Episodes
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This past January, our editorial counterparts at the the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy published an issue dedicated to Ecological Economics; this episode showcases two experts in wellbeing economics who contributed their knowledge to that edition.
Image Credit: Photo by Milly Vueti on Unsplash
Featured guests:
Amanda Janoo is the Economics & Policy Lead at the Wellbeing Economy Alliance, a global collective striving to deliver systemic economic change which prioritises human and ecological wellbeing. These concepts are outlined in the article she co-authored, “Policy Design for a Wellbeing Economy – Lessons from Four City Pilots”, which explores four very different cities that have put wellbeing economy theories into real world practice.
Rachel Laurence is the Deputy Director for The Centre for Thriving Places, which offers strategic support, research, training and evidence-based measurement tools that put the interests and wellbeing of people, place, and planet centre stage. She was the former lead for Economic Development for Barking and Dagenham council, and has acted as advisor for Barking and Dagenham Giving. She is also the co-author of “Wellbeing Economy Ideas for Cities: Lessons for Implementation.”
Links
Herman Daly’s Great Debates: The enduring vitality of Ecological Economics - Featuring Peter Jackson, Cities 1.5 podcast
Beyond Growth: How cities can put people and planet first - Featuring Sandrine Dixson-Declève, Cities 1.5 podcast
Dedicim.Barcelona
Bullshit Jobs - Dave Graeber, Strike Magazine
Measuring What Matters: Toward a Quality of Life Strategy for Canada
Hot or Cool Institute
Thriving Places IndexIf you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/
Cities 1.5 is a podcast by University of Toronto Press and is produced in association with the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy.
Our executive producers are Dali Carmichael and Peggy Whitfield.
Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/
Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/ -
Energy consumed by buildings accounts for almost half of cities’ carbon emissions on average. Because buildings can last over 100 years, increasing their energy efficiency is critical if we are to meet our current global climate goals. To achieve these goals, cities must transition fossil fuels out of their buildings.
Image Credit: Tristan Capacchione
Featured guests:
Frankie Downy is the Head of Building Strategy and Implementation at C40. Through her work, cities in the C40 networks can deliver the significant emission reductions required to assure a cleaner urban future for the planet.
Mayor Valerie Plante is leading her city of Montréal, Canada to transition away from fossil fuels. Under Mayor Plante’s tenure, Montréal has committed to transitioning away from the use of natural gas heating and cooking by implementing bylaw restrictions on its use in new small buildings starting next October 2024.
Links
Municipal Building Decarbonisation Network, New Building Decarbonisation Network, Private Building Decarbonisation Network - C40 website
Seattle is electrifying new buildings despite ruling against gas bans - Crosscut
London continues to lead the UK in reducing emissions from new buildings - Mayor of London website
In New York City, we’re taking bold action on climate with building emissions mandates - C40 Knowledge Hub
Retrofit Melbourne
The Netherlands' Pilot Activity: Dutch 100CNSC Cities Pilot - Net Zero Cities website
C40 Cities South Africa Buildings Programme - C40 website
Chicago sues fossil fuel companies for role in climate crisis - The GuardianIf you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/
Cities 1.5 is a podcast by University of Toronto Press and is produced in association with the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy.
Our executive producers are Dali Carmichael and Peggy Whitfield.
Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/
Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/ -
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Last episode of Cities 1.5, we took you into the Arctic region through the perspectives of a world-renowned scientist and seasoned canoeist and river guide. This time, we’re staying in that region - but we’re speaking to an expert who hails from the circumpolar North about the connections between climate change and human rights. Because Indigenous communities have been calling attention to warming temperatures in the Arctic, and the resulting impacts on their ways of life, for decades already.
Image Credit: Right Livelihood Award 2015 Stockholm 12 / 2015, Wolfgang SchmidtFeatured guest:
Sheila-Watt-Cloutier is an icon in the climate advocacy world, as well as an award-winning Inuk activist and celebrated author. Her book, The Right to Be Cold: One Woman's Story of Protecting Her Culture, the Arctic and the Whole Planet is a national bestseller that deals with the effects of the climate crisis on Inuit communities. She has been a political representative for Inuit at the regional, national, and international levels, most recently as International Chair for the Inuit Circumpolar Council. Sheila was instrumental in the global negotiations that led to the 2001 Stockholm Convention banning the generation and use of persistent organic pollutants that contaminate the Arctic food web.
