Cities around the world are taking climate action, but some are making especially ambitious commitments.

Partin: “When you look at what it takes to get to an 80 to 100 percent greenhouse gas reduction target, it’s a radical transformation in the way that we’re doing things in cities now.”

Johanna Partin is director of the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance, which helps what she calls “climate vanguards” connect with their peers.

Partin: “As they work to achieve these very ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets, they’ve seen that some of their initiatives have been game-changing.”

For example, San Francisco is reducing climate pollution by requiring that people save food scraps and other organic waste. The city collects them and makes compost for use on farms.

Meanwhile, in Oslo, Norway, more than half of new cars sold are electric or hybrid. To help keep the market growing, the city is rapidly installing charging stations that are currently free to use.

The Alliance recently released a report highlighting these and other initiatives, along with key lessons learned. Partin says the goal is to encourage cities everywhere to make big changes as soon as possible.

Partin: “Now is the time for action.”

Reporting credit: ChavoBart Digital Media.