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Copenhagen ready for climate summit
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The city of Copenhagen will be displaying its green achievements and ambitions for the world, when the UN Climate Change conference opens on December 7th. Yang Weihan takes a look at the city's preparations ahead of the summit.
Winters in Copenhagen are cold and the days are short, forcing energy efficiency and climate change to be hot topics. Nowhere is it more clear than on the city's streets.
Even the famous character, the Little Mermaid seems to have climate change on her mind.
Rush hour in Copenhagen can be dangerous.
It's not just the cars, a visiting pedestrian has to watch out for; it's the cyclists.
More than a third of people in Copenhagen commutes to work by bike.
Cyclists have their own lanes on both sides of most thoroughfares.
Traffic lights are programmed to give cyclists priority and, even during the harsh winter, an estimated 80 percent of summer riders continue commuting to work by bike.
Andreas Roehl, Copenhagen Bicycle Program Manager, said, "The main reason is just to get a very efficient traffic flow and the more people you can get on the bikes, the more room you have on the road for all the trips that has (sic) to be done in a car."
To top the free flow of traffic, more cyclists and fewer cars means lower carbon emissions and greater physical fitness.
Andreas Roehl also said, "We do not think that everybody will be willing to or able to able to use a bicycle but we do think that if we create good enough conditions for the bicycle, then even more people will use it and that is even people in the cars."
The Bicycle Program is just one of the many initiatives being pursued by the city of Copenhagen.
It has reduced it's CO2 emissions by 20 percent over the past decade.
It is spearheading an ambitious program to reduce carbon emissions by 20 percent within five years and achieve carbon neutrality by 2025.
Mikkel Aaroe-Hansen, Manager of Copenhagen Environment Department, said, "We believe it's possible. It's a process to get there, we acknowledge that, but we'll also use the political power that we have to get there."
As politicians, media organizations and activists from around the world converge on the city for the climate conference, Copenhagen wants to show the world how it plans to lead in reducing carbon emissions.
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