Decarbonize? Cities Should Lead

The United States is stuck again in an energy pinch. Dependent upon fossil fuels for 80% of its energy like other nations, we are vulnerable to the political whims of Russia and OPEC for our energy supplies. We never learned from the 1973 OPEC Oil Shock, when nations sought "Energy Independence" by diversifying their energy sources, but the oil price collapse of 1982-1986 put an end to our transition to renewable energies, storage, EVs and energy efficiency. Now we face devastating climate disasters. How can we get out of our energy trap?

First of all, negotiating with Russia and OPEC is a no-go since they want the revenues. Returning to Venezuela and other sources could work, but that requires working with dictatorships and autocrats who can easily cut off their oil supplies.

Second, energy efficiency is the low-hanging fruit since most cities, businesses and households operate inefficiently. With better insulation, passive design, energy pricing, altered working schedules, efficient appliances, digital substitutes and other solutions, energy use can be drastically be reduced using existing technologies and methods. But that will not be enough since it requires consumers and businesses to act on their own. Most will wait during recession.

Third, encouraging cities, towns and bioregions to become our new climate leaders will be the most effective for many reasons. Collectively, they consume 80% of energy and emit 70% of carbon so we will win or lose the carbon battle in cities. As energy buyers, cities have enormous economic clout; they control zoning, transit, energy procurement, land use and permitted activities. If cities ban activities, businesses must comply. Moreover, cities are closer and more responsive to citizens who can vote mayors, council people and other elected officials out of office. Cities are organized and collaborate through the C40, smart cities, mayoral associations, chambers of commerce, university exchanges, and professional and citizens groups. They represent the public. Thus, if cities move decisively and quickly on climate action, we would see massive impacts on the energy demand, stock prices, business investments, employment and labor mobility.

The C40 leads now, but can it mobilize thousands of cities and towns around the world to join its climate programs? The Mayors for Peace (mayorsforpeace.org) aims to reach 10,000 member cities; the International Chamber of Commerce has massive global influence; Sister Cities International reaches average citizens worldwide. Together, they could move "climate mountains." Will they?

As a long-time Silicon Valley insider, I have always followed the advice of Alan Kay who said: "The best way to predict the future is to invent it." Climate chaos or ecotopias? The choice is ours.

To provide a feasible 8-year roadmap for urban decarbonization, I've written a how-to book, "The Gaiapolis Strategy" (See: shorturl.at/MWY35), based on my 1986 book "The Technopolis Strategy," which was used as a handbook by 1,000 tech parks from the 1990s. One lesson I learned from Technopolis: cities move very fast when they want to attract and nurture new jobs and industries. Gaiapolis bio hubs will be no different since we're entering a Bio Renaissance where we must deal with pandemics, food and water shortages, inflation and climate disasters. Bio hubs are emerging to address these new challenges.

I'm an optimistic realist since humans are very creative and collaborative when our existence is threatened. As the Africans learned: "To go fast, go alone. To go far, go together."

To learn more about my focus on VR urban planning and storytelling, see: www.dreamscapeglobal.com