Beijing

One of the 20 largest cities in the world, Beijing is also one of its most heavily polluted. Before the 2008 Olympic Games, Beijing was engaged in a series of actions to achieve a “Green Olympics,” resulting in investments in alternative-fuel buses and taxis and improved auto emission standards. These accomplishments helped to shape adaptation and mitigation strategies in response to climate change. Because Beijing is an important political and economic center, it serves as a useful comparison city for case studies of other global cities that are creating their own adaptation and mitigation strategies to counter the effects of climate change (Zhao, 2011).