By the end of 2020, more than 1 billion people about 25% of the urban population lived in a city with a renewable energy target and/or policy. A total of 1,300 cities from the Americas to Sub-Saharan Africa have demonstrated leadership in advancing renewables, with some municipal governments pushing for higher ambition and more rapid change than at the national level.
City governments in more than 830 cities in 72 countries had set renewable energy targets in at least one sector (power, heating and cooling, and/or transport). Over 610 of these cities had set 100% renewable energy targets. Despite this momentum on target-setting, data challenges remain related to tracking progress and identifying the scope of application.
Did you miss that? Hamburg district is completely supplied with renewable energy
Around 800 municipal governments had implemented regulatory policies, financial and fiscal incentives and indirect support policies to enable the uptake of renewables in buildings and transport city-wide. Contrary to national-level trends, city-level policy portfolios are expanding rapidly beyond the power sector, reflecting increasing urban efforts to decarbonise also heating and cooling and transport.
800 cities committed to net-zero emissions by 2020
More than 10,500 cities globally had adopted CO2emission reduction targets, and around 800 cities have committed to net-zero emissions by 2020 up sharply from the 100 cities with such commitments in 2019. Such targets have created opportunities to deploy energy efficiency and accelerate the supply and use of renewable energy.
Did you miss that? Electrify vehicle fleets to boost decarbonisation
There has been growing citizen pressure on different levels of government to act on climate change. As a result, 1,852 cities in 29 countries had declared climate emergencies by 2020 (up from around 1,400 by the end of 2019). At least 231 municipal governments had submitted a climate action plan alongside their declaration, some of which have been used to support renewable energy deployment, the report states.
Join a webinar today
Join a webinar today March 25, 2pm, co-hosted by the Covenant of Mayors for Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and REN21 to learn more about: the role of local governments in SSA in advancing renewables to fight energy poverty, and opportunities and barriers for cities. There is chapter dedicated to SSA cities in the new Renewables in Cities Global Status Report, which will be highlighted in this event. This event in English with simultaneous translation into French. Register here (hcn)
