CAIF I UEMI Partner cities
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Hai Phong (Vietnam)
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With a population of 1.96 million (2015), Hai Phong is the third largest city in Vietnam. The city plays a critical role within the region owing to its strategic location within the Red River Delta and along the coast of the South China Sea, as well as its proximity to the capital city of Hanoi, situated 100 km to the east. The Port of Hai Phong is the largest container port in northern Vietnam, which has resulted in the city becoming one of the largest marine distribution centres with a concentration of multiple large-scale manufacturing, industrial complexes and international free-trade zones.
From the perspective of low-carbon urban development, Hai Phong’s local governmental policies are connected with corresponding national strategies. Three of these policies are especially important. The first one is the National Green Growth Strategy (2012) which aims at a 30% GHG emission reduction by 2030. Based on this policy, the city has framed its own Green Growth Strategy Action Plan (2014). Along with the intent of achieving low-carbon growth for urban and industrial areas, this plan also aims at developing Hai Phong as a ‘Green Port City’. The second major policy document is the National Socio-economic Development Plan (SEDP). Based on the SEDP’s directives, the local department for planning and investment (DPI) prepares the city’s five-year master plans (the current one being for the 2016-2020 period). The plan sets targets for GDP growth, poverty reduction, industrial production, taxation and public expenditure. |
Melaka (Malaysia)
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Melaka city is the capital of Melaka state, with a population of over 480,000 inhabitants. Melaka city has adopted the Green City Action Plan (GCAP), which targets city transformation into a low carbon city. In the GCAP, energy, transport and waste are given importance among other projects such as tourism and water management. The GCAP prioritises GHG emission reductions in the energy sector through preparing a comprehensive energy plan and implementing demonstration projects that reduce energy consumption.
As of 2017, the city has implemented over 1600 LED street lamps, Melaka city plan also aims to further save 40 to 70% of energy by using timers and motion sensors to reduce energy consumption during low activity hours. In terms of transport, the GCAP proposes to provide alternatives to motorised personal transport. The proposed interventions include a comprehensive transportation plan to prioritised public transport, convert existing public fleet to fuel-efficient vehicles. Melaka city administration has already introduced projects such as bike sharing, electric vehicles for public transport and the use of electric scooters as an alternative to conventionally fuelled scooters. Furthermore, with the support of international entities such as Institution for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the city has conducted studies to redesign streets for sustainable mobility and reduce the priority to personal cars. |
Pasig (Manila)
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The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country located in Southeast Asia. It consists of 7,641 islands located in the western Pacific Ocean, comprising approximately 300,000 square kilometres in total. 61% of this total mass is comprised of inland bodies of water, and the Philippines shares only maritime borders with surrounding countries: Taiwan to the north, Vietnam to the west, Palau to the east and Malaysia and Indonesia to the south.
