The world has never been more urban than it is now, and this trend isn’t expected to slow down anytime soon. By 2050, the world will have grown by 2.5 billion additional urban dwellers, with almost all of this growth occurring in cities in the developing world. The right ecosystem for change can make sustainable urban solutions a reality—not just in a few cities, but worldwide. Presented by Ani Dasgupta, Global Director, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, at the ICLEI World Congress in Seoul, South Korea, April 9, 2015. Read more on #TheCityFix: http://bit.ly/1Pp7rdU

1. COOPERATION BETWEEN
RESEARCH INSTITUTES &
LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
ICLEI World Congress – Seoul, South Korea – April 9, 2015
ANI DASGUPTA, GLOBAL DIRECTOR, WRI ROSS CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE CITIES, WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE (WRI)
Photo : Andrew Stokols

2. Sources: Land use and emissions, UN-HABITAT. Infrastructure needs, Resilient Cities. Air pollution and
traffic fatalities, WHO; IEA. 2008. World Energy Outlook 2008. Paris: International Energy Agency;
Communitas Coalition, 2014. Universal Access to Affordable Housing. CO2 figure: UN-HABITAT
>70%
OF ENERGY-RELATED
CO2 EMISSIONS
3.7 M
ANNUAL PREMATURE AIR
POLLUTION DEATHS
1.2 M
ANNUAL TRAFFIC
FATALITIES
+2.5 billion
people, a 63%
increase
EXPECTED INCREASE IN URBAN POP.
BY 2050
2
THE URBAN CHALLENGE
Risky business-as-usual

3. Source: OECD Environmental Outlook 2050, World Economic Forum, Infrastructure figure Global
Infrastructure Basel. Photo by Andreas/Flickr
THE URBAN POTENTIAL
A window of opportunity to get cities right
80%
CITIES’ SHARE OF
GLOBAL GDP
$5 TRILLION
ANNUAL GLOBAL
INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT
NEEDED OVER NEXT 20 YEARS
75% OF THE
INFRASTRUCTURE IN
2050 YET TO BE BUILT
3

4. Urban population
+70%
GHG Emissions
+65%
Traffic deaths
+180%
Land area
+500%
0%
100%
200%
300%
400%
500%
600%
2010 2020 2030 2040 2050
Percentage Change
Expected from 2010
CURRENT TRENDS ARE UNSUSTAINABLE
Sources -- Urban population: NCE. 2014. Cities paper on Transformative Urban Growth;
Prosperity: MGI. 2011. Mapping Our Urban World; GHG Emissions: Global GHG Calculator. 2014;
Land area: Scientific American. 2012; Traffic deaths and injuries: WHO. 2013. Linear projection from
Global Status Report on Road Safety data.
4
Cities are key to global sustainability.
Cities needed to meet a 2-degree
scenario to address climate change.

5. Photo: Asian Development Bank/Flickr
WE NEED SOLUTIONS, BUT ALSO
KNOWLEDGE OF HOW TO IMPLEMENT THEM
Institutions Partnerships Financing
5
HOW DO WE CHANGE COURSE?
Towards livability, productivity, sustainability

6. NEED FOR BOTH SCALE AND CUSTOMIZATION
Visuals: BRTData.org, T. Policanti/EMBARQ Mexico
Scaling for GLOBAL
impact
LOCAL
customization
6

7. PARTNERSHIPS
Source: WRI
The key to delivering both LOCAL and GLOBAL impact
• Global platforms like city networks
(ICLEI, C40) allow rapid scaling of
solutions and knowledge sharing
Scaling for GLOBAL Impact
• Working with city governments, local
businesses, bus driver unions, planners
for 10+ years in key cities
Customized LOCAL Solutions
Mexico City DF
7

8. BUS RAPID TRANSIT:
THE ROLE OF SCALING
AND CUSTOMIZING
Photo: Taís Polican7/EMBARQ Mexico
8

9. 0"
40"
80"
120"
160"
200"
0"
5"
10"
15"
20"
25"
1965" 1970" 1975" 1980" 1985" 1990" 1995" 2000" 2005" 2010"
CumulativeNumberofCities"
NewCities"NUMBER OF CITIES WITH BUS PRIORITY SYSTEMS
Partners:
2000: Bogotá
(TransMilenio)"
1974: Curitiba"
1968: Liège"
Source: BRTData.org, February 2015. City counted at start year for bus system.
2007: Istanbul BRT"
2009: Ahmedabad
BRT"
2002: Mexico City"
9
.org