Links
Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy
Arctic Impacts: Knowledge from the North - Cities 1.5 podcast
Upirngasaq (Arctic Spring) by Sheila Watt-Cloutier in Granta
Book review: The Right to be Cold, by Sheila Watt-Cloutier - The Earthbound Report
Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC): United Voice of the Arctic
Petition To The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Seeking Relief From
Violations Resulting from Global Warming Caused By Acts and Omissions of the United States
Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA)
Human rights violated by Swiss inaction on climate, ECHR rules in landmark case - The GuardianIf you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/
Cities 1.5 is a podcast by University of Toronto Press and is produced in association with the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy.
Our executive producers are Dali Carmichael and Peggy Whitfield.
Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/
Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/ -
The Arctic is heating at four times the rate of the rest of the planet, and is a key indicator region for mapping the impacts of the climate crisis. Glacial melt is predicted to contribute to disastrous rates of sea-level rise which will have catastrophic impacts on global cities, coastal communities and the millions of people who live there. It is crucial that we do everything we can in our cities to ensure that the Arctic does have a future…because all of our futures depend on it.
Image Credit: Photo by Roxanne Desgagnés on Unsplash
Featured in this episode: Xuemei Bai, distinguished professor for Urban Environment and Human Ecology at the Australian National University
Featured guests:
Al Pace is one of Canada’s most accomplished Arctic river guides. He co-founded Canoe North Adventures with his wife, Lin, in 1987, and has been taking people into the far north of Canada by canoe and raft ever since. In the off season, Al is the owner of The Farmhouse Pottery where he crafts beautiful stoneware.
Dr Victoria Herrmann is a Senior Fellow at The Arctic Institute. In 2022, she was named as one of the top 100 most influential people in climate policy worldwide by the Apolitical Group. She led the America’s Eroding Edges project, and she is currently working on the initiative, Preserving Legacies: A Future for Our Past. Dr Herrmann is a bastion of hope for the work that can and must be done for the Arctic.
Links
Last-minute pledges and sobering science: Where is the World, Post-COP28? Cities 1.5 podcast
Sea of methane sealed beneath Arctic permafrost could trigger climate feedback loop if it escapes - Live Science
15 towns and cities starting new cooperation across the Arctic - Arctic Urban Regional Cooperation (AURC) progrIf you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/
Cities 1.5 is a podcast by University of Toronto Press and is produced in association with the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy.
Our executive producers are Dali Carmichael and Peggy Whitfield.
Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/
Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/ -
Cities 1.5 Host David Miller’s book Solved: How the World’s Greatest Cities Are Fixing the Climate Crisis has just been released to paperback in a revised version and with an all new chapter just in time for World Book and Copyright Day! In it, he chronicles the stories of cities who have taken action to meet - and exceed - the emissions targets laid out in the Paris Agreement to transition away from fossil fuels.
In this episode, we turn the tables: David takes his place in the interviewee hotseat, and his editor, Jodi Lewchuk, asks him about writing Solved.
Stay tuned after the interview to hear an excerpt from the Solved audiobook now available on Audible, read by David himself.
Guest host:
Jodi Lewchuck is an Acquisitions Editor with the University of Toronto Press, and was the editor for Solved: How the World’s Greatest Cities Are Fixing the Climate Crisis. Jodi is passionate about acquiring books that shift the narrative and lead to social change, including scholarly work in environmental studies, urban studies, Indigenous studies, geography, anthropology, and sociology. She relishes supporting books and authors that find new ways to engage readers and highlight social issues.