As of 2015, the Philippines has a population of over 100 million people, rendering it the 12th most populated country in the world. The country’s population increased by approximately 28 million between 1990 to 2008, marking a growth rate of 45%. Due to the country’s proximity to the equator and its location within the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire,” the Philippines is vulnerable to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and typhoons. Most of the country’s islands experience torrential rainfall thunderstorms from July to October. In the past decades, the Philippines has seen an increase in the severity and frequency of its yearly typhoons, which have killed or displaced large numbers of Filipinos while costing the country billions of dollars in damages. According to the 2013 long-term Climate Risk Index (CRI), the Philippines is identified as the country most affected by climate change. |
Thimphu (Bhutan)
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Thimphu is the capital of Bhutan which is located within an area space of 1,794.87 km2,. A population of 116,012 lives in Thimphu Dzongkhag in 2015 with an estimated population density of 64.6 per km2 (National Statistics Bureau, 2017a) and future projection foresee the city to grow. Thimphu’s households are 100% electrified. 64.3% of Thimphu’s land is covered by the forest (in 2016) (National Statistics Bureau, 2017a), which contributes in net carbon sink. Some of Thimphu’s initiatives on energy generation/conservation, sustainable transport and waste management are discussed below:
In response to an increasing energy demand in the city, Thimphu is initiating measures to implement renewable energy (e.g. Solar and Wind) and improve energy efficiency. Thimphu is replacing street lamps with LED lighting which could save 2 to 3 million units of electricity each year (Tshomo, 2015; ICLEI, 2016). Vehicle density is high in urban areas of Bhutan, including Thimphu. The city public transport services (buses) are inadequate so that use of taxis and private modes of transport (private cars and two wheelers) are increasing. Metropolitan areas have typical characteristics of higher incomes, shorter travel times, and more incentives to improve air quality or reduce CO2 emissions, making them more suitable for EV programs. Thimphu has these characteristics, which, along with its mild climate, make it a good pilot area for testing the new EVs and building a foundation for a cost-effective countrywide roll-out. |
Suva (Fiji)
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Fiji’s capital, Suva, is the largest metropolitan area; and is located on the Viti Levu island which hosts about one third of the national population. The 2014 population of Suva is estimated at 182,140 with an annual growth rate of 0.8% (Atlas of Urban Expansion, 2016). According to Phillips and Keen (2016), the urban population of Suva had increased by 5% between the years 2002 and 2010. As the administrative and political capital of Fiji, Suva is experiencing the pressure of rapid urbanization. Like many urban areas in developing countries, Suva is faced with resultants effects of rapid urbanization such as unemployment, inadequate socio-economic services and growing formation of informal settlements.
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Kathmandu (Nepal)
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Kathmandu is the country’s capital and the largest city (population of 1 million), followed by Pokhara, Lalitpur, Bharatpur and Birgunj metropolitan cities (population above 200,000). The Kathmandu valley includes 3 cities – Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur with total area of 570 sq. km. The population of the valley is 2.5 million with annual growth rate of 4.63% (3.5 million unofficial). This represents 9.32% of entire population of country. Some of the initiatives on energy generation/ conservation, sustainable transport and waste management in the valley are discussed below.
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Kochi (India)
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Kochi, formerly known as Cochin, is the second largest city in the south-western Indian state Kerala. Kochi is also a major Indian port-city on the south-west coast. The municipal corporation of Kochi has a population of over 600,000 inhabitants and the metropolitan region is home for over 2 million inhabitants. With rapid urbanisation Kochi, like many other growing Indian cities, faces a pressure to increase the facilities to cater for the movement of its people. The traditional forms of transport in Kochi i.e. waterways, bus transport, walking and cycling, have come under pressure and have become unappealing to the users with improved lifestyles. This has led to a rapid motorisation, both in motorised two-wheelers and personal cars. To reverse the trend and bring back the priority to walking, cycling and public transport, Kochi has developed a comprehensive mobility plan, highlighting the various options for promoting sustainable mobility and people oriented urban planning.
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Belo Horizonte (Brazil)
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Belo Horizonte is the capital of the state of Minas Gerais and located in the southeastern region of Brazil. It is the third-largest metropolitan area in the country and has a population of over 2.4 million, with 5.7 million in the official Metropolitan Area (IBGE, 2014). Considering the rather moderate ambition level of Brazil’s NDC, local action in cities play a crucial role for climate change mitigation. Belo Horizonte is one example of an active mid-sized city commited to sustainable development.
Transport: Car and motorcycle ownership in Belo Horizonte has increased signifianclty in recent years as a side effect of growing welfare levels. Accoridingly, the modal share in Belo Horizonte suffered significant changes in the last 17 years: The share of trips by private motor vehicles increased from 20,7% to 36,6% while public transport trips reduced from 44,6% to 28,1%. As the first city in Brazil, Belo Horizonte developed a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan, called PlanMob-BH, in 2013. The plan consists of elements such as a integrated public transport network composed of metro lines and a bus rapid transit (BRT) system with exclusive bus corridors; a bikeway network with the installation of protected bike lanes and a public bicycle sharing system; and a pedestrian facilities network. The BRT system was expected to cut travel times significantly compared to the previous bus system and to provide a safe and comfortable inner city transport means (ITDP, 2014). |
Quito (Ecuador)
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Quito, the capital of Ecuador, has a population of 2.7 million inhabitants. In 2011, it generated 5,164,946 tCO2-eq, which per capita represent 2.55 tCO2-eq. Quito aims at reducing its ecological footprint in 5% every year, starting in 2019. Quito has very good indicators in terms of service provision and coverage, but it is just starting to introduce environmental-friendly practices in their collection and management.
