In the race to address climate change, cities are taking the lead, Alister Doyle reports for The Guardian. More than 2,500 cities have sent their emission-cutting plans to the United Nations since late 2014, with many of those plans outpacing the national targets set by countries in joining the Paris Agreement on climate change.

With more than half of the world’s population living in urban areas, cities will increasingly determine whether the world meets its Paris Agreement goal of less than 2°C of global warming. But as Doyle reports, “…as many cities become more assertive, governments are reluctant to cede control.”