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Abstract

Cities are increasingly positioned as key climate actors through transnational networks and greenhouse gas emissions reduction pledges. Upstream emissions from the consumption of goods and services account for a major portion of total urban carbon footprints. However, most city climate action plans (CAPs) only account for territorial and energy consumption-related upstream emissions, rather than addressing full consumption-based emissions. This gap is often linked to the legal limitation of municipal authority to territorial boundaries. Here, we show that cities have substantial untapped policy potential to address consumption-based emissions. The greatest missed opportunities are found in cities with extensive legal powers rather than limited authority. By analyzing eight international cities, we found that household carbon footprints ranged from 2 to 12.1 tCO2eq per capita and year. Current CAPs addressed sectors representing 60% of indirect emissions with at least one mitigation measure, while sectors representing 40% of indirect emissions remained entirely unaddressed. All cities can address their entire carbon footprint through soft measures, and six out of eight could address over 75% of indirect emissions through hard regulatory measures. The scope of climate action on consumption-based emissions is determined by political will, policy prioritization and administrative capacities rather than legal constraints. We discuss pathways for cities to address these emissions despite the ongoing challenges of accurate measurement and monitoring. Strengthening local democratic decision-making processes can enhance the legitimacy and accountability of consumption-focused climate action, and city networks as well as national legislation could play a key role in scaling up implementation.