Links
My Country is on Fire. We know who the arsonists are - by David Miller, C40 Centre of City Climate Policy & Economy newsletter
The cost of fossil gas: The health, economic and environmental implications for cities - C40 website
How cities can climate budget - Cities 1.5 podcast
Funders’ Focus: Philanthropic efforts that are driving the fight against climate breakdown - CIties 1.5 podcast, featuring Jesper Nygård, CEO of Realdania
Herman Daly’s Great Debates: The enduring vitality of Ecological Economics - Cities 1.5 podcast
Disinformation thrives in times of crisis - Cities 1.5 podcast, featuring Jennie King from ISDD
Fighting Fossil Fuels: Decarbonising with Data Mapping - Cities 1.5 podcastIf you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/
Cities 1.5 is a podcast by University of Toronto Press and is produced in association with the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy.
Our executive producers are Dali Carmichael and Peggy Whitfield.
Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/
Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/ -
By 2035, global fossil fuel use must be reduced to 50% of 2020 levels - or else we will face uncertain and serious consequences. But the fossil fuel industry keeps forging ahead, making billions at the expense of all of us, through attempts to re-brand fossil gas as a clean energy alternative, using disinformation narratives to delay and deceive, and advocating for the building of new fossil fuel infrastructure. One way to combat these actions of the fossil fuel industry is to collate and make available existing fossil fuel infrastructure. In other words, to map it.
Photo by Zaptec on Unsplash
Featured guests:
Faye Holder is a Program Manager at InfluenceMap, a think tank which produces data-driven analysis on how business and finance are impacting the climate crisis. Faye manages InfluenceMap’s workstreams on 'Oil and Gas' and 'Digital Media and Advertising', and has carried out vital work on exposing The International Gas Union’s Climate Strategy in a wide-ranging report. Faye has also worked in partnership with C40 to create resources for mayors, cities and youth in order to debunk the myths and false claims made by the fossil gas industry and to demystify fossil fuel disinformation.
Ted Nace is the founder and Executive Director of Global Energy Monitor, which develops and analyzes data on energy infrastructure, resources, and uses, and provides open access to information that is essential to building a sustainable energy future. Ted is also the co-founder of computer book publisher Peachpit Press and is the author of Gangs of America: The Rise of Corporate Power and the Disabling of Democracy and Climate Hope: On the Front Lines of the Fight Against Coal.
Links
The cost of fossil gas: The health, economic and environmental implications for cities - C40 Knowledge Hub
Disinformation Thrives in Times of Crisis - Cities 1.5
Lobbymap.org
Reality Check: US Renewable Energy Portfolios Can Outcompete New Gas Plants - Rocky Mountain Institute
Divesting from Fossil Fuels, Investing in Our Future:If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/
Cities 1.5 is a podcast by University of Toronto Press and is produced in association with the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy.
Our executive producers are Dali Carmichael and Peggy Whitfield.
Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/
Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/ -
Next time on Cities 1. 5, it's a special takeover episode! Acquisitions Editor at University of Toronto Press, Jodi Lewchuk, interviews David about his book, Solved: How the World's Great Cities Are Fixing The Climate Crisis. Solved has just been released in paperback this week with an all-new chapter.
David will be at the University of Toronto Bookstore on Wednesday, April 17th to celebrate the launch. Visit utpjournals.press for all the details - we'd love to see you there. And tune in to the next episode of Cities 1. 5 to hear Jodi turn the tables on David and interview him about Solved. You won't want to miss it!If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/
Cities 1.5 is a podcast by University of Toronto Press and is produced in association with the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy.
Our executive producers are Dali Carmichael and Peggy Whitfield.
Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/
Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/ -
Cities stand on the frontline of the climate crisis - so they must also work to create frontline policies that support the global systems change required to ensure that cities have a future. Thanks to philanthropic support from both Global North and Global South organisations, the scientists, artists, and community leaders around the world who are making a climate-assured future possible are ensuring we are one step closer to this becoming reality.
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash
Featured guests:
Jesper Nygård is the CEO of Realdania, a Danish philanthropic association. As a C40 partner, Realdania has contributed significantly to research and projects that examine the intersection of the climate crisis and the built environment to enable more effective urban climate action. Under Jesper’s tenure, Realdania and C40 created the world-leading DK2020 project, ensuring that all 98 municipalities in Denmark will have created a climate action plan by the end of 2024. The follow on project, the Climate Alliance, will concentrate on delivering these planned actions.
