Our Environment is Reaching Its Limit!
The current state of the climate is troubling at best. The average global temperature has warmed, snow and ice levels have diminished and the sea level has risen. And there are no signs of these trends slowing down unless significant action is taken to curb greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, the United Nations has called for countries to achieve net zero by 2050, meaning that by then any emissions would need to be balanced by removing CO2 from the air.
Urbanization Is Making Things Worse
By 2050, an additional 2.5 billion people are expected to move to a city, the UN has reported. This is in addition to the fact that almost half the world’s population already lives in cities. Not only are cities at risk from climate change, like the impact of extreme heat events, public health outbreaks, or rising tides, they are also exacerbating the problem. Despite the fact that cities cover less than 2 percent of the earth, they account for almost three-quarters of the world’s carbon dioxide from global final energy use, as well as a significant portion of total greenhouse gas emissions.
Smart cities are becoming increasingly important to combat the global climate change crisis. They are uniquely positioned to tackle numerous sustainability tactics, ranging from greener commercial buildings to electrifying public transit, using the Internet of Things (IoT) to connect and better understand the major contributors to carbon emissions.
