status Report is an annual stock-take of the global transition to renewable energy at the city-level. The 2021 edition has been co-authored by over 330 experts and is endorsed by an Advisory Committee of 20 organizations including city networks.

[i] 1,300 cities worldwide have either a renewable energy target or policy in place. Globally, over 830 cities in 72 countries have binding renewable energy targets and around 800 cities have implemented policies to help advance renewables in their cities. See table below for more details.

Selected countries with renewable energy targets, net-zero targets and/or policies in cities

	Cities with renewable energy targets	Cities with net-zero targets	Cities with renewable energy polices	Cities with renewable energy targets and/or policies	Share of urban population with renewable energy targets and/or policy (%)
Country	(#)	(% of global total)	(#)	(% of global total)	(#)	(% of global total)	(#)	(% of global total)
United States of America	337	40.4%	112	14.1%	357	44.7%	479	36.17%	28%
Italy	59	7.1%	47	5.9%	97	12.1%	150	11.30%	47%
Germany	61	7.3%	13	1.6%	90	11.3%	140	10.55%	40%
United Kingdom	94	11.3%	45	5.7%	24	3%	106	7.99%	73%
Spain	15	1.8%	17	2.1%	62	7.8%	72	5.43%	34%
South Africa	7	0.8%	5	0.6%	31	3.9%	34	2.56%	40%
China	6	0.7%	8	1%	21	2.6%	25	1.88%	38%
Sweden	24	2.9%	24	3%	8	1%	25	1.88%	46%
Netherlands, The	8	1%	8	1%	20	2.5%	22	1.66%	43%
Canada	15	1.8%	25	3.1%	2	0.3%	16	1.21%	36%
Japan	10	1.2%	103	12.9%	3	0.4%	11	0.8%	40%
Republic of Korea	5	0.6%	2	0.3%	1	0.1%	5	0.4%	55%
GLOBAL TOTAL	834		796		799		1327		25%

[ii] See data on fossil fuel bans below.

[iii] More than 10,500 cities globally had adopted CO2 emission reduction targets, and around 800 cities have committed to net-zero emissions in 2020 – up sharply from the 100 cities with such commitments in 2019.

[iv] See data on fossil fuel bans below.

[v] See endnote (i) above.

[vi] Local governments in Japan have been instrumental in pushing the national governments to commit to carbon neutrality and/or adopt net-zero targets. As part of the Korean Local Governments’ Action Alliance for Carbon-Neutrality, 226 local governments that had already declared a climate emergency by September 2020, pushed the national government to commit to carbon neutrality by 2050.

[vii] Data has been collected on hundreds of cities, ranging from mega-cities to small and medium size cities and towns. The report features specific case studies on: Adelaide (Australia); Palmas (Brazil); Recife (Brazil); Yaoundé IV (Cameroon); Cocody (Côte d’Ivoire); Rajkot (India); North Lombok Regency (Indonesia); Jakarta (Indonesia); Seoul (Republic of Korea); Dakar (Senegal); Cape Town (South Africa); Malmö (Sweden); Tsévié (Togo); Kampala (Uganda); Oxford (UK); Orlando, FL (USA).

Additional case studies that will be provided as supplements are: Vancouver (Canada) and Heidelberg (Germany).

Data about city-level fossil fuel bans

The entire data set for the report is available here

Summary: There are 66 cities worldwide with a proposed and/or passed fossil fuel bans for heating and cooling and/or transport. In total these 66 cities have 67 bans as 1 city has both a ban for buildings and one for transport. (Note: not all of them have been enforced yet). Regarding enforcement: 4 went into force before 2019, 4 went into force into 2019, and 35 went into force in 2020; for a total of 43 enforced in 2020. 20 will go into force in the future. Plus 4 for which there is no known enforcement date. Date of enactment: 11 were voted before 2019, 37 were voted in 2019, and 13 were voted in 2020. Plus 6 for which we have no date; for a total of 67.