Cléa Daridan is a Senior Curator and Cultural Lead with the philanthropic organization Community Jameel, which supports scientists, humanitarians, technologists and creatives to understand and address pressing human challenges - particularly in the Global South. Community Jameel has funded the Climate Labs in partnership with C40 and J-PAL. Cléa also has many interesting insights into how climate projects might fuse with health, arts and culture going forward.
Links
Mark Watts’ speech at the C40 World Mayors’ Summit in Mexico City
From local action to global impact: Denmark’s groundbreaking climate action planning - C40 website
Analysis of the emissions reduction contributions of Danish municipalities towards meeting the 70% target by 2030 - C40 Knowledge Hub
Chennai announces mainstreaming of climate action planning through the Jameel C40 Urban Planning Climate Labs - C40 websiteIf you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/
Cities 1.5 is a podcast by University of Toronto Press and is produced in association with the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy.
Our executive producers are Dali Carmichael and Peggy Whitfield.
Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/
Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/ -
Efforts to address the climate crisis are under siege beneath a rising tide of mis- and disinformation, with smear campaigns often funded and coordinated by vested interests such as the fossil fuel industry, climate conspiracists looking for cash and clicks, and even national governments. We all have a part to play - we must take responsibility for the information we consume and share to ensure a prosperous, healthy future for ourselves…and our planet.
Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash
Featured in this episode: Xuemei Bai, distinguished professor for Urban Environment and Human Ecology at the Australian National University
Featured guests:
Jennie King is the Director of Climate Research and Policy at the Institute of Strategic Dialogue (ISD) and co-founder of the Climate Action Against Disinformation Coalition (CAAD). She has spearheaded investigations on climate denialism and ‘discourses of delay’ around the world, and has co-authored a number of ISD’s flagship reports on this issue.
Hélène Chartier is C40’s Director of Urban Planning and Design. She and her team develop programmes and activities that support cities to accelerate sustainable and resilient urban planning policies and design practices, including the C40 workstream on 15-minute cities.
Links
How climate change misinformation spreads online - Carbon Brief
The Nexus Between Green Backlash and Democratic Backsliding in Europe
CAAD Data Monitor Vol.1: 15-Minute Cities
The 15-minute city is transforming life for urban dwellers for the better - Mark Watts
15 minute cities: How they got caught in conspiracy theories - BBC News
Carlos Moreno: ‘I received violent death threats for inventing the 15-minute city’ - The TelegraphIf you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/
Cities 1.5 is a podcast by University of Toronto Press and is produced in association with the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy.
Our executive producers are Dali Carmichael and Peggy Whitfield.
Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/
Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/ -
Being able to breathe clean air should be a human right but, according to the World Health Organization 99% of the world’s population lives in areas exceeding safe pollution limits, which has huge impacts on public health. Air pollution, climate impacts, and social justice are three sides of the same issue, demanding an intersectional response that not only makes space for the voices of the most impacted, but also the most disenfranchised.
Image Credit: Photo by Sai De Silva on Unsplash
Featured in this episode: The Great Smog of London, 1952, BBC Archive, Originally broadcast 5 December, 1962
Featured guests:
Agnes Agyepong is the founder and CEO of Global Black Maternal Health (GBMH), an organisation placing research and agency back into the hands of Black communities as change agents in their own health narratives. Key areas of research at GBMH include the impact of air pollution on Black women and their children. GBMH also supports the “Black Child Clean Air” initiative and the “Clean Air Wins” campaign.
Dolly Oladini is C40’s Senior Manager for Air Quality, bringing together global cities within the C40 Air Quality Network to share best practices and solutions for improving international air quality. Dolly previously worked as a senior policy officer for the mayor of London, where she promoted the T-Charge and Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) policies.
Links
The Cost of Fossil Gas: Policy Recommendations for a Clean Energy Transition and a Swift Gas Phase-out in Cities
A Pathway to Prioritizing and Delivering Healthy and Sustainable Cities
C40 Clean Air Accelerator
C40 Knowledge Hub - Air Quality Resources
Breathe Cities unveils new cohort of cities to join ambitious initiative to fight toxic air pollutionIf you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/
Cities 1.5 is a podcast by University of Toronto Press and is produced in association with the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy.
