UN agencies on Wednesday called on countries to invest in technologies and innovations that promote resource efficiency to curb rampant waste and pollution that is responsible for declining human and ecological health in cities.
A joint UN-Habitat and UNEP report launched in Nairobi stressed that cities are key drivers of low carbon transition and governments must prioritize greening of critical infrastructure such as housing, water supply and sanitation, transport and energy.
“The design, construction and operation of infrastructures, such as energy, waste, water, sanitation and transport, create a socio-technical environment that shapes the way of life of citizens and how they procure, use and dispose resources,” said the UN report titled “City Level Decoupling. Urban resource flows and the governance of infrastructure transitions.”
The report, compiled by the UNEP affiliated International Resource Panel, emphasized that proper urban planning alongside investments in resource efficient technologies will power green growth in cities.
The 21st century has witnessed rapid urbanization and this scenario presents new challenge to environmental and human health alongside social and political stability in the absence of policy and legal safeguards.
The UN report decried overconsumption of limited resources that is responsible for rampant pollution and carbon emissions in cities.
“Because the majority of the world’s population now lives in cities and because cities are where most resource consumption takes place, the pressures and potentials to find ways to reconcile economic growth and sustainable use of natural resources is greatest in the metropolis,” noted the report.
It reiterated that it is possible to promote urbanization while maintaining ecological health if governments invest in technologies and innovations that scale up green housing, lighting and transport.
“As cities have grown, mainstream thinking on urban development and planning has increasingly acknowledged the link between human and natural environment. There is need for countries to roll out interventions that help achieve a balance between urban economic development, long-term ecological sustainability and social justice,” said the UN report. [PNA/Xinhua]
The UN report noted that degraded urban infrastructure has negative environmental impacts including pollution of water bodies. Sustainable urban infrastructures have multiple benefits to the environment and could shield cities from potential economic and social instability.
Governments and municipal authorities should invest in infrastructures that stimulate low carbon, resource efficient and equitable urban development.
“Cities should set specific targets to use resources more efficiently, liters of water per unit of GDP, percentage of passenger trips by public transport while favoring procurement activities that are low carbon,” said the UN report. [PNA/Xinhua]
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