City-Level Decoupling

The core argument of the Decoupling Report is that a transition to a green economy depends on finding ways to sustain economic growth rates without escalating rates of resource use. To achieve this decoupling, appropriate sustainability-oriented innovation will need to be initiated, promoted and applied on a large scale. Because the majority of the world’s population now live in cities where most resource consumption takes place, the pressures and potentials to find ways to reconcile economic growth, well-being and the sustainable use of natural resources will be greatest in cities. Indeed, many significant sustainability-oriented innovations are already being applied at scale in cities throughout the world. Spurred on by a wide range of socio-economic and ecological threats, cities provide fertile ground for innovation and creativity.