A report by C40 on the importance of low carbon urban planning.

[taken from the document]

This document draws from the main findings of a ground breaking new report by C40 and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), which demonstrates that urban policy decisions before 2020 could determine up to a third of the remaining global carbon budget that is not already ‘locked-in’ by past decisions. Existing research has shown that investing in low carbon infrastructure in the next five years will be four times less expensive than building high carbon infrastructure now, and then having to replace it in the future. Mayors and local leaders in power today thus have a major role to play in determining whether or not we have a cost-effective and, therefore, realistic path to a climate safe world.