Unraveling climate targets across the Paris conurbation as a gauge of city ambitions

Urban areas are crucial for emission mitigation, yet achieving reduction targets remains challenging. This paper analyzes CO₂ mitigation measures in the Paris metropolitan area, providing a unique, comprehensive assessment of the city’s climate action plan at high spatiotemporal resolution, allowing us to examine emissions trends and the likelihood of meeting the 2030 and 2050 climate targets. Our temporal analysis reveals that planned efforts align with the 2030 targets, but achieving the 2050 goals requires additional measures. Projected district-level emissions reveal significant heterogeneity marked by aggressive climate strategies within the urban core in the traffic sector and east/west gradients pointing to socio-economic factors influencing mitigation potentials. Our analysis links income and emissions, indicating the need for balanced interventions. This study introduces a next-generation quantification tool that rigorously assesses urban climate action plans, highlighting the pivotal role of the building and traffic sectors in meeting climate targets while addressing socio-economic barriers.