Cities contribute 3/4th Greenhouse emissions

New Delhi: Cities contribute nearly 80 per cent to the global economy, but they also account for nearly three-fourths of greenhouse gas emissions and nearly half of the GDP in cities around the world or $31 trillion is at risk of disruption from nature loss, a new study showed on Monday.

In the report released on the first day of its online Davos Agenda 2022 summit, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said there is an urgent need to protect and add nature back into urban environments to stem this GDP loss. The good news is that nature-based solutions for infrastructure are 50 per cent cheaper than alternatives and deliver 28 per cent greater added value in terms of productivity, while they can also create much-needed jobs – nearly 60 million by 2030 if necessary investments are made. Geneva-based WEF, which describes itself as an international organisation for public-private cooperation, said cities can take a leading role in unlocking economic opportunities with nature-based solutions. The Forum has been hosting its annual meeting in the Swiss ski resort town of Davos for 50 years every January as a congregation of leaders from across the world, but it had to be cancelled last year and has been deferred this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Accordingly, the online Davos Agenda summit is being held for the second consecutive year during the scheduled week of the annual meeting. The virtual event will be held through January 21 and is being attended by leaders from across the world, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Integrating nature-positive solutions can help protect cities from growing risks associated with extreme weather while driving sustainable economic growth," it added. The report has been published by the WEF's 'BiodiverCities by 2030 Initiative', in collaboration with the Alexander von Humboldt Institute and the Government of Colombia. The WEF said the goal of its 2030 initiative is to reverse this existential global threat and move forward with a plan that will result in cities and nature co-existing in harmony by the end of the decade.