PROJECT SUNROOF
Coping with Climate Change in Copenhagen In the European Union , one city is setting the pace for a reduced carbon footprint , Copenhagen , Denmark . Home to more than half a million residents , Copenhagen produced a scant 2.8 tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2014 , compared to 7.3 tonnes produced on average by other EU countries .
As a result , Copenhagen is expected to be the first city on the planet to be carbon emissions neutral by 2025 . How do they do it ? To start , Copenhagen cuts down on heating emissions , which is the greatest source of all carbon emissions in the EU , by using heat and power plants , along with waste incineration . By this method , more than half of the city ’ s heating fuel comes from a form of biomass .
As for the city ’ s electricity , currently four percent are powered up from a large wind park located in Copenhagen ’ s harbor ; however , an investment of 100 wind turbines , on and off shore , along with 700 million Euros , will increase this capacity to half of the city ’ s electrical production by 2020 . The next move is to increase legislation on the national level . While Copenhagen is pushing toward carbon neutral , its founding nation of Denmark continues to lag behind in the emissions conversation .
According to C40 executive director Mark Watts , Denmark still more progress to make . “ There have been no incentives for geothermal ,” Watts said , “ which we could use in the district heating system instead of fossil fuels , and there has been no investment in solar since the government cut [ feeding ] tariffs .” Copenhagen may be the forerunner in the world ’ s race to cut down emissions , but they are far from reaching the end of their mission . Cities like San Francisco and Copenhagen lead the way toward carbon neutral neighborhoods , but eventually the move to make cities more eco-friendly will require the collaboration of entire states , countries and continents . If the world ’ s largest cities want to push for the most progressive reform on greenhouse gases , global warming , climate change and carbon footprints , then they need the global support of their nation ’ s legislation and infrastructures .
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