COP29 reveals most polluting cities amid frustration over fossil fuel presence

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🗞️ Driving the news: New data unveiled at COP29 identifies Shanghai as the world’s most polluting city, with 256 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, surpassing entire nations like Colombia or Norway
• Other high emitters include Tokyo, New York City, and Houston, with emissions from some urban centers exceeding the totals of smaller countries
• The revelations come amidst frustration over the presence of fossil fuel lobbyists at COP29 and criticism of petrostates hosting climate talks

🔭 The context: The Climate Trace dataset, combining satellite observations and AI, offers a comprehensive look at emissions from over 9,000 cities
• It highlights sharp increases in emissions from countries like China, India, and Russia, while nations such as Venezuela, Japan, and the U.S. saw declines
• Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other leaders have called for reforms to the global climate negotiation process, criticizing the influence of the fossil fuel industry on COP talks

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Urban centers are major contributors to global emissions, underscoring the critical need for city-focused climate solutions
• The dominance of fossil fuel interests at COP29 raises concerns about the integrity of negotiations, threatening progress toward the 1.5°C Paris Agreement target
• Small island nations are advocating for action, emphasizing the disproportionate impacts of climate change on vulnerable populations

⏭️ What's next: Brazil’s hosting of COP30 in 2025 is expected to shift the focus to deforestation and renewable energy transitions, potentially reducing fossil fuel influence
• Meanwhile, data from Climate Trace could play a pivotal role in pressuring cities and nations to adopt stricter emissions-reduction measures
• Negotiators at COP29 face increasing demands to address the fossil fuel lobby's outsized presence and to recommit to bold climate goals

💬 One quote: “It’s unfortunate that the fossil fuel industry and the petrostates have seized control of the COP process to an unhealthy degree” – Al Gore, Co-Founder, Climate Trace

📈 One stat: Over 1,770 fossil fuel lobbyists are officially listed as attendees at COP29, according to an analysis by the Kick Big Polluters Out coalition

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