4 Cities Harming the Environment and What They’re Doing About It

Cities are a key contributor to climate change.

As home to 56% of the world’s population, cities produce more than 70% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. High levels of economic activity mean high energy use, particularly in the building and transportation sectors.

Building cities takes significant resources, and massive highways and parking lots do not capture carbon or prevent flooding as trees and wetlands do.

How cities are bad for the environment

As a result, cities produce significant amounts of air pollution. About 86% of people living in cities have seven times greater exposure to air pollutants than World Health Organization guidelines. This excess exposure impacts physical health and can even make you dumber.

Cities also produce lots of waste and will keep making more. By 2050, cities will discard 3.4 billion tons of garbage. Not only does it take up valuable land, but waste also produces methane, making it responsible for 5% of GHG emissions globally.

While there are about 14,000 cities around the world contributing to this problem, a recent report found that 25 mega cities (almost half of them in China) produce 52% of global GHG emissions.