KBRA Releases Research – Cities Plan for Low-Carbon Transition

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--KBRA releases a report examining the fundamentals behind sustainable city planning for the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Cities have significant decarbonization potential even though the power sector accounts for the largest share of global emissions growth. Home to over 50% of the world’s population, cities’ concentrated energy demands are responsible for an estimated 75% of final energy use and generate roughly 70% of human-induced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Almost one-half of large U.S. cities, covering approximately 40 million people or 12% of the nation’s population, have adopted direct carbon reduction targets as of 2020. Most of these targets conform to the Paris Climate Accord’s goal of 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050 but relatively few align with the goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. This is the threshold that the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)—the agency tasked with assessing climate change—considers necessary to limit global warming to 1.5°C.

Key Takeaways

• Cities are well positioned to lead progress toward decarbonization. Results so far vary.
• Stakeholders, including investors, desire consistent benchmarking metrics and accessible tracking of the decarbonization progress.
• GHG emissions reduction is often not the sole focus of cities’ decarbonization strategies. To ensure broad stakeholder buy-in, GHG reduction plans often incorporate ancillary socioeconomic goals such as the creation of green jobs and fair approaches to the sharing of decarbonization benefits and hardships.

Click here to view the report.

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About KBRA

KBRA is a full-service credit rating agency registered in the U.S., the EU, and the UK, and is designated to provide structured finance ratings in Canada. KBRA’s ratings can be used by investors for regulatory capital purposes in multiple jurisdictions.