Which is the World’s Most Sustainable City?

As discussed in a previous article, deciding which city in the world is the most sustainable is a challenging feat. There are simply too many factors at play to thoroughly analyse and evaluate the carbon footprint of an entire city’s residents to be able to rank them accurately and confidently.

However, many cities around the world are making conscious efforts to reduce their emissions, clean up their act and set themselves apart in terms of being environmentally conscious. Here are a handful of forward-thinking locations around the globe which deserve plaudits and merit emulation from the rest of us, if we are ever to dispense with fossil fuels and prevent global warming.

Milan, Italy

As one of the fashion capitals of the world, it’s little surprise that Milan is setting trends elsewhere, too. Over recent years the city has suffered from alarmingly poor air quality and in response, the government has pledged €35 million towards sustainable mobility models. Foremost among these is a scheme to pay commuters to cycle to work, as opposed to driving or taking public transport.

Georgetown, TX, USA

Texas has not exactly enjoyed a stellar reputation when it comes to environmental issues. With Denton as the home of hydraulic fracturing, the southern state has contributed its fair share to emissions in the US. For that reason, it might be all the more surprising that the city of Georgetown has committed to garnering 100% of its energy from green methods by 2017. Heavy investment in both solar and wind farms has meant that transitioning to renewables makes economic sense as well as ecological sense.

Helsinki, Finland

The Nordic nations have long been known as frontrunners when it comes to sustainable methods of living. In the Finnish capital, there are plans afoot to set up a “mobility on demand” infrastructure by 2025. This would involve a Smartphone app linked to a far-reaching web of rentable bikes, taxis, ferries and carpool options to allow people to move around the city quickly and in a way that minimises their carbon footprint.

Oslo, Norway

What did I just say about the Scandinavians? The Norwegian capital is hoping to slash emissions levels in half (from 1990 levels) by 2020 by banning all cars from the city centre in 2019. Developing public transport and encouraging the use of bicycles should help to improve air quality and reduce transport-related pollution no end. Meanwhile, the city is also planning to phase out fossil fuels entirely within 35 years and will begin by divesting pension funds from the energy source.

Hamburg, Germany

In a world where we are producing far too much waste, Hamburg is seeking to attack such profligate items as plastic cutlery, bottled water and single-use coffee pods. Public officials are to be prohibited from spending taxpayer’s funds on the first two items, while the pods have been banned altogether due to their unrecyclable nature. At a time when we need to be determining the value of waste materials as fuel feedstock rather than simply consigning them to the landfill, Hamburg has taken the initiative in identifying some of the more contaminating everyday items and attempting to eradicate them from its society.