This figure is staggering: The world could save $22 trillion—TRILLION, folks!—and cut carbon emissions to a level equivalent of India’s ENTIRE ANNUAL output of greenhouse gases (I'm no scientist, but in a country of 1.2 billion people, that would equate to a lot) if national governments adopted efforts to turn their cities into low carbon smart cities, says a study by independent initiative The Global Commission on Climate and Economy. This report, says PV Magazine, was backed by leading research institutes from the U.K. and six other countries (including Sweden, South Korea and Norway), and concluded that savings on transport, buildings, waste disposal and heating could reach $22 trillion globally by 2050 if strategies outlined in the report are adopted.

While it's unlikely that the whole world gets on board with this idea (here's to hoping!), there are some green cities that are ahead of our time and have either had eco-friendly infrastructure and sustainable and innovative solutions implemented for some time now, or are making these positive changes with the environment in mind moving forward. In this blog, we take a look at five of the greenest cities in the world that show us that it IS possible!