Future of cities

Eleven years since the C40 group was established, it has grown to over 80 members, and are already working to reduce their collective carbon emissions by a total of more than 3 gigatonnes by 2030.

The resulting task at hand is one which requires a great amount of work to realise, yet one which has already seen great achievements. So far some 11,000 actions have been taken by C40 cities to begin reducing carbon emissions, which shows a promising drive towards the agreed commitments.

The next four years are crucial to maintain and build on this momentum and will, if actioned correctly, result in a much-improved likelihood of aligning with globally-agreed targets at the national level. This is an exciting time for cities to work alongside private businesses and use ground-breaking technology to achieve their 2020 and subsequently 2050 emissions targets.

Publications

Deadline 2020: How cities will get the job done

CoP21 in Paris committed signatories to “holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 degrees, and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees.” What does this mean for Cities?

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We can help you design and implement the technology you need

Arup produced the Deadline 2020 report, in partnership with C40 and, as a result, gained deep insight into the challenges faced by cities to achieve their emissions targets. The pathways proposed by Arup will detail exactly which actions need to be taken by whom and when; many of these will require new, or different, collaborations with the private sector.

The actions which have already been taken by cities have chiefly been ones over which they have a large amount of control, sometimes with little private sector aid. Now to build on that good work, effective collaboration needs to happen between businesses and cities, and new relationships must be brokered.

Private businesses need to understand what challenges cities are facing in order for them to innovate and offer the right solutions for cities to hit their targets.

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Integrated energy planning is necessary for a low carbon urban future. Innovative solutions using renewable technologies, such as microgrids, together with city action networks and new funding mechanisms will make the difference. It is these big technological and political shifts that are giving cities the opportunity to take control. ” Alan Thomson Global Energy Leader

With our reach, our depth of knowledge and our standout collaborative approach, Arup is uniquely positioned to broker vital relationships between cities, local and national governments along with the private sector. By combining our experience of what works with local understanding of the issues, we create the opportunities for both private sector collaboration and implementation of the proposed solutions.

We can help you unlock available funding and finance

Financing is a key challenge for cities investing in new, greener technologies and infrastructure. However, the potential cost of inaction has been projected to far outweigh the initial investment costs.

Globally, programmes are now in place to improve cities' access to funding and finance. For example, the C40 Cities Finance Facility (CFF) alone will provide $20m of support by 2020 to help cities access up to $1.24bn of additional capital.

In addition to bilateral and multilateral funds such as the CFF, cities need to utilise increasingly innovative methods to fund and finance low-carbon interventions in the built environment. Only through creative funding and financing initiatives such as infrastructure value capture can we ensure that the public and private sector share both the value, and the cost of investing in a low-carbon future.

Only through creative funding and financing initiatives such as infrastructure value capture can we ensure that the public and private sector share both the value, and the cost of investing in a low-carbon future.

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We need to bring in citizens and the private sector. We must reach the leaders of global finance, to join us in bringing about the energetic and ecological shift towards a climate safe world. ” Anne Hidalgo C40 Chair and Mayor of Paris

"Green, low carbon, low emissions solutions are no longer the risk they were once considered. The technology is commercially ready. The cost is competitive. We need to place these innovations at the heart of urban transport; cities collaborating with the private sector to support faster delivery mechanisms that will accelerate application.”

Isabel Dedring

Global Transport Leader, Arup

The prime city engineers

For cities to make meaningful changes in infrastructure, cities need to understand the full scope of who benefits, how value is created, how it is to be designed, how it is to be funded, financed and finally, how it is to be constructed.

Arup’s consulting expertise is shaped by our engineering heritage and informed by our diverse skills and experience. We bridge both worlds, combining strategic and commercial acumen with specialised design and technical engineering advice.

A recent example of Arup’s involvement helping to overcome engineering challenges, is the design of London’s Central St Giles.

Arup provided structural and fire engineering on this project and used extensive 3D modelling technology to enable the development to receive a BREEAM Excellent rating.

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Arup is committed to accelerating this necessary climate action in cities. Our evidence based, data analytical approach allows us to understand what works, and why it works. We continue to work with cities, their businesses, infrastructure providers and citizens to design and deliver solutions that will lead to meaningful action. ”
Paula Kirk Director