The low-carbon and sustainable development of cities has long been a focal point for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region. The 2014 APEC Leaders 'Declaration introduced the "APEC Urbanization Partnership Initiative," recognizing the urbanization challenges and opportunities faced by APEC economies and committing to jointly advance collaborative projects to explore pathways for building green, efficient, low-carbon, and people-centered new urbanization and sustainable city development. The 2015 APEC Leaders' Declaration reaffirmed the commitment to developing environmentally friendly, energy-efficient, low-carbon, and people-oriented urbanization models. Achieving inclusive and sustainable development has consistently been a key priority for the APEC region. In early 2020, amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 APEC Leaders 'Declaration called for collaborative efforts to enhance access to affordable energy, strengthen energy resilience and security, promote widespread adoption of diverse energy sources and technologies, support sustainable economic growth, accelerate the transition to clean energy, and achieve robust and inclusive economic recovery—aimed at overcoming pandemic challenges, seizing emerging opportunities, and fostering shared prosperity. The 2022 APEC Leaders' Declaration reiterated the commitment to fostering strong, balanced, secure, sustainable, and inclusive growth. It emphasized the need to intensify efforts to address current challenges—including climate change, extreme weather and natural disasters, food security, and the sustainable energy transition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions—while ensuring regional energy resilience, accessibility, and security through increased investment in relevant initiatives.

      To meet the demands of economic development and daily life, energy consumption is highly concentrated in urban areas. According to data from the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), by 2022, cities housed over 55% of the global population, consumed more than two-thirds of the world's energy, and accounted for approximately 50% to 60% of total global carbon emissions. It is projected that by 2040, cities will represent around 80% of global energy consumption, making them the primary battleground and key focus for achieving carbon neutrality. The energy transition—including improving energy efficiency and vigorously developing renewable energy—is a widely agreed-upon approach, and the methods and pathways to realize carbon neutrality have become a major research priority.

      In 2020, China established its "dual carbon" goals. Subsequently, to thoroughly implement the major strategic decisions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council regarding carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, and in accordance with the requirements outlined in the 2021 "Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Fully, Accurately, and Comprehensively Implementing the New Development Philosophy and Advancing Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality Work" and the State Council's "Action Plan for Carbon Peaking Before 2030," provinces and municipalities have formulated corresponding carbon peaking action plans tailored to their specific circumstances, advancing their carbon peaking and carbon neutrality efforts in a steady and orderly manner. Providing affordable regional energy for people-centered urban development, promoting energy conservation and efficiency through planning measures, and addressing the primary energy and carbon emission challenges faced by cities—while advancing APEC cities toward carbon neutrality—have become key research priorities in the urban energy sector.

      This report outlines the energy and carbon emission challenges faced by APEC cities, analyzes implementation strategies for achieving energy transition and carbon neutrality goals, and provides recommendations through case studies of representative APEC cities. The findings address key areas including green and low-carbon energy transformation, energy conservation and carbon reduction efficiency enhancement, carbon peaking in urban and rural development, sustainable transportation systems, circular economy applications for decarbonization, and innovative green technologies. The report delivers actionable policy recommendations to support APEC cities in meeting their energy transition and carbon neutrality targets, while offering replicable best practices for strengthening carbon emission accounting capabilities, advancing standardization frameworks, and developing green finance solutions. These research outcomes ensure effective implementation of APEC leaders' decisions, support the achievement of the APEC Renewable Energy Doubling and Energy Intensity Reduction targets, facilitate knowledge sharing on regional energy transition and carbon neutrality experiences, and drive advancements in urban carbon neutrality technologies and services.

 城市的低碳可持续发展早就成为了亚太经合组织(APEC)区域关注的焦点问题。2014年APEC领导人宣言提出《亚太经合组织城镇化伙伴关系合作倡议》。认识到亚太经合组织经济体面临的城镇化挑战和机遇，承诺共同推进合作项目，深入探讨建设绿色、高效能源、低碳、以人为本的新型城镇化和可持续城市发展路径。2015年APEC领导人宣言再次提出致力于发展环保、节能、低碳和以人为本的新型城镇化模式。实现包容性、可持续发展一直是APEC区域的重要议题之一。2020年初全球爆发严重的新冠肺炎疫情，为了克服疫情挑战、把握新兴机遇和实现共同繁荣，2020年APEC领导人宣言提出将开展合作，促进可负担能源的可及性，增强能源韧性和能源安全，实现对各种能源和技术的广泛利用，支持可持续经济增长，促进向清洁能源转型，实现强劲、包容的经济复苏。2022年APEC领导人宣言重申致力于促进强劲、平衡、安全、可持续和包容增长。认识到，需要加大力度应对当前挑战，包括气候变化、极端天气和自然灾害、粮食安全以及减少温室气体排放的可持续能源转型，同时通过促进相关活动的投资，确保本地区的能源韧性、可及性和安全。

  为满足经济发展和居民生活的需要，能源消费高度集中于城市。根据联合国人居署(UN-Habitat)的数据，截止到2022年，城市容纳了全球55%以上的人口，消耗了全球2/3以上的能源，城市碳排放约占全球总碳排放的50%~60%。预计到2040年城市将占全球能源消费量的80%左右，城市已成为碳中和的主阵地和关键点。能源转型，包括提高能源效率和大力发展可再生能源，是已经取得的共识，实现碳中和目标的方法和途径成为当前研究领域的热点。

      2020年我国提出了“双碳”目标，随后，为深入贯彻落实党中央、国务院关于碳达峰、碳中和的重大战略决策，根据2021年发布的《中共中央国务院关于完整准确全面贯彻新发展理念做好碳达峰碳中和工作的意见》和国务院《2030年前碳达峰行动方案》部署要求，各省市结合自身实际情况，制定了相应的碳达峰行动方案，稳妥有序推进各省市碳达峰、碳中和工作。为以人为本的城市发展提供负担得起的区域能源，通过规划措施促进节能和能效提升;解决城市面临的主要能源与碳排放挑战，推动APEC城市走向碳中和，已成为APEC城市能源领域的重要研究议题。

  本报告将概述APEC城市的能源和碳排放挑战，分析APEC城市实现能源转型与碳中和目标的实施策略，通过对APEC典型城市的研究，为城市在能源绿色低碳转型、节能降碳增效、城乡建设碳达峰、交通运输绿色低碳、循环经济助力降碳、绿色低碳科技创新等领域提供建议和参考。为APEC城市实现能源转型与碳中和目标提供政策建议，同时，在加强碳排放统计核算能力建设、加强标准体系建设、发展绿色低碳金融等方面提供可操作、可复制、可推广的经验做法。研究成果使APEC领导人会议精神得到贯彻执行，也将为APEC可再生能源翻番目标和能源强度降低目标的实现提供支撑，促进APEC区域城市能源转型与碳中和经验的分享，以及城市实现碳中和的相关技术与服务的进步。