10. Source: WRI
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?
High-profile successes
Knowledge sharing
Conferences
National funding
mechanisms
10

11. Source: BRTData.org, WRI
Guangzhou, China
BRT IN 190 CITIES AROUND THE WORLD
iBus-Indore, IndiaAhmedabad, IndiaBogota, Colombia
Mexico City, Mexico
11

12. MEXICO CITY’S METROBUS
Photo: WRI
12

13. Photo: Mexico City
• 19 million people
• 22 million trips per day
• 4,000 deaths per year due to pollution
• No coordinated transport policy at the
federal, state, and municipal levels
MEXICO CITY, 2002
13

14. FORMING A PARTNERSHIP
Source: EMBARQ Mexico
WRI partners with Mexico City, Ministry of
Environment to find solutions to city’s
pollution and transport problems
2002: Center for Sustainable Transport
(now EMBARQ Mexico) formed
WRI performs research, financial
analyses, arranges site visits for city
officials to view existing BRT systems in
Curitiba and Bogota
14

15. Source: EMBARQ Mexico, Dario Hidalgo
BRINGING PRIVATE SECTOR “ON BOARD”
• Individual owners of
minibuses initially
oppose new BRT
• Government negotiates
with microbus owners to
consolidate into a single
company
• EMBARQ Mexico
supports this process:
– technical assistance
– financial calculations
15

16. Photo Source: EMBARQ Mexico
• Coalition convinces Secretary of
Transport and Mayor of Mexico City of
the feasibility of BRT
• 2005: First 20 km line of BRT system
(called Metrobús) unveiled on a
primary arterial road in Mexico City
SUPPORTING LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
16

17. METROBUS TODAY
Source: EMBARQ Mexico
• 1 million daily ridership
• 5 lines in service, 6th in
construction, 7th
announced
• Integrated system
connects to existing
metro network
• 122,000 tons of CO2
reduced annually
• Reduced vehicle
accidents by 20%
17

18. GLOBAL PLATFORMS FOR
SCALING SOLUTIONS
Global Protocol for Community-scale
Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GPC)
18

19. FRAMEWORK
GPC is the first,
global standard to
consistently measure
city-level emissions.
- Accounting
- Reporting
- City-wide
Source: WRI
19

20. WHY GPC?
Source: World Energy Outlook
Different types of
measurements
Account for only
a portion of
emissions
Unclear if targets
will be met
Incomplete
data limits
investment
Unable to relate
to national
climate action
WITHOUT GPC
One measurement Consistently
account for all
emissions
Emissions
trajectory will
understood
Good data drives
investment
Can measure city’s
contribution to
national action
WITH GPC
20

21. LEAD AUTHORS
Over 30 years
experience in
promoting
sustainability
worldwide
Represent 70
mega and innovative
cities across the
globe
Represent >1,200
local governments
across the globe
21

22. Photo Source: EMBARQ Brasil
GOVERNANCE PROCESS
• Advisory Committee
• Transparent Trials
• Pilot cities selected
from all over the world
• Rio de Janeiro
(pictured) becomes
one of first cities to
implement standards
22

23. October 2011
Launched
GHGP City Project
Year 2 (2013):
60+ cities use
GPC to measure
emissions
Year One (2012)
Launched GPC Pilot
Version 1.0
100+ citiesadopt GPC
Year 3 (2014):
Publish GPC Final
Version, Convene 100
cities to adopt the GPC
HOW DID WE GET HERE?
23

24. TESTED IN PILOT CITIES + WIDELY ENDORSED
Photo: Juliana Swenson/The Climate Group
Tested and scaled in
35 cities on 6 continents
24
Endorsed by the
Compact of Mayors

25. CONSISTENLY CREATING SYSTEMATIC KNOWLEDGE
Photo; Andrew Stokols, Pictured: Seoul Dongdaemun Design Plaza
solutions
evaluate
adapt
re-evaluate
scale
25
PARTNERSHIPS
=
SUSTAINABLE LOCAL SOLUTIONS

26. CONSISTENLY CREATING SYSTEMATIC KNOWLEDGE
Photo; Andrew Stokols, Pictured: Seoul Dongdaemun Design Plaza
26
PARTNERSHIPS
=
SUSTAINABLE LOCAL SOLUTIONS
Join us!