Raw data:

Country	City	Banned technology/fuel	Bans and restrictions in buildings	Vehicle bans and restrictions	Policy status	Year of enactment	Year of entry into force
Australia	Sydney	Coal	X		Proposed	2018	2035
Australia	Australian Capital Territory (Canberra)	N/A	X		Passed	2020	2025-2045
Austria	Vienna	Oil and gas heating	X		Passed	2020	2020
Canada	Montreal	Oil furnaces	X		Passed	2016	2017-2021
Canada	Vancouver	Natural gas	X		Passed	2016	2030
China	Handan	Coal	X		Passed	2017	2017
China	Taiyuan	Coal	X		Passed	2017	2017
China	Xingtai	Coal	X		Passed	2017	2017
France	Paris	oil	X		Passed	2020	2022
Germany	Hamburg	Oil	X		Proposed	2020	2021
Netherlands, The	Amsterdam	Natural gas	X		Passed	2020	2020-2040
Poland	Krakow	Coal boiler, fuelwood in boilers, stoves and fireplaces	X		Passed	2013	2019
Sweden	Stockholm	Coal	X		Passed	2019	2022
United Kingdom	London	Natural gas ban	X		Passed	2019	2019
United States	Alameda, CA	Natural gas	X		Passed	2019	2020
United States	Albany, CA	Natural gas ban	X		Passed	2016	2020
United States	Berkeley, CA	Natural gas	X		Passed	2019	2020
United States	Brisbane, CA	Natural gas	X		Passed	2019	2020
United States	Brookline, MA	Oil and gas	X		Passed	2019	2021
United States	Burlingame, CA	Natural gas	X		Passed	2019	2020
United States	Cambridge, MA	Natural gas	X		Proposed	2019	N/A
United States	Campbell, CA	Natural gas	X		Proposed	2020	N/A
United States	Carlsbad, CA	Natural gas	X		Passed	2019	2020
United States	Cupertino, CA	Natural gas	X		Passed	2019	2020
United States	Davis, CA	Natural gas	X		Passed	2019	2020
United States	Hayward, CA	Natural gas	X		Passed	2019	2020
United States	Healdburg, CA	Natural gas	X		Passed	2019	2020
United States	Los Altos Hills, CA	Natural gas	X		Passed	2019	2020
United States	Los Gatos, CA	Storage; natural gas	X		Passed	2019	2020
United States	Menlo Park, CA	Natural gas	X		Passed	2019	2020
United States	Mill Valley, CA	Natural gas	X		Passed	2019	2020
United States	Millbrae, CA	Natural gas	X		Passed	2019	2019
United States	Milpitas, CA	Natural gas	X		Passed	2019	2020
United States	Morgan Hilll, CA	Natural gas	X		Passed	2019	2020
United States	Mountain View, CA	Natural gas	X		Passed	2019	2020
United States	Newton, MA	Natural gas	X		Proposed	2019	N/A
United States	Oakland, CA	Natural gas	X		Passed	2019	2020
United States	Ojai, CA	Natural gas	X		Proposed	2020	2020
United States	Pacifica, CA	Natural gas	X		Passed	2019	2020
United States	Palo Alto, CA	Natural gas	X		Passed	2019	2020
United States	Piedmont, PA	Natural gas	X		Passed	2019	2020
United States	Redwood City, CA	Natural gas	X		Passed	2020	2020
United States	Richmond, CA	Natural gas	X		Passed	2019	2020
United States	San Francisco, CA	Natural gas	X		Passed	2020	2020
United States	San Jose, CA	Natural gas	X		Passed	2019	2020
United States	San Mateo, CA	Natural gas	X		Passed	2019	2020
United States	Santa Cruz, CA	Natural gas	X		Passed	2019	2020
United States	Santa Monica, CA	Natural gas	X		Passed	2019	2020
United States	Santa Rosa, CA	Natural gas	X		Passed	2019	2020
United States	Saratoga, CA	Natural gas	X		Proposed	2019	N/A
United States	Seattle, WA	Natural gas	X		Proposed	2020	2021
United States	Sunnyvale, CA	Solar; natural gas ban	X		Proposed	2019	2020
United States	Windsor, CA	Natural gas	X		Passed	2019	2020
China	Shanghai	Diesel trucks		X	Passed	N/A	2022
China	Xi’an	ICE Vehicles		X	Passed	2018	2019
France	Strasbourg	ICE Vehicles		X	Proposed	2020	2025
Germany	Stuttgart	Diesel vehicles		X	Passed	N/A	2020
Greece	Athens	Diesel Vehicles		X	Proposed	2016	2018
India	Delhi	Diesel Vehicles		X	Passed	2015	2020
Italy	Rome	ICE Vehicles		X	Proposed	N/A	2024-2030
Korea, Rep.	Seoul	Diesel and gasoline vehicles		X	Proposed	2020	2035
Netherlands, The	Amersfoort	ICE Vehicles		X	Passed	N/A	2021
Netherlands, The	Groningen	ICE Vehicles		X	Passed	N/A	2022
Spain	Barcelona	ICE Vehicles		X	Passed	N/A	2020 – 2021
United Kingdom	Bristol	Diesel Vehicles		X	Passed	2019	2021
United Kingdom	York	ICE Vehicles		X	Passed	2020	2023
United States	San Francisco, CA	ICE Vehicles		X	Proposed	2019	2030

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Rewind to just one year ago and preschools were a babbling place of fun. Little ones learning how to engage and interact with each other freely while gaining the foundational skills that will inform their schooling career.