Our executive producers are Dali Carmichael and Peggy Whitfield.
Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/
Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/ -
Ecological economics lies at the heart of the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy and C40’s mission. It recognises that the former gold standard of measuring economic success – the growth of gross domestic product, or GDP – is no longer fit for purpose, despite the fact that it’s the model that most national governments still rely on. Policies that allow us to prioritize the vitality of both people and the environment - and potentially a systemic re-think of our economic global systems - are vital for the welfare of our world. Existing and developing technologies cannot solve all of our problems: transitioning away from oil and gas and stopping unsustainable growth and overconsumption are the first steps to ensuring a future for our planet – and for us.
Image Credit: Photo by Nik on Unsplash
Featured guests:
Peter Victor is a world-leading expert in the field of ecological economics and the author of several books, including his latest, Escape from Overshoot: Economics for a Planet in Peril. He is also the author of the biography Herman Daly’s Economics for a Full World: His Life and Ideas and recently published a commentary in Volume 2, Issue 2 of the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, titled “Herman Daly’s Great Debates,” which delves into the concepts national and city governments can and should be implementing from Daly’s extensive and formative works.
Links
Herman Daly’s obituary by Professor Peter Victor
Canadian Society of Ecological Economics
Book review, Managing without Growth
Global Footprint Network
Finance and Economics - C40 Knowledge Hub
Earth Overshoot DayIf you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/
Cities 1.5 is a podcast by University of Toronto Press and is produced in association with the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy.
Our executive producers are Dali Carmichael and Peggy Whitfield.
Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/
Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/ -
Last year's COP28 conference ended with a historic first: after dramatic and tense negotiations lasting deep into the night, representatives from across the globe agreed upon a roadmap to transition away from dirty energy. But does the agreement fall short of what is required if the world is to avoid breaching crucial and deadly climate tipping points?
Image Credit: © Maurizio Martorana - C40
Featured guests:
Mark Watts, executive director of C40 Cities, is building a reputation as one of the most prominent thought leaders in the urban climate action space, and was recently recognised as such in the Time 100 Climate list. Mark’s aim for C40 entails supporting its network of cities in halving global emissions this decade, while simultaneously reducing inequality and implementing inclusive climate policies.
Professor Xuemei Bai is a distinguished professor for Urban Environment and Human Ecology at the Australian National University. She was also the winner of the 2018 Volvo Environmental Prize, and is an elected fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. Professor Bai has served as a lead author for numerous global climate policy initiatives, including IPCC AR6 and is also a commissioner at the Earth Commission, which has set out crucial tipping points the world must not pass to avoid planetary collapse.
Links
Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy
Collapse by Jared Diamond
Solved: How the World’s Great Cities Are Fixing the Climate Crisis
Ports & Shipping - C40 website
Translating Earth system boundaries for cities and businesses - Nature
Build networked resilience across cities. - Science - Professor Xuemei Bai
C40 North America mayors' response to wildfires and air quality crisis in the region
We’ve lost a giant: Vale Professor Will Steffen, climate science pioneer - The ConversationIf you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/
Cities 1.5 is a podcast by University of Toronto Press and is produced in association with the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy.
Our executive producers are Dali Carmichael and Peggy Whitfield.
Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/
Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/ -
The UN Women slogan for International Women’s Day 2024 is “Invest in women: Accelerate progress,” and in support of this goal we’re opening Season 3 of Cities 1.5 with a production team takeover! David Miller may be the voice of the podcast, but our amazing production team is all female. Also, we hear from two amazing women who are working to ensure that women’s voices are heard, mainstreamed and amplified, and that their needs are centred in the battle to stop climate breakdown.
