Cities are the key battlefields for greenhouse gas mitigation. In China, cities emit more than 75 percent of the country’s total carbon dioxide. With continued urbanization, there will be 200–300 million new urban dwellers by 2050. As a result, cities are central for infrastructure and industrial investment that are primary sources of carbon emissions. Given the long duration of the investment, the development pattern of cities has strong carbon lock-in effects.Program Strategy Overview

The Overarching Goal:

The Low Carbon Cities Program aims to help Chinese cities realize early carbon peaking and neutrality through strategic intervention for deep decarbonization, with low carbon urban infrastructure as a focal point. We intervene in city development via three initiatives: National Policy and Market-Based Mechanism, City Implementation, and Capacity Building and Communication.

Program Initiatives:

1. Support national policy research on city carbon peaking/neutrality, low carbon urban planning, green buildings, sustainable urban infrastructures, and related drivers and enabling policies, such as population, urban finance, and business models;
2. Support pilot cities on comprehensive/specialized planning and low carbon prototype development, including city carbon peaking/neutrality planning, urban space and green transport infrastructure planning, socio-economic planning, as well as innovative pilots on near/net zero carbon buildings, new building energy systems—such as one that integrates solar photovoltaics, energy storage, high efficiency direct current power, and flexible load—buildings as virtual power plants, clean heating, near/net zero carbon zones, and low carbon urban retrofit;
3. Summarize city low carbon best practices, tools, and knowledge, help build city learning platforms, and facilitate communication toward the public, decision-makers, and professionals.