Urban Environments and the SDGs

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What can we do in our urban environments to help realise the SDGs by 2030?

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 is specifically on and about cities.

So many people around the world live in cities and urban environments - they are critical to the successful delivery of the SDGs.

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12 is key to city and urban environments.

In this example, we focus on innovation taking place with vertical farms, which could be key to responsible and sustainable food production.

This briefing sheet by the ICLEI describes why cities and local governments are crucial for the successful implementation of the SDGs.

This publication on “Connecting cities and communities with the SDGs" has been developed within the framework of the United for Smart Sustainable Cities (U4SSC) initiative.

Air conditioning plays an often unassuming yet important part in the way we live our lives, especially in urban environments. Its use is forecast to grow significantly - by 2050 there could be 4.5 billion A/C units in use. How can the US$135bn industry ensure it plays its part for a sustainable future?

Even though offices in the US remain closed or nearly emptied of people, electricity use is climbing steadily back up to pre-pandemic levels. Here's why.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the United Nations agency for information and communication technologies – ICTs. This web page describes profiles of cities around the world.

This infographic by the World Green Building Council summarises key information relating to WorldGBC's global project, Advancing Net Zero. The project, which calls for 100% net zero carbon buildings by 2050, was launched in 2016 and has already seen concerted action across its 15 participating Green Building Councils, as well as promising engagement in the topic across the rest of the network. 

EDGE is an innovation of IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, EDGE makes it easy to design and certify resource-efficient and Zero Carbon buildings.

Watch this 5-minute demo about the EDGE app.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has a dedicated section on buildings. Energy-related CO2 emissions from buildings have risen in recent years after flattening between 2013 and 2016. Direct and indirect emissions from electricity and commercial heat used in buildings rose to 10 GtCO2 in 2019, the highest level ever recorded.