Image Credit: Photo by Ruben Hutabarat on Unsplash
Featured guests:
Xiye Bastida is a youth climate activist, co-founder the Re-Earth Initiative, lead organizer of Fridays for Future New York City, and Secretariat Team Member of Future Generations Tribunal. Born in Atlacomulco, Mexico, Xiye is a proud member of the Otomi-Toltec Indigenous community. She is an undergraduate student set to receive her bachelor’s degree from the prestigious University of Pennsylvania this year, and will also be debuting The Whale Lagoon, a film she co-wrote and executive produced.
Silvia Marcon is the Head of Global Leadership at C40. She works with the Chair of C40, Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, her team in Paris, and the C40 Executive Director team to set the Chair’s strategic vision, implement their priorities, and coordinate Steering Committee engagement. Silvia leads the Women4Climate initiative, designed to advance and support the emergence of the next generation of female climate leaders in C40 Cities.
Special thanks to Jess, Peggy, and Dali of the Cities 1.5 Production Team for lending their voices to this episode.
Links
The Lasting Legacy of Women4Climate
Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy
United Nations: International Women’s Day March 8
The Re-Earth Initiative
Xiye Bastida website
How Xiye Bastida Became a Leader in the Climate FightIf you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/
Cities 1.5 is a podcast by University of Toronto Press and is produced in association with the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy.
Our executive producers are Dali Carmichael and Peggy Whitfield.
Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/
Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/ -
This past December, COP28 signalled the beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era. 150 heads of state came to the consensus that in order to halve emissions by 2030 - the target that scientists have warned us be must adhere to in order to avoid climate catastrophe - we must transition away from dirty energy. This is a monumental moment for our planet…and cities are going to be leading the way as we execute on these actions.
In season 3 of Cities 1.5, host David Miller is speaking to urban leaders who are driving change locally, with global impacts. Featuring guests like:
- Xiye Bastida, Youth Climate Activist
- Mark Watts, C40 Executive Director
- Agnes Agyepong, Founder and CEO of Global Black Maternal Health
- ...and more!
Season 3 of Cities 1.5 debuts March 5, with a new episode every Tuesday after that.If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/
Cities 1.5 is a podcast by University of Toronto Press and is produced in association with the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy.
Our executive producers are Dali Carmichael and Peggy Whitfield.
Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/
Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/ -
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been warning us for decades that record-breaking, hot, fire- and smoke-filled summers like the one we just experienced will continue to be the new normal without huge and immediate cuts in global greenhouse gas emissions. The latest IPCC report serves as our last warning: carry on as we are and we’ll face ever-increasing extreme climate events, such as the terrible wildfires which just raged across Canada, leading to loss of life, property and livelihoods, as well as impacting on the health of millions. In our season two finale, we ask an IPCC contributor and a wildfire expert for advice on how to ensure there is a future for us all.
Featured in this episode: António Guterres, UN Secretary General
Featured guests:
Jen Baron is a PhD candidate in the Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. Jen has been featured extensively in both print and broadcast media, explaining the causes of the Canadian wildfires, their links to the climate crisis, and how best to prevent and manage them.
Aromar Revi is the Director of India’s Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS). Co-Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Aromar is one of South Asia’s most experienced risk and disaster management professionals. He was a member of the Core Writing Team of the 2022 AR6 Synthesis Report, and helped produce previous IPCC reports.
Links
Fire and Climate: Connecting the Dots in British Columbia News Media - Canadian Journal of Communication, University Toronto Press
Abrupt, climate-induced increase in wildfires in British Columbia since the mid-2000s - Nature
A century of transformation - Jen Baron et al.
C40 North America mayors' response to wildfires and air quality crisis in the region - C40 website
IPCC Report - 8. Urban Areas - Aromar Revi
Urban Cooling Toolbox - C40 Knowledge Hub
Image credit: © Serafine FreyIf you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/
Cities 1.5 is a podcast by University of Toronto Press and is produced in association with the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy.
Our executive producers are Dali Carmichael and Peggy Whitfield.
Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/
Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/ -
In the face of enforced mass migration, the rising cost of recovery from increasing climate disasters, and an uncertain future without drastic and immediate action, it’s important to hold up examples of cities and projects that are successful in their innovative climate actions. In this episode, we look at climate projects in Curitiba, Brazil, and Barranquilla, Colombia, that are working towards saving the planet while making their cities more prosperous and resilient.
