Cities should play main role in tackling climate change: IEA

PARIS, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- Cities produce about 70 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, and should thus play the main role in tackling the problem of climate change, said a report released Tuesday by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

There is still big room for improvement for cities in reducing emissions, the report added. The urban share of global emissions keeps rising, which is assumed to hit 76 percent by 2030 compared with 71 percent in 2006.

The governments' measures to reduce emissions are winning increasing support from urban citizens, who are now more aware of the tragic consequences of global warming, the report said.

Nobuo Tanaka, chief of the Paris-based IEA, said Tuesday at a press conference that cities have great potential for reducing emissions. He urged governments to encourage the use of renewable energy. Moreover, he expressed his gratitude to the efforts made by some cities to explore ways to reduce emissions.

The report listed several cities that have made great contributions in slowing the pace of climate change, such as Tokyo, Greensburg in the United States and Adelaide in Australia. Tanaka said these examples proved that cities can play a remarkable role in dealing with the problem of climate change.

More than 15,000 participants, including delegates from more than 190 countries, are attending the Dec. 7-18 climate talks in Copenhagen. At the 12-day meeting, they are expected to discuss strategies to continue reducing emissions after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.