[Alex Smith]   Do you feel despair about your government's lack of action to protect our climate? Wait, while big government stalls and fails, cities around the world are stepping up. There is a wave of cities switching to renewable energy. The Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century keeps track of all this. They just released their Renewables and Cities 2019 Global Status Report. For the latest, we reached Rana Adib executive secretary of REN 21 at the headquarters of the United Nations Environment Programme in Paris. 

[AS]   I appreciate talking with you. When American President Donald Trump announced withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord, what was the reaction of city mayors around the world?

[RA]   Around the world indeed, many cities, many mayors have condemned President Trump's decision and really use this also as an opportunity to reaffirm their commitment to uphold to the Paris Agreement, and by this also underline the role that cities and mayors play in addressing climate change. Dozens of cities worldwide such as Stockholm, Cape Town, Mexico, Paris lit public buildings in green to really underline their climate engagement.

And yes I think as the movement has even been stronger, approximately almost 300 American cities took part in the "We're Still In" movement. https://twitter.com/wearestillin?lang=en

Three hundred fifty mayors have adopted the Paris Agreement through the Climate Mayors Agreement.  That also includes the 10 largest American cities, and there were really many, many cities and mayors announcing after this context also or after this retreatment and announcement of President Trump that they were engaged in 100% renewable energy targets.

[AS]   According to the United Nations, more than half the humans on this planet now live in cities, it's about 55%. How much of our greenhouse gas emissions come from cities?

[RA]   Cities actually accounts for approximately 75% of the global Tier Two emissions. This was linked directly to their energy consumption, so the fossil fuel consumption, but also indirectly through the consumption that would be energy contained in materials and other consumptions. I think this really shows why cities are key in addressing the transition. Especially as the population today as mentioned about 55% the urban population, but it's expected to increase to almost 70% by 2050. So, it's fundamental that cities do move out of fossil fuel towards efficient and renewable energy based system.

[AS]   What aspect of city life Rana, creates the most greenhouse gas emissions? Is it transportation? Is it heating, cooling building, or what?

[RA]   This is really something which depends very much on the cities. It depends on the city size. It depends on the regions of the cities, but there are certainly two aspects or let's say three big bulk energy consumption, which is one clearly everything, which is linked to the electricity production or supply. The other part is the whole energy consumed in the building sectors, on buildings. On average, buildings account for approximately 40% of Tier Two emissions in cities. Then obviously transport is the third big topic. The shares will really depend very much on the region and the cities, so this should be infrastructure.

For instance, cities with big airports or harbors, the degree of industrialization in the city, et cetera, have a major influence on the consumption and basically the consumption patterns.

[AS]   Well Rana, please take some time to tell us some success stories of renewable powered cities. I'd like to hear about the United States, and about Britain, and about Latin America, talk to us about all this.

[RA]   I think one thing, which is very clear is that cities worldwide do engage some of the renewable energy transition. It's not really possible to say that there is in general global or regional trends actually. Even though it is very clear that the government structure does have an influence on city engagements, and so if city governance really do have an authority to organize their energy consumption and production, they can be more active entities, [versus those] which do not have the financial means or the authority over energy.

RENEWABLE CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES

Now, when we're looking into the United States, there are five cities that have already transitioned to 100% renewable power. So, this is the electricity part. It's really interesting to look into these cases because we also see that cities are driven by different parameters actually. There is Aspen, Colorado and here, Aspen does have a municipal utility, which already shows that they can determine very much their energy strategy. They have reached 100% renewable energy or 100% renewable energy goal was set by Aspen City, and the municipal utility really engaged into this to reduce basically the energy cost of the municipality. They actually managed to reduce it quite significantly and also plan to continue with using it.

A similar situation is in Burlington, Vermont where they had basically determined 100% renewable electricity target also and produced their own electricity from wind, solar photovoltaics, and biomass including also biogas from landfill gas, but also by buying renewable energy certificates. This is really something, which has again been driven very much by cost but also by citizens who really, I guess to some extent some energy democracy. With the result that for instance 80% of city voters have supported the purchase of the local hydropower plant by the city's municipal utility, but also engaging and through the investment like a district heating network. So I think here, we really see that there is a lot of drivers, which come from the citizens on one side, so the whole energy governance would also really reduce the cost.

When we're looking at the case of Greensburg in Kansas, a driver here is very clearly energy security and resilience of energy infrastructure. Greensburg has been hit by a massive tornado, and that the city has basically determined at that time or defined a 100% renewable electricity target, but also developed a massive sustainability plan in response to this. They have started to build up a wind farm five miles outside of the town.