Featured guests:
Mayor Rafael Greca was elected to his current mayorship of the city of Curitiba, Brazil in 2017. His city participates in the Pathway Towards Zero Waste and Urban Nature C40 Accelerator programs. Curitiba has also produced a number of innovative projects and case studies, including a hydroelectric power plant, water shortage reduction programs, community gardens, modernized bus rapid transit, and the transformation of a landfill into a solar pyramid.
Mayor Jaime Pumarejo was elected Mayor of Barranquilla, Colombia in 2019. Under his leadership, the award-winning Todos al Parque initiative – a massive park regeneration scheme – has transformed Barranquilla, improving the health wellbeing and safety of residents. Due to its location and resources, Barranquilla is also a main landing hub for people displaced by climate change impacts: through his work with the Mayors Migration Council, Mayor Pumajero advocates equitably for all members of Barranquilla’s expanding community.
Links
Solar Energy for Social Housing in Curitiba - C40 Cities
C40-MMC Global Mayors Task Force on Climate and Migration - C40 Cities
Keeping 1.5°C Alive in the Global South: Life or Death - Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy
Breaking the Walls of Complex Systems Change in Cities - Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy
Image credit: © Helene BaumIf you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/
Cities 1.5 is a podcast by University of Toronto Press and is produced in association with the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy.
Our executive producers are Dali Carmichael and Peggy Whitfield.
Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/
Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/ -
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”: the first line of the Charles Dickens novel A Tale of Two Cities is an idea that the two cities featured in this episode’s case study know all too well. The Global South’s Nairobi, Kenya and the Global North’s Rotterdam in the Netherlands are half a world apart, but they’re each facing similar and equally dire climate consequences that are caused by and a threat to the major economic driver of import and export in their cities. But in the face of these “worst of times,” both of these cities are implementing the best and most innovative strategies they can to curb climate impact and make their key industries and transportation systems more resilient and sustainable.
Featured guests:
Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb has helped Rotterdam become one of Europe’s most diverse, dynamic, and multicultural cities. Thanks to his leadership, Rotterdam has evolved into an open and progressive urban centre with a strong emphasis on circularity, sustainability, and innovation. Mayor Aboutaleb has a well-earned global reputation as one of the world’s most respected and appreciated mayors.
Maurice Kavai is the Deputy Director, Climate Change, for Nairobi City County. The main goal of his work is to ensure that climate actions are streamlined within Nairobi’s urban programs, and to anchor all sector initiatives and development plans into the city’s climate action plan. Nairobi urban planning strategies include projects such as their railway city master plan, which will integrate mixed-use development, including affordable housing, with the railway transport network. The city also has previous successes with co-developed, inclusive planning processes, such as that which they undertook with the Mukuru Informal Settlement.
Links
“Keeping 1.5°C Alive in the Global South: Life or Death,” by Pamela Escobar Vargas, Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy.
Dutch landscape shifts with North Sea wind farms, onshore hubs - Reuters
Roadmap ZECL: Moving towards Zero Emission City Logistics in Rotterdam in 2025 - C40 Knowledge Hub
Community-led upgrade to a Nairobi slum could be a model for Africa - The Guardian
Work Begins on Much-Awaited Nairobi Railway City - Construction Kenya
At the Africa Climate Summit, city leaders call for action and investment on climate and green jobs - C40 Cities
Image credit: © Alyssa BabasaIf you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/
Cities 1.5 is a podcast by University of Toronto Press and is produced in association with the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy.
Our executive producers are Dali Carmichael and Peggy Whitfield.
Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/
Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/ -
July 2023 was the hottest month globally since records began. Combine that with several months filled with a series of extreme weather events - from heatwaves in Europe, North America and Asia, to wildfires in Canada and Greece - and it’s undeniable that the impacts of climate change that experts have long been warning us about are here today. And the worse news is that it’s only going to get hotter.