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Increase investment in Africa or miss the UN’s SDG deadline

A Standard Chartered survey conducted between July and August 2020, amongst a panel of the world’s top 300 investment firms with total assets under management (AUM) of more than USD50 trillion*, found that:

Only 3% of their AUM is invested in Africa
Lack of investment in emerging markets puts the chances of meeting the 2030 SDG deadline at risk
Of those already investing in Africa, 93% say they will likely increase their investment in the future

Africa is not getting the investment needed to help the world meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, new research from Standard Chartered has revealed.

The $50-trillion question investigates how some of the world’s largest asset managers – with a combined USD50 trillion in AUM – are investing at this critical time for the global economy and the environment.

Emerging markets are seeing a massive shortfall in investment

Our research shows that almost two thirds (64%) of the panel’s AUM is invested in the developed markets of Europe and North America, while just 3% is in Africa.

Asia, which includes several developed markets, takes 22%, while just 2%, and 5% of the assets are invested in the Middle East and South America, respectively.

The risk posed by emerging markets was flagged as a major barrier to investment. More than two-thirds of investors believe emerging markets are high-risk, compared to 42% who believe the same for developed markets. More than half of the panel (53%) believe returns from investment in Africa are low or extremely low, with almost three in five investors (59%) saying that they are deterred from investing because they lack in-house specialist teams.

In contrast, those already investing in Africa are optimistic about the region, with 93% saying they are likely to increase investment in the future. 54% of Africa investors said their investments had performed as well as – or better than – their developed market investments over the past three years. The figure for emerging markets overall was 88%. However, Covid-19 may have made it even harder for emerging markets to get the investment they need. Some 70% of investors believe the pandemic has widened the capital gap further.

Which markets are getting the most investment?
North America	26%
Europe	38%
Asia	22%
Middle East	2%
Africa	3%
South America	5%
Australia/Oceania	4%

Not enough investment is linked to the SDGs

The research points to a growing focus on sustainability, with 81% of investment firms now taking a disciplined approach to environmental, social and governance investment. However, this is not translating into investment in the SDGs. Only 13% of the assets managed by our respondents is directed towards SDG-linked investments. Some 55 % claim the SDGs are not relevant to mainstream investment and 47% say investment in the SDGs is too difficult to measure. However, one-fifth of investors admit that they were not aware of the SDGs. Respondents point to regulatory changes, favourable tax treatment, evidence of higher returns, better data for measuring impact, and increased demand from retail investors as the top five factors that might spur on more SDG investment.

What are the tools and incentives to encourage SDG investment?
Regulation that encourages SDG-linked products	74%
Favourable tax treatment of SDG-linked investments	63%
More evidence that investing in SDGs will not lead to underperformance	63%
Better data to measure the impact of SDG investments	53%
Retail investor demand for SDG-themed investments	53%

Sunil Kaushal, Regional CEO, Africa & Middle East, Standard Chartered said there is still investment gap in Africa to realise the SDGs and this creates an opportunity for us to make a difference where it matters the most.

“A significant surge in private-sector investment – alongside public investment and commitments – will be required to bridge the gap and hit the SDG targets over the next ten years. Right now Covid-19 has made the imperative to act even stronger in the region.”
Sunil Kaushal, Regional CEO, Africa & Middle East, Standard Chartered

“There is no single answer to The $50-trillion Question, but it is evident that investors need to expand their focus beyond developed markets. Africa, and emerging markets generally, offers investors a unique opportunity: strong returns combined with the chance to have a significant, positive impact in the long term.”

The $50 Trillion Question study follows the publication of Opportunity2030: The Standard Chartered SDG Investment Map which first revealed the multi-trillion-dollar opportunity for private-sector investors to help achieve the SDGs in emerging markets.

*The $50 Trillion Question Investor Panel is made up of asset managers from the world’s top 300 asset management companies. With combined assets under management (AUM) worth more than USD50 trillion (the equivalent to half of global GDP), how the asset managers in our survey choose to invest will have a huge impact on humanity’s ability to solve some of the world’s biggest problems. This study is based on in-depth interviews with the panel, conducted between July and August 2020.

