17 Sustainable Ideas for COP 17
17 Sustainable Ideas for COP17 was a collaboration between This Big City and Future Cape Town which ran alongside the United Nations Climate Change
17 Sustainable Ideas for COP17 was a collaboration between This Big City and Future Cape Town which ran alongside the United Nations Climate Change
COP17 drew to a close on Friday, with some kind of international climate change deal agreed on. In this post, Joe Peach – editor of This Big City – and Rashiq Fataar – editor of Future Cape Town – look back over their collaborative series, discussing the best ideas explored and whether the agreement reached at COP17 is enough.
In our 16th article in our series of 17 Sustainable Ideas for COP17, Future Cape Town team member Gareth Pearson explores two avenues of thought when it comes to making more of the waste we produce in cities. The first considers a communal concept for the vehicles, machinery and physical tools which temporarily go to “waste” when we are not using them – which could instead be used by somebody else. The second concept termed industrial symbiosis looks at how by-products for one industry or group can become an input for another, potentially reducing costs and carbon emissions.
In our 15th article in a series of 17 Sustainable Ideas for COP17, Future Cape Town team member Dinika Govender argues that a consistent commitment is needed from all spheres if South Africa is to start making progress, in both reducing its carbon emissions and creating jobs – often considered to be competing goals. Govender goes on to highlight policy recommendations from the World Bank’s report on South Africa’s economy, which could address these competing goals and ensure that the move towards a truly Green Economy is in our national interest.
The importance of renewable energy in addressing climate change has been central to the discussion at COP17. We’ve previously looked at harnessing heat from crowds and sewage systems. In our 14th article in our series of 17 Sustainable Ideas for COP17, Benjamin Chambers of Green Futures looks at how countries producing too much renewable energy (what a concept!) could export the excess to their less sustainable neighbours.
Employment opportunities and climate change are closely aligned. COP17 will explore how switching to more environmentally sustainable systems can generate employment, though for
Green space in cities is vital for environmental sustainability. But converting unused urban areas into green space can not only bring environmental benefits, it can also encourage social interaction and an improved sense of place, as team member Mayra Hartmann explores in this, our 12th article in our series of 17 Sustainable Ideas for COP17.
Making cities more sustainable is vital if COP17′s goal of tackling climate change is to be achieved. In our 11th
Reducing our dependance on cars could be one of the biggest sustainability challenges, and one which COP17 is unlikely to
In the 8th article in our series of 17 Sustainable Ideas for COP17, we share the statements made by the