Transport: Public transport in Quito accounts for 62% of the total trips. Quito possesses a comprehensive public transportation system that consists of 5 BRT lines, their corresponding feeder buses, and conventional buses. This system has already reached capacity. Thus, the municipality decided to build the first subway line, which is supposed to start operations in 2019. Furthermore, the municipality aims at replacing the fossil-fuelled BRT fleet with electric buses. A transit-oriented development strategy and control of the urban expansion still need to be implemented to have higher social and environmental returns from the high investments in public transport. |
Montevideo (Uruguay)
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In its NDCs, Uruguay committed to maintain the currently low emission intensity levels in the energy sector, and even achieve an intensity reduction of 25% from 1990 values by 2030, relying on domestic resources, and a potential 40% total reduction depending on the availability of international resources. Uruguay committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in 2025 when compared by base year 1990 in CO2 by 57% in CH4, 48% in N20 (unconditional), and 29% in CO2, 59% in CH4, 52% in N2O (conditional). It also includes specific objectives related to Food Production (beef) and Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF). Agriculture is a key part of Uruguay’s economy, representing 70% of all its exports. This sector also contributes to 80% of Uruguay’s GHG emissions, of which 55% are from enteric fermentation. Approximately 65% of Uruguay’s land is covered by natural grasslands and pastureland – sequestering carbon in soils and biomass is done where possible. Reduction in GHG emissions in the agriculture sector is well represented in Uruguay’s NDCs where a clear commitment to adopt to a low-carbon growth agenda with ambitious targets that address both climate change mitigation and adaptation. This intends to sustain Uruguay’s key sector of cattle farming for meat exportation – but evolving into a environmentally responsible meat producer. Uruguay set a specific target in the NDCs submitted to the UNFCCC for the agriculture sector to reduce enteric methane emissions intensity per kilogram of beef (live-weight) by 33% to 46% in 2030 through the widespread application of improved practices and technologies.
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Nairobi (Kenya)
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Nairobi is the capital of Kenya and is located on the edge of the country's agricultural region of the central highlands and 1800 meters above sea level - this contributes to lower average temperatures and creates an area where rainfall is relatively higher than in the surrounding areas. Nairobi as a city was established by the colonial powers in the late 1890s, initially as a railway camp, and now is the second largest city by population size in the Great Lakes region – after Dar es Salaam in Tanzania – and is Africa’s Green City in the Sun and East Africa’s economic powerhouse (World Bank, 2016).
The metropolitan City of Nairobi is regarded as Kenya engine for economic growth and more than a third of the urban population lives in the City of Nairobi (and Mombasa). It is also home to the UN-Habitat and UN-Environment organisation’s headquarters, IBM, Intel and Google also use Nairobi as their base for its African operations. An estimated 3.9 million people live in the City of Nairobi (The Conversation, 2018) – this is a double since the 1986 census (Metcalf, J. 2016). Population density in Nairobi varies greatly, peaking in the city’s slums, which house roughly 2.5 million people in about 200 settlements. Roughly 60 percent of Nairobi’s population occupies just 6 percent of the land. |
Cape Town (South Africa)
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The City of Cape Town has a high carbon footprint compared to other similar cities due to its poor energy security matrix, is rapidly urbanising, with urban sprawl and increase vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. In 2001, the City of Cape Town adopted an integrated Metropolitan Environmental Policy identifying a need to shift from business-as- usual to a targeted sustainable agenda. The city has recognised that its legacy issues of spatial planning and transport does not adhere to its international obligation and the SDGs.
