Globally, carbon footprints are highly concentrated into a small number of dense, high-income cities and affluent suburbs
100 cities drive 18% of global emissions
In most countries (98 of 187 assessed), the top three urban areas drive more than one-quarter of national emissions
We define cities as population clusters, but in practice mapping footprints to local jursidictional bounds is complex
41 of the top 200 cities are in countries where total and per capita emissions are low e.g. Dhaka, Cairo, Lima). In these cities population and affluence combine to drive footprints at a similar scale as the highest income cities
For large and high-income cities, their total Scope 3 footprint is much larger than the city's direct emisisons
Radical decarbonization measures (limiting nonelectric vehicles; requiring 100% renewable electricity) can induce substnatial emissions reductions beyond city boundaries. In wealthy, high-consumption, high-footprint localities such measures may require only a small investment relative to median income, yet accomplish large reductions in total footprint emissions
Local action at the city and state level can meaningfully affect national and global emissions
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