Cities get too much blame for global warming: study

LONDON (Reuters) – Cities often blamed for producing most of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions actually generate just two-fifths or less, according to a study published on Friday.

U.N. agencies, former U.S. President Bill Clinton’s climate change initiative and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg have all said that 75 to 80 percent of total emissions come from cities, the paper in the journal Environment and Urbanization says.

But using data from the U.N. climate change panel, it estimates the correct figure at between 30 and 40 percent.

Author David Satterthwaite, a researcher at the London-based International Institute for Environment and Development, said the error had led policy makers to overlook the potential for cities to help tackle climate change.

Reuters UK