Following the raised climate ambition achieved with the Glasgow Climate Pact last year, global attention is now turning to the effective implementation of headline pledges. For countries to meet their targets, practical policies and solutions need to be urgently implemented. Key to this global transition are cities.
The latest IPCC report has declared the 21st-century as an urban century, defined by a massive increase in global urban populations reaching 68 per cent by 2050 - with Asian and African cities seeing the biggest increases. The carbon emissions of cities have been on the rise – reaching over 70 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions — but while urban centres are a big driver of planet-warming emissions, they can also play a major role in addressing climate change. Aggressive climate action can bring city emissions to net-zero by 2050 — but failing to act could instead see urban emissions double in that time, the IPCC report said.
Many cities are already using renewable energy sources and transitioning to cleaner industrial systems, while governments have been consistently raising environmental and social regulations to deal with the growing planetary crisis. What are specific implementation strategies that will help cities accelerate its path to a climate-sensitive world?
Held in the week before COP27, the global climate change meeting hosted by Egypt this year, this year’s edition of Cities: Possibilities forum will focus on the practical ‘how’ to fulfill net zero pledges, investigating what concrete strategies cities can implement to become more climate-sensitive, resilient and inclusive.
The 2023 edition of The Liveability Challenge, Asia’s largest sustainability solutions platform presented by Temasek Foundation, will also be launched at this event for the first time. Join us as we unveil the new themes for the sustainability innovations we are looking for in the year ahead.
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