The below shows the panel broken down by AUM, role and location, all of which ensure it is representative of the global top 300 asset managers.

You can read the full Standard Chartered $50 Trillion Question report here.

The $50-trillion investor panel
by AUM	by generalised job role	by location
19% are top 10 firms (over USD1 trillion) 46% are top 11-50 Firms (USD1 trillion to USD350 billion) 23% are top 51-150 firms (USD350 billion to USD90 billion) 12% are top 151-300 firms (USD90 billion to USD20 billion)	42% fund managers 41% strategists 17% emerging market specialists	42% are based in North America 42% are based in Europe 8% are based in Japan 3% are based in China 5% are based elsewhere

Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered PLC is listed on the London and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges. Follow Standard Chartered on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

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My Clean Green Home: Call for partners

The City of Cape Town (CCT), with support from the Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA), have co-created a design competition for the ultimate “clean green home”. This competition is targeted at students and professionals of the built environment and forms part of the Cape Town Future Energy Festival, a series of virtual event experiences designed to include all Capetonians in the city’s future energy story.

The virtual festival runs until January 2021 and will culminate in a physical event in the first quarter of 2021 at which the winning My Clean Green Home design will be constructed and displayed. The brief is to design a net-zero carbon unit for display and exhibition purposes.

The Future Energy Festival is seeking project partnership and support in the means of building materials, appliances, furniture, and building-related services to support this unit being fully realised. A net-zero carbon building is defined as “a building that is highly energy-efficient, and the remaining energy use is from renewable energy, preferably on-site but also off-site where absolutely necessary, so that there are zero net carbon emissions on an annual basis”.

Quantities of materials will be finalised in December once the design is completed. Closing date for project partnership submissions is 30 November 2020. Project partnership terms will be concluded by 30 January 2021 when the construction of the My Clean Green Home will be completed.

Project partners will receive the following marketing opportunities:

Association with the Cape Town Future Energy Festival and net-zero carbon design:

An opportunity to showcase your product and align your offering with energy-efficient and net-zero carbon goals.

Physical display opportunities in the unit itself: Each project partner will be given a space of 1 x A3 (portrait orientation) on the display unit near where their product is being used to educate the reader about the product and advertise your company. Include links & QR codes. Project partners are to provide their own artwork printed on card and laminated. Final artwork is subject the festival organiser’s approval. In addition, there may be a project partner wall as part of the unit, pending final design, and space allowances.

Acknowledgement and thanks in My Clean Green Home communication on the festival’s digital platforms, including the website and social media channels (at least 2 social media posts acknowledging all project partners) and any other My Clean Green Home communication material that is developed.

Please see the list of items below and get involved by completing this form

We are seeking project partners and support in supplying the following items:

Roof sheeting
Guttering & downpipes
Insulation to walls & roofing
Ceiling boards
Sisilation Roof timbers (structural timbers & battens)
PV Panels & battery pack Geyser / Solar water heater
Light switches & wiring
Indoor lights – LED Outdoor lights – LED / solar
Sanware: taps Sanware: shower rose & base
Sanware: sink & basin taps
Sanware: toilet Plumbing services
Electrical services
DB Board
Doors & windows (timber option)
Doors & windows (aluminum option)
Glazing to doors & windows
Sanware: kitchen sink & taps
Joinery: Kitchen countertops
Joinery: Bedroom
Joinery: study/utility cupboard
Joinery: kitchen
Appliances: Fridge
Appliances: Washing Machine
Appliances: Stove (gas) hob & oven
Appliances: kettle / toaster / microwave
Water tank & reticulation
Walling boards (internal)
Walling/cladding (external)
Floor boards
Fireplace Paint – low VOC
Carpets/flooring
Floor & wall tiles & adhesives
Recycling Bins
Composting bin
Washing line
Furniture: Couch, table, chairs, bed, bedside table, cupboard, bedside light
Veggie boxes & soil
Plants
Fencing & latte

More on The Cape Town Future Energy Festival in +Impact 0.8 (page 86):

The Novolam Collection Anti-Bacterial Properties

The Novolam Collection, the brand of decorative products by Sonae Arauco, is present in all areas of our lives: in the rooms in our homes and in public spaces, the places where we live and work. We offer a decorative solution that brings beauty and safety to your spaces. Novolam products with melamine surfaces are a decorative solution with antibacterial properties. In addition, Novolam can accommodate use for domestic and commercial requirements and can be safely used in the production of domestic or commercial furniture, provided all other hygiene requirements are complied with.

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