News
-
EMBARQ and WRI experts advance climate finance and greenhouse gas reporting for low-carbon cities
Cities played a key role scaling up climate change solutions and building momentum for climate action at September’s U.N. Climate Summit. Pictured: Rio de Janeiro Mayor and Chair of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group Eduardo Paes. Photo by Juliana Swenson/The Climate Group.
Editor’s note: In the article below, originally published on TheCityFix, EMBARQ Director Holger Dalkmann and EMBARQ Director of Energy and Climate Benoit Lefevre highlight important developments in urban sustainability from September's U.N. Climate Summit.
-
WRI China, EMBARQ China, and city partners launch campaign to educate citizens about benefits of sustainable transport
Beijing transport authorities hope to promote green transport concepts to the public via Tongxin Doudou videos, which feature a lively cartoon character in support of walking, cycling and public transport. Photo by lutmans/Flickr.
Update: 9/30/14: This article has been updated to include information about where the Tongxin Doudou videos have been broadcasted since their launch. This article also previously stated that 22.2% of fine particulate matter in Beijing comes from vehicle emissions. That statistic has been updated to 31.1%, reflecting the most recent estimate from the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau.
-
Partnership will help improve sustainability and livability as Qingdao grows
EMBARQ China’s partnership with Qingdao will help provide a model for sustainable growth for emerging cities worldwide. Photo by Hercule le Poireau/Flickr.
As an important port city in northern China, Qingdao has been a key business hub over the past century, and is becoming even more influential as China emerges as a new commercial center of the world. However, rapid urbanization and increasing vehicle use have caused many problems in the city – similar to other rapidly growing cities worldwide – including traffic congestion, increased greenhouse gas (GHG) and local air pollutants emissions, and water shortages.
-
Dr. Lee Schipper’s legacy continues to inspire three years after his passing
The Lee Schipper Memorial Scholarship for Sustainable Transport and Energy Efficiency is awarded annually to up to two extraordinary candidates to honor the legacy of Dr. Leon J. Schipper, pictured above, co-founder of EMBARQ. Photo by EMBARQ.
EMBARQ, the sustainable transport program of the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, and the Lee Schipper family are pleased to announce that young researchers Erik Vergel-Tovar and Madeline Brozen have been selected to receive the 2014 Lee Schipper Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship will help both recipients contribute to the advancement of sustainable transport and urban mobility.
-
New tool to model the world’s energy, land, and food systems seeks expert comment before August 29, 2014
The newly released 2050 Global Calculator illustrates the potentially disastrous impacts of failing to act on climate change, and highlights sustainable transport as pivotal to containing global temperatures. Photo by Metrovía/SIBRT.
EMBARQ, together with Climact and the United Kingdom Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), has modeled global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the transport sector as part of the 2050 Global Calculator tool.
-
Workshop examines the potential for new initiatives to combat air pollution and improve quality of life
Beijing hopes to take the lead in combating rising car ownership, traffic congestion, and air quality to become a model for sustainable urbanization and economic growth in China. Photo by Shreyans Bhansali/Flickr.
Fueled by rapid motorization and urbanization, adverse impacts from the growing urban transport sector in Beijing are looming large. Looking ahead, preparing the city for five million additional residents by 2020 and simultaneously promoting economic growth, providing safe and efficient accessibility, and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and air pollution presents huge challenges and opportunities for city leaders. Sustainable transport can contribute to each of these targets, helping establish Beijing as a leader in healthy, people-centered urbanization.
-
New Delhi, India inaugurates the weekly car-free event in efforts to improve air quality and promote sustainable active transport
Raahgiri Day features a range of activities for participants - including yoga, cycling, dancing, and more - helping citizens reclaim their streets and bring physical activity back into their day. New Delhi recently became the fourth city in India to host weekly Raahgiri Days. Photo by Raahgiri Day, New Delhi/Facebook.
Raahgiri Day – the weekly event that closes streets to cars in the name of sustainable, active transport – has arrived in the world’s second largest city.
-
Lessons learned on London study tour will help Beijing reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and ease traffic congestion
As car ownership increases in Beijing, so have air pollution and traffic congestion. EMBARQ China will help the city explore congestion pricing and low emission zone (LEZ) strategies to combat these dual challenges and improve quality of life for the city's 11.5 million residents. Photo by Jens Schott Knudsen/Flickr.
In June, researchers from EMBARQ China and engineers from the Beijing Transportation Research Center (BTRC) visited London, United Kingdom to learn from its successes with low emission zone (LEZ) and congestion pricing strategies.
-
EMBARQ India experts explore health, environmental, and economic impacts of BRT at Asia Low Emission Development Strategies (LEDS) workshop
Asia is emerging as a growing market for bus rapid transit (BRT) due to its rapid urbanization. Three Indian cities alone, including the city of Indore (pictured), have launched BRT systems in the past 18 months, with two more in the planning stages. Photo by EMBARQ.
While bus rapid transit (BRT) has been most widely implemented in Latin America, Asian cities are emerging as the next great market for BRT. Together, these two regions account for 63% and 26% of global BRT ridership respectively, though that balance is shifting.
-
Experts from the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities explore “common challenges and shared solutions” for sustainable, livable cities
The city-state of Singapore played host to the 2014 World Cities Summit, which saw over 120 mayors convene to discuss common challenges and solutions for making cities more livable and sustainable. Photo by Nicolas Lannuzel/Flickr.
The decisions that city leaders make today will impact the lives of billions of urbanites for decades to come. Not only are cities home to half the world’s population – with that figure set to increase to 70% by 2050 – but the long life of urban infrastructure for basic services like water, energy, and transport means that the next decade is crucial for putting cities on the path to sustainable growth.