Then there is a clearly Alaska, Kodiak Island for instance, in Alaska. The reality is that the rural communities depend very much on fossil fuel inputs, so diesel import. This leads to the fact that the energy cost is extremely high compared to national average, approximately 50% higher. Kodiak Island as such been determined a goal or defined a goal to produce the electricity locally. Today, 95% of the community's electricity needs are covered by renewable electricity in particular with wind and hydropower.

The fifth city already producing 100% renewable energy in the US is Rock Port in Missouri. They announced themselves actually as the first 100% wind-powered community in the United States. There is in addition to these cities, which already have 100% renewable electricity targets reached, 135 US cities that have 100% renewable energy targets set between the date of 2020 until 2050, and today some of them are already going beyond those agreement.

Again, I'd say drivers are cost. Driver is governance. Driver is also the possibility to create not only safe energy cost but also creating additional income for the municipalities because their cities are able to produce excess electricity or excess energy, which they can sell again, and this creates yearly income for municipalities.

Another aspect again, and this is for instance something we see in Chicago, which is the largest city in the US that is committed to 100% renewable energy. Here, there's this famous Resilient Chicago Plan, which has been launched in 2018. Here, very clearly, it's really in response to basically hurricanes, et cetera.

RENEWABLE CITIES IN THE UK

[AS]   Yes. Let's talk about the UK. We've got listeners there, and it's really important what happens in the UK, I think.

[RA]   In the UK, one part which is really interesting is this so-called Merton Rule. It's the London borough of Merton actually initiated this measure in 2003 and this has changed a lot, basically the possibilities for municipalities to engage in the renewable energy transition as it enables local authorities to set higher energy standards in buildings than those established at the national level.

I think it's also something which is very important because what we see in UK cities is they're not only engaged in basically in the electricity transition, so transitioning the electricity consumption to a renewable electricity consumption, but they are really also strategically developing renewable energy in the heating and cooling sector and in the transport sector. This is something which is fundamental because heating, cooling, and transport accounts for more than 80% of the total final energy demand. So, cities really play a key role here.

Some examples are Bristol, in reference to the first city to really develop a comprehensive solar map for homes and businesses.  And this is something we clearly see: the cities that are able to inform citizens but also businesses, potential investors, on the potential on the locations where renewable energy can be developed, et cetera, are already creating a very good basis for action. So, this is something which is very important to have to be able to have informed decisions about policies but also about investments.

I think the case of London is also really interesting because it has another driver, which we see very much in particular in big cities, also in cities with more industrialized zones. This is not only in Europe or the US, it's very much in Asia. For instance in China and India where you have the most polluted cities, actually are in India. London launched for instance, a strategy to phase out the installation of fossil fuel heating in the 2020s. It also addressed very much the congestion issue in London because road transportation, but also heating does contribute significantly to local air pollution, and this is a major health issue. I think it's approximately, if I am not mistaken, 4.2 million premature deaths per year. This also represents a huge amount of economic cost for the societies.

At London, what they've also done, they have moved very much of their transport and here the public fleets to electric mobility, but also to biomethane. So, biomethane is either biogas from organic waste, or landfill gas from municipal solid waste, which is cleaned up and upgraded to be biomethane which can replace natural gas. This natural gas can then be used in natural gas vehicles.

What is interesting is that London has also used their procurement rules I guess, to determine the type of fleets they were using on buses, also on waste trucks, but they have also defined ultra-low emission zones for instance. This directly has an impact on city players, and not only city players but the taxi fleets, or delivery fleets that need to adapt basically to this rule and make other procurement choices.

RENEWABLE LATIN AMERICA

[Alex Smith]   This is Radio Ecoshock. I'm Alex Smith with my guest, Rana Adib from the Renewable Energy Policy Network, and we're talking about the good news coming from cities as they turned towards renewable power. I was surprised when looking at the handy maps in your new status report that Latin America is surging ahead in various cities. Could you just talk to us about that too, please?

[Rana Adib]   Yes. So we see in Latin America for instance, when we're looking at the CDP's self-reporting, and the CDP is the Carbon Disclosure Program. Here, cities have the possibility or self-reporting on climate relevant indicators. So, it's a questionnaire. Here, we see in the CDP data for instance that many Brazilian cities already reached very high shares of electricity consumption coming from renewables. This is for instance linked to the fact that in Brazil, in the national power grid, they already have quite a high share of renewable electricity because of hydropower and as a result for cities, it is quite easy I guess, to move in that direction. So, this is one aspect.

