A report commissioned for the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group has proposed radical reductions in the consumption of meat and the amount of travel its citizens should undertake.
Researchers from Leeds, England, provided the report of the C40, an association of metropolitan cities responsible for 10 percent of global emissions of greenhouse gasses that is committed to the development of “healthy, just, and resilient communities.”
Cities involved with the C40 include Warsaw, Berlin, London, and Istanbul.
The researchers propose a limit of 16 kilograms of meat per annum for every person. An average Pole currently consumes 70 kilograms of meat per annum.
The report also recommends a big reduction in the consumption of dairy products. While an average Pole currently consumes 200 kilograms of dairy products every year, the new limit would be 90 kilograms.
The proposed reductions also cover air flights. It is recommended that one person should take a return flight just once every two years, but mobility is to be reduced within cities too. It is recommended that the number of cars should fall to 190 for every 1,000 inhabitants. In Poland, the level currently is 600 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants. It is also recommended that cars should last at least 20 years.
Warsaw’s City Hall is convinced that participation in C40 will help the Polish capital realize its climate responsibilities. Its aim is to reduce emissions by as much as 40 percent by 2030 and to reach climate neutrality by 2050. But the City Hall, despite saying that the research report is an inspiration to members of C40, refused to elaborate on how it would implement the recommendations.
It also stressed that decisions on the scope of emissions covered by local audits were a matter for each individual city. Presently, Warsaw has not taken the decision to include emissions generated beyond its boundaries into the mix.
