Canadian researchers compared the consumption of energy and water as well as waste production in 27 urban regions with more than ten million inhabitants. The differences are striking. The Indonesian capital Jakarta, for example, uses 95 percent less water than the US metropolis New York.
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Top of the negative ranking: New York causes the most waste of the 27 megacities examined and consumes the most energy.
Photo: panthermedia.net/olly18
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Among the 27 megacities in the world, New York is the front runner, although the US metropolis by no means has the most inhabitants. In this case, that’s no cause for celebration: New York is the most littering city of any city. If the entire energy consumption were covered by crude oil, a super tanker would have to unload its cargo every 36 hours in the city port to meet the demand.
Frugal residents of Tokyo
Such exciting findings were published by Chris Kennedy from the University of Toronto and his colleagues in a study. You have examined cities with a population of more than ten million. Europe is only represented by London, Paris and Moscow. Most of the megacities are in Asia, including Tokyo with a population of 34 million.
Although almost twice the size of the New York metropolitan area, the residents of the Japanese capital consume 14 percent less energy (electricity, natural gas, heating oil and fuel) and almost half as much water. The authors of the study blame the very well-developed local public transport network for this track record.
Grauwassernetz in Seoul
The South Korean capital Seoul also has a positive water balance. One of the reasons for this is that so-called gray water systems are widespread there. Drinking water that residents consume when showering and bathing is then used as flushing water for the toilets.
The South American metropolises of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, on the other hand, are real wasters of water. Not that the residents consume an extremely high amount. Rather, the pipeline network is in a catastrophic state. Around 50 percent of drinking water is lost through leaks. “These are places that are really short of water. Still, they let it seep away, ”says Kennedy with astonishment.
Only London has a positive record
Urbanization is increasing, as is the growth of megacities. Between 2000 and 2010, half of the 27 megacities examined grew by more than ten percent, Istanbul, Dhaka, Beijing, Shenzhen and Shanghai even by more than 40 percent. The consequence is an ever greater consumption of resources. The only exception is London. Electricity consumption drops there. The authors of the study simply blame the high electricity prices for this.
Today, 6.7 percent of all people live in the 27 largest cities in the world. They use nine percent of the electricity and ten percent of the fuel. They also produce 13 percent of the world’s garbage. There are huge differences. The residents of Djakarta, the Indonesian capital, are content with four percent of the water that New Yorkers use.
Moscow is the third largest consumer of energy, although the metropolitan region is only in the middle with just under 17 million people. In addition to the level of income, the authors also identify the geographical location as the cause of the vastly different use of resources. More energy is consumed in Moscow’s severe winters than in regions with a moderate climate.
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