Praying for COP28 - Transport & Urbanisation

COP28 - 6 December 2023
Transport & Urbanisation

Today’s focus at COP28 is on urbanisation, the built environment and transport. In some ways cities can provide low-carbon living: with public transport, shared amenities, even shared heat. On the other hand cities have historically been centres of air and water pollution, and can often put a strain on neighbouring rural areas. Either way, cities around the world are here to stay, and are growing rapidly.

Wise and innovative design of the built environment and transport is essential to keeping our carbon footprint low and limiting climate change. The COP Presidency says this day will “highlight solutions to transition to low-carbon and resilient built environments and infrastructure, sustainable and circular waste systems, and sustainable mobility and freight. The day will particularly look at action in urban areas, where population growth, economic activity and greenhouse gas emissions converge”.

A short prayer

Lord Jesus, the Bible shows us that the first job a human ever had was to tend a garden. A garden is really an urban green space. Help us as we pray for your world, in a time of climate crisis, to love our job of tending the garden. Help us to do it well. Help us to love nature. Help us to love cities - and to build cities that are good for humans and nurture creation. By your Spirit, Lord, we pray. Amen

A longer prayer

Dear Lord, the bible shows that we are all en route from a garden (Eden) to a city (the New Jerusalem). The city you have in mind includes a river and trees; it is a place lit up by your presence; it contributes to the healing of the nations.

We pray earnestly today, for the delegates at COP28 to be steered by your spirit towards the right kind of policies and practices.

We pray for cities which, however big, can offer safety and dignity to everyone who lives there.

We pray for cities that can offer clean water, clean power, clean transport services and decent work to all their inhabitants.

We pray for cities with space for nature.

We pray for cities that nurture economic development alongside social development, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

We pray for cities that benefit the areas around them.

Somewhere in heaven is the blueprint for the perfect city. Here on earth today important people will be debating the best way to develop transport, buildings and urban spaces. By your spirit we pray that you would help us humans to hear the best ideas, miss the worst ones, and move towards all that’s good. Amen

From the Bible

Revelation 21:15-22:2

The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits thick. The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.

I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendour into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

Issues

Historically, populations have flocked to cities in search of better employment opportunities and an improved standard of living – escaping rural poverty. In reality, there are a plethora of reasons why people move from rural areas into cities, including better healthcare, education, security, infrastructure and services, cultural diversity, technological advancements and many more. There is also now an influx of ‘rural migrants’ into cities who are actively moving away from the physical climate risk that rural communities are particularly vulnerable to, be it droughts, floods, and other natural disasters.
Because of these reasons, we now live in an age of mass-urbanisation where cities have grown so big that we have 33 cities worldwide known as mega-cities – defined by having a population of 10 million people or more. The largest of these, Tokyo, has an urban population of around 37.5 million people living in an area of ~13,500 km2. According to the Institute of Economics and Peace, by 2050 we will have a further 14 mega-cities to add to this list. “Today, 55% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, a proportion that is expected to increase to 68% by 2050”. The UN. This concentration of people and the amenities required to service them leads not only to population hotspots, but also emissions hotspots. According to the UN, cities consume 78% of the world’s energy and produce more than 60% of greenhouse gas emissions.
It’s not just about how we live, but also about how we move. Transport plays an important role in how we interact with the built environment and is a critical piece of the net zero puzzle. Much of the existing transport infrastructure was not built with a low-carbon future in mind. There are alternatives available, but have they got the capacity to reach the scale necessary and will they be affordable for the masses?
In recent weeks and months, you may have heard the term ’15-minute cities’ thrown around by politicians and public figures. The term 15-minute city is fundamentally an urban planning and design framework that aims to provide residents within a town or city with all the basic services they need – schools, medical clinics, gyms, parks etc, within a 15-minute walk or cycle from their front door. The idea has been around for years, and it aims to simply reduce our dependence on cars, improve quality of life, and create more sustainable and resilient urban environments. From Ventient Energy

Hope

Heat pump central heating systems are now out-selling gas boilers in the USA. In Norway (which of course made itself rich by exporting oil) electric car ownership is now at 93% and the total cost of car ownership is down by 20% as a result (from the ‘Rest Is Politics’ podcast, 7 Nov 2023).
Norway, additionally, has almost eradicated oil, gas and coal from the heating systems in newly built properties, and is making rapid progress replacing fossil fuel in existing properties. This is helped with additional taxes on fossil fuels and subsidies for their alternatives, which helps low-income households to switch; and has seen a growth in district heating. As well as helping to slow climate change this has brought benefits in terms of jobs, cleaner air and environmental protection (Grantham Institute Report: De-carbonising Buildings)

Housing for the most vulnerable usually comes from the informal sector: slums, shanty-towns. Here it has been hard to find safe, decent, low-carbon housing. The Roof Over Our heads (ROOH) project aims to provide resilient, quality, low-carbon housing for two billion people by 2050. “Women work with the construction industry, engineers and architects and explore ways by which they can transform homes to ones that can survive extreme weather conditions.” (Climate Champions ).
See also Casa Real - doing similar work in Mozambique
Manzanillo rising: A Cuban city thriving in face of climate change. In the picturesque Cuban city of Manzanillo, where urban planning and nature intertwines, a model for resilience is emerging. From mangrove restoration to electric tricycles, discover how the city is confronting each climate challenge head on

COP28 discussions

Today’s dialogues at COP28 include:

Cities leading the way on sustainable food & climate
Freight-to-0: urban freight decarbonisation.
Multi-level round table on urban water resource
Multi-level round table built environment
Nature-positive cities

Find out more

Flying

Migrating aviation to carbon-free fuels could require up to 1,700 terawatt hours (TWh) of clean energy by 2050. To generate this amount of power, it would take the equivalent of between 10 and 25 of the largest wind farms in the world today, or a solar farm half the size of Belgium. These are the key takeaways of a new whitepaper on decarbonized aviation co-authored by the World Economic Forum and McKinsey.
The industry will have to work hard to curb its energy consumption while moving to low-carbon and carbon-free alternatives from the fossil aviation fuels currently used. To help this transition, the US Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grand Challenge, announced in September 2022, offers funding to demonstrate new fuel and aircraft technologies. Similarly, the European Union Parliament and Council have just agreed the ReFuelEU Aviation regulation. It mandates that aviation fuel suppliers increase the amount of sustainable aviation fuel (biofuels, recycled carbon fuels and synthetic aviation fuels). Experts also estimate that aircraft running on hydrogen and battery-electric powertrains could make up around a third of the global commercial and cargo aircraft fleet by 2050.
It’s a tall order and the aviation industry must start to ramp up now if it is to meet 2050 goals. Entering into partnerships with other industries will be vital in the process, not least to secure enough green electricity and hydrogen supplies, which are still highly constrained. Climate Champions: by Andrea Willige, Senior Writer, May 9, 2023).

Shipping

The movement of goods around the world by sea causes a significant, and rising, emission of CO2. If shipping were a country it would be the eighth largest emitter. The USA and Norway are leading the ‘Green Shipping Challenge”. It includes a drive for all countries to present ideas and make commitments at COP28 on things like zero-carbon fuel, zero-carbon shipping and green lanes.

COP28 - 6 December 2023Transport & Urbanisation