Tackling climate change at the city level: insights from Lighthouse Cities' climate mitigation efforts

Mehmet Efe Biresselioglu; Zehra Funda Savas; Muhittin Hakan Demir; Cigdem Kentmen-Cin

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1308040

Tackling climate change at the city level: insights from Lighthouse Cities' climate mitigation efforts

Front Psychol. 2024 Feb 8:14:1308040. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1308040. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Mehmet Efe Biresselioglu¹, Zehra Funda Savas¹, Muhittin Hakan Demir², Cigdem Kentmen-Cin³

Affiliations

¹ Sustainable Energy Division, Izmir University of Economics, Izmir, Türkiye.
² Department of Logistics Management, Izmir University of Economics, Izmir, Türkiye.
³ Department of Political Science and International Relations, Izmir University of Economics, Izmir, Türkiye.

Abstract

Introduction: The link between lifestyles and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions has prioritized climate mitigation strategies of cities worldwide. As cities have increasingly generated GHG emissions by their industrial and transportation activities, their role in climate mitigation has gained prominence. Cities' climate mitigation policies to reduce the GHG intensity of their residents' daily lives are one of their significant efforts to tackle climate change. Lighthouse Cities (LCs), in particular, have emerged as remarkable actors in promoting lifestyle changes for their residents.

Methods: This study examines climate mitigation strategies of LCs of Climate CAMPAIGNers project, including Baku, Vilnius, Lahti, Izmir, Trujillo, Athens, Linz, Milan, Cape Town, Dublin, and Skopelos, addressing lifestyle changes by conducting an expert survey in 11 LCs involving 89 respondents. The findings of the expert survey are comparatively analyzed across 11 LCs.

Results: The results show that experts form Lighthouse Cities identify increasing awareness and information provision as a significant component of climate mitigation policies. Concerning lifestyle changes, strategies toward energy efficiency and sustainable mobility are highlighted as the primary areas to be prioritized.

Discussion: This study enhances the understanding of cities' capacity to reduce their residents' GHG emissions. The findings can be utilized to identify and tailor policies for supporting the Lighthouse Cities in their climate change mitigation efforts and provide pointers for selecting the lifestyle changes that can be promoted and prioritized in Lighthouse Cities.

Keywords: climate change; climate mitigation; expert survey; lifestyle change; lighthouse cities.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was part of the Climate CAMPAIGNers Project, which has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 programme, under grant agreement No. 101003815.