The other aspect is however, and here we clearly see that Latin American cities are also leading when we're looking into electric transportation. This is not only road transportation, but it's also the development of public transportation metros in particular. There's a case of Santiago de Chile that has deployed 200 electric buses, which is the largest electric fleet actually in the region and is also expected to increase more significantly to reach basically the city's targets of reaching 80% of the city buses by 2022.

There is a case of Buenos Aires where they introduced electric buses. Again, I'm coming back to Chile, because Chile has also developed the Metro, and with the development of the Metro, they have a target to produce 100% of the electricity from renewable energy and are also investing in renewable power capacities. There is also the case of electric transportation in Bogota, and Curitiba, Mexico City, Montevideo, Sao Paolo. Here again, we do see that a driver is very much air pollution. We also see that for instance, everything which is metros developing public transportation is also linked to the fact that we're talking about very congested cities here, and that congestion really leads to high economic costs. I think it can go up to, I don't recall, but really huge amounts of the GDP of the country.

I think another technology, which is very much developed over Latin America is indeed everything, which is solar heating and mandates. Here we have cases in Brazil and Mexico City, where the development of solar heating is really mandated by the city in the new buildings, but also projected basically in the integration in existing buildings already.

[AS]   Surely we could do even better in the future if the cities mandated things like solar panels on every building or even solar receptors right in building materials and roads. Do you see room for even more sustainable power coming directly from urban areas themselves?

[RA]   Yes. I do think there is a lot of ... Again, this obviously depends very much on the city themselves because it depends on the density for instance of cities and the infrastructure of cities, and this is where basically urban planning is fundamental and driving the transition. There are many rooftops. There is a possibility, and I think this is when we're thinking about low-hanging fruits or how to avoid CO2 emissions, it's very clear that today, we still see if I'm not mistaken, it's approximately 60% of new buildings that are still built without having any energy related mandate. That is obviously something, which needs to be addressed right away.

Here really, developing net zero emission buildings but also net zero emission districts is fundamental, but also on the smarter integration of the different activities to make movement more optimized. So, there were some movement to make a circular economy. So, when we're looking into waste streams, et cetera, and the interface to energy, there is a lot of possibilities here.

Today, there are many, many landfills worldwide which are still emitting methane, which is I think over 20 times are more impactful, harmful than CO2 into the atmosphere because of landfill gas is not captured. This is basically, I mean I would say that it's almost today it's kind of a crime because a) It does have direct climate impact, but it's also a lost opportunity in terms of developing a local renewable energy resource. So, that's clearly one of the other things which needs to be addressed worldwide. Then yes, solar photovoltaics, solar panel, linking this to heat pumps depending on the region. So when you have cold areas, we see a development of offshore wind for instance, there is many, many potentials.

I think there is a possibility to produce the energy in the city boundaries, but what we also see as cities represent 80% of the GDP. This means there is a huge economic power, which can be used to invest in renewable energy not only in cities but also in suburban and rural areas, and really create opportunities for the non-urban areas to be part of the transition and also benefit of the transition. I think in a moment where there is a lot of questions on how to drive a just transition, it is something which is very important to look at. Cities do not only operate in their own boundaries, but that there are real great opportunities for innovative business models and also policies to drive a transition with the regions and also at the national level.

[AS]   Well, we have to keep it real here. Becoming a 100% renewable city does not mean that there are no emissions coming from that city. What is the relationship between the all critical greenhouse gas emissions and renewables in cities?

[RA]   So the reality is that... we ask how much cities are emitting in terms of CO2 emissions? They are responsible for 75% of the CO2 emissions, but they are also responsible for two thirds of the global energy demand. Maybe carbon impact comes actually from the consumption of fossil fuel for producing electricity, for producing heating and cooling or thermal energy, partly also in industrial processes, and for burning basically the fossil fuel for transportation.

It is very clear that cities have addressing the energy consumption in cities and making cities move to 100% renewable energy has globally a major impact on the carbon emissions, and even more so as cities are expected to grow significantly.

MAKING THE INVISIBLE VISIBLE

[AS]   If emissions are increasing, even as cities work to switch off fossil fuels, there must be more cities that could go for renewables but are not. So, I have a small suggestion for you. Rana Adib, have you considered adding a look at cities that are ripe for conversion, and maybe a list of those who are not really trying but should be? Maybe you could put that in your next report.

