People must live much closer together in densely packed cities where no one needs a car, according to a major report into how to minimise climate change.
Helping future citizens of the largest 700 cities to avoid the need to drive would cut greenhouse gas emissions by 1.5 billion tonnes a year, three times Britain’s current emissions, by 2020.
Half the world’s population lives in urban areas, which are growing by 1.4 million people a week, according to the report by the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate.
The commission recommends the introduction of “road user charges” to deter people from using cars in cities and suggests that urban centres be rebuilt with a higher density of homes. It welcomes the spread of bike-sharing