How green is your city? If the environment is a top concern for you in planning your move abroad, you may want to read the latest study done by the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) for German-giant Siemens AG.
Called the Green City Index, the study researches 120 cities in five major regions of the world to focus attention on the critical issue of urban environmental sustainability. The Green City Index, which has been done annually since 2009, measures cities on about 30 indicators across eight to nine categories (varies slightly between regions). It covers carbon dioxide emissions, energy, buildings, land use, transport, water and sanitation, waste management, air quality and environmental governance.
Copenhagen, Denmark tops all European countries, followed closely by its Nordic neighbors Stockholm, Sweden and Oslo, Norway. Overall, Copenhagen is noted for its consistent approach to solving environmental problems. Oslo has the highest share of renewable energy use, 65 percent. The overall index average is just 7 percent.
In Latin America, Curitiba, Brazil rules the environmental roost. A city of nearly 2 million people in southern Brazil, Curitiba is the birthplace of bus rapid transit. The city is an environmental standout across most major indicators. Belo Horizonte, Brazil and Bogotá, Colombia are also at the head of the Latin class.
The city-nation of Singapore leads all Asian region countries, showing strong and consistent results across all nine major categories. Sustainability through holistic planning is its strong suit. Hong Kong is #2 and Osaka, Japan #3 in Asia.
The capital city of Ghana, Accra, is on top of the African index. The report notes that Accra, despite its low income, has strong scores in most categories. Cape Town, South Africa came in second, followed by Casablanca, Morocco in the number three spot.
Closer to home, San Francisco is the most environmentally-sound city in the U.S. and the U.S./Canada region. As an example of the city-by-the-bay’s greenness, San Francisco recycles 77 percent of its waste. Only Leipzig, Germany does better at 81 percent. Who knew?
A couple more green tidbits today:
- Latin American cities lead Asian and African cities for the amount of parks, open spaces and other green areas
- The U.S. and Canada have higher per capita carbon dioxide emissions than Europe and Asia combined
- The U.S. and Canada consume by far the most water among the five regions studied
- European cities produce more waste per capita, followed closely by Latin America and Africa
- U.S. and Canadian cities outperform their European counterparts when it comes to recycling 2