[RA]   That's certainly a very interesting suggestion. This report is the first edition of the reporting we're starting. So, we're into this producing since 2005 an annual report on the status of renewable energy worldwide. The approach here really to make the invisible visible. So make renewable energy visible, make the opportunities renewable energy visible, the benefits, the investment opportunities to upgrade, et cetera.

With the cities report we have chosen a very similar approach. We also see that it's something which is really fundamental because there is a lot of ambition of cities which is communicated. And it's not always clear how this is really translating into very concrete renewable energy action, and so capacities, jobs, economic opportunities, et cetera. It is clear that we need to consolidate basically, get a better understanding of what this really represents to also support cities in voicing these opportunities and their role in the transition.

I think this is something which is very fundamental because we clearly see that cities cannot drive the transition in isolation. National policy framework obviously do have a major influence on the possibilities how cities can operate. This is not only energy related questions, but it's also the general city governance and municipal. What is the role of municipal governance in a country?

So, the focus here of for the moment is to first really build up over time a good database on the evidence on what it really means, the renewable energy developments in cities. Then obviously, I think it's very important not to only speak about the good examples, but also have at least some examples where we speak more about the missed opportunities. So, I'm pretty sure this will come up in the future, but also that's for instance something we clearly say and the Renewable Global Status Report which is looking at the renewable energy development globally.

Here, we have now set some two years and especially this year, we were quite outspoken on the fact that the acceleration, the transition is not going quick enough. In the power sector, the share of renewable electricity is of 26%. This is where it is increasing because of the development in particular of solar photovoltaics and wind. This is, I'd say the success story of renewable energy.

We clearly see that it's not enough and needs to accelerate more, but the problem is actually that in heating, cooling, and transport, which is more than 80% of the total final energy demand, we only have a share of 3% in transport, and 10% in heating and cooling. So building up the evidence and what is happening in renewable energy is also a possibility to inform decision makers about the fact that we are not on track, and that much more needs to happen.

[AS]   Does your account of renewables for cities include electricity from nuclear power as renewable?

[RA]   No, definitely not for many, many reasons. Nuclear power is not renewable.  And in terms of climate change, very clearly, nuclear power is indeed not emitting CO2 emissions, but it's clearly not climate resilient and does have many physical, and economic, and environmental impacts. So in Europe for instance, now in summer during the heat waves, many nuclear power plants could not be cooled anymore. With an increasing temperature, this will become more and more difficult, and as a result a major risk for humanity and the nature.

[AS]   Rana, you were educated as an industrial engineer. You worked in the private sector at one point. What took you from the old world tech to new world energy? I wonder, is your personal pathway also a sign of renewable energy awakening?

[RA]   Actually you might be astonished but even when I started working, so basically this was in '97. I started in applied research at the time, and I was already working on renewable energy for energy access in developing countries, developing business models, but also how this can be used for water. When I worked in the private sector, I was working at the interface between waste, water, energy, and transport by developing a bioenergy program.

I think this was something, which I feel is also encouraging. Even the private sector and industry are engaged, and there are many, many opportunities. I also feel that if we are serious about the transition, it's a transition which needs to be, and this is linked to the fact also that the economic system is very much fossil-fuel centered. So, it is very clear that it is important to also accompany and transition these players, so businesses and private sector to take advantage of the business opportunities renewable energy and energy efficiency do present. I was always working more in the renewable energy and environmental sphere, and in different types of organizations.

[AS]   Please tell how our listeners can find summaries of this good news on renewable cities. Where can they get the report? Where should we go?

[RA]   So the best thing is to go on www.ren21.net/cities. This is our website, and right away you will land on the cities report. You can also contact us on our email. So this is re_cities@ren21.net. I'll also make a call because the cities report is building on a community of experts. So, it's very collaborative effort of experts worldwide. It's like a big jigsaw puzzle, and we're really keen on engaging with players who can help us to build and enlarge our databases even more.

[Rana Adib]   So, please contact us here and participate in this endeavor. The next report production will already start in January, February. So, looking forward with interested persons.

[Alex Smith]   From the group Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century, we have been speaking with Executive Secretary, Rana Adib. Find links to their new report about cities switching over, including maps and a lot more in my show blog, or go direct to www.ren21.net. Rana, thank you so much. I'm Alex Smith for Radio Ecoshock.

Check out the Radio Ecoshock website. We are at ecoshock.org.