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Accra (Ghana)
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Accra is the capital of Ghana, a country located in the Western region of Sub-Saharan Africa. The population of the city as at 2014 was estimated at 2.27 million people (World Population Review, 2018). With the population increasing at a rate of 4%, Accra is noted to be among the fastest urbanizing cities in Africa (Atlas of Urban Expansion, 2016).
Urban Transport in Accra It is estimated that Accra alone hosts about 50% of the total registered vehicles nationwide numbering about 1,134,599 vehicles by 2017 (EPA, 2017). In Accra, most trips are made by private cars, taxis, mini-buses (called trotro) and buses; the latter three constituting the core of public transport services in the city. In recent times, there is an increase in the use of motorcycles and bicycles as a means of transporting goods and people. The use of motorcycles popularly called “Okada” constituted 8% of all modes of public transportation as at the year 2015 and has gained popularity though it is considered illegal (Graphiconline, 2018). |
Casablanca (Morocco)
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Located in the western part of Morocco with a population of 3,359,818 (2014), Casablanca is the largest city in Morocco. With an area of 220 km2, Casablanca city forms a part of larger metropolitan area called the grand Casablanca. The city has the largest economy in Morocco, which the industrial and service sectors have a biggest share in it. In 2014 the region of Casablanca-Settat accounted for 32% of Morocco’s GDP.
Transport: In 2005 only 15% of the city population used public transport. The city’s local authority intends to increase access to public transport to 21% by 2019, which consists of BRT, tramway and bus network - effectively connecting different parts of the city and reduce the GHG emissions from transport sector. The municipality has planned 3 tram lanes and 4 BRT lanes by the year 2022. By strengthening public transport, the city expects to reduce the private car usage. Alongside the tram lanes, to increase safety and security, a green corridor and pedestrian facilities has been established. The planed transport infrastructure will also contribute to the integration of different neighbourhoods in the whole city plan. |
Addis Abeba (Ethiopia)
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Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia and represents the political and economic hub of the country. The population of the city as at 2010 was projected at 3,009,130growing at an annual rate of 2.1% (Atlas of Urban Expansion, 2016). Addis Ababa is noted to be among the fastest growing metropolises in Africa; consequently, the city is facing the common problems associated with rapid urban growth including inadequate transport infrastructure and services, energy supply insufficiency, and challenges encountered with urban waste management (Ethiopia Ministry of Transport, 2011). The dominant economic activity in Addis Ababa is trade and commerce. Other economic sectors which offer most employment opportunities in the city include: manufacturing and industry, home making, civil administration, transport and communication (Government of Ethiopia, 2018). The UN-Habitat, reporting on the state of Addis Ababa in 2017, noted that there has been rapid economic development in the city over the years; and that the service sector continues to dominate the city’s economy (UN-Habitat, 2017).
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Kigali (Rwanda)
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Rwanda, or the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country of 26,338 square kilometers, located in eastern central Africa, in the African Great Lakes region. Water comprises 5.3% of the total area of the country. One of the smallest countries on the African mainland, Rwanda is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As of 2012, it has a population of 10,515,973 people and a population growth of 2.8% per year. The population was estimated to be 11,262,564 in 2015. Rwanda has the highest population density in Africa, rendering it vulnerable to the deleterious effects of climate change, particularly considering the country’s reliance on rain-fed agriculture among the rural population and for its exports of tea and coffee. The Municipality of Kigali, Rwanda’s Capital and largest city, serves as a provincial-level authority and coordinates urban planning within the city. The city has a population of around one million, which is rapidly increasing and thereby introducing infrastructural challenges. The second largest city, Gisenyi, has a population of 126,000, and all other cities have populations of less than 100,000. The urban population accounts for less than 15% of the overall population of Rwanda (National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda, 2012).
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