Rio commits to low carbon city development

(photo credit: Mariana Gil, EMBARQ Brazil)

Rio de Janeiro city officials and the World Bank launched the “Rio Low Carbon City Development Programme” at the informal sessions of the United Nation’s Rio+20 conference on sustainable development in June 2012. The programme will monitor and account for climate change mitigation actions across its municipalities

As part of the launch, its vice mayor, Carlos Alberto Muniz released the results of the Rio de Janeiro’s 2005 greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory, a measurement of the city’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (which, by Rio’s climate law, needs to be updated every four years beginning 2012) – using the GHG Protocol tool, to enable the city to understand, quantify and manage its GHG emissions.

Under the programme, the city introduced the urban reforestation and maintenance programme, bicycle rental project and bicycle pathway expansion, which later expanded to other initiatives like bus rapid transit systems, an integrated solid waste management system, recycling policies, and energy efficiency in buildings to reduce its GHG emissions.

Rio de Janeiro aims to reduce 16% of its carbon emissions by 2016 (from the 2005 baseline) and by 20% in 2020, that is 2.3 million tonnes worth of emissions.

(Source: WRI Insights)

To read more: http://insights.wri.org/news/2012/06/rio20-rear-view-look-rio-de-janeiros-new-greenhouse-gas-reduction-program

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