Featured guests:
Eugenia Kargbo is Freetown, Sierra Leone’s Chief Heat Officer. Her role is the first of its kind in Africa, and her duties include raising public awareness about extreme heat, improving responses to heat waves, and collecting heat impact data for her city of 1.2 million people. Her team’s Freetown the Treetown project was a 2023 nominee for the Protect and Restore Nature Earthshot Award.
Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis served as the Mayor of Athens from 2019 to the end of 2023. He has worked at the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and has held positions in the European Parliament in Brussels and the World Bank in Kosovo. He is also the vice president of the Hellenic Agency for Local Development and Local Government, and a Greek Leadership Council member of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
Links:
Hot Cities, Chilled Economies: Freetown, Sierra Leone
Freetown’s highly replicable way of self-financing urban reforestation - C40 Knowledge Hub
Freetown the Treetown - Earthshot
Eleni Myrivili: A three-part plan to take on extreme heat waves - C40 Knowledge Hub
Heatwave tips from Athens: Cool routes app, new pocket parks and renovating a Roman aqueduct - Euronews
Image credit: © Erin Dwi Azmi C40If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/
Cities 1.5 is a podcast by University of Toronto Press and is produced in association with the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy.
Our executive producers are Dali Carmichael and Peggy Whitfield.
Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/
Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/ -
Climate breakdown is happening, and the cost of ignoring this phenomenon will be far greater than the cost of immediate action. We know that green investments promote the transition to a more resilient, prosperous, and sustainable economy. But what are the steps that cities need to take in order to shift their investments away from fossil fuels? How can policy makers support the creation of good, green jobs - while still protecting the climate?
Featured guests:
Daniel Zarrilli is the Special Advisor for Climate and Sustainability at Columbia University where he is supporting the creation of its new, world-leading Climate School and advising on pathways to achieve the university’s deep decarbonization goals. During his time working in the NYC Mayor’s Office, New York City committed to divesting entirely from fossil fuel funds and C40 Mayor Blasio (along with current C40 chair, Mayor Sadiq Khan of London) founded the Divest/Invest forum, an initiative aimed to build capacity and knowledge sharing for cities.
Dr Savannah Cox has recently accepted the position of Lecturer in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at the University of Sheffield in England. She is an interdisciplinary qualitative social scientist studying urban planning for climate change and urban climate justice, with a focus on financial systems and infrastructure.
Dr Zac Taylor is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management in the Built Environment at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. His research advances critical and practical knowledge of climate finance with the place-specific challenges of urban climate action.
Links
C40 Divest/Invest Forum
"Interrupted rhythms and uncertain futures" - Sarah Knuth, Savannah Cox, Sahar Zavareh Hofmann, John Morris, Zac Taylor & Beki McElvain
Spotlight On: Cities Divest-Invest - C40 Knowledge Hub
Building climate resilience in cities through insurance - C40 Knowledge Hub
Image credit: Rosanna Wan @ C40If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/
Cities 1.5 is a podcast by University of Toronto Press and is produced in association with the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy.
Our executive producers are Dali Carmichael and Peggy Whitfield.
Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/
Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/ -
C40 and the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy are providing an opportunity for cities to rethink conventional economic systems, like capitalism, that have led to the climate crisis. It is abundantly clear that the economic rules and systems created after WWII have led to twin crises: climate change and continued inequality. It’s necessary to unpack these theories to better understand their impacts and relation to climate breakdown and figure out more effective economic strategies that cities can use to restore justice and health to our planet. But what exactly do cities need to understand - and do - to make this happen?
Featured guests:
Sandrine Dixson-Declève is the co-president of The Club of Rome and an international climate change thought leader. When she is not leading The Club of Rome, she also serves as an advisor, lecturer, and facilitator for difficult conversations about the climate crisis. Recently, The Club of Rome published Earth for All – A Survival Guide for Humanity, which revisits theories behind the degrowth and wellbeing movements that The Club of Rome helped to form fifty years ago. Sandrine was recognised most recently by Reuters as one of 25 global female trailblazers leading the fight against climate change.
Councillor Susan Aitken was elected to the Langside of Glasgow, Scotland, in 2012 and became Leader of Glasgow City Council - the Scottish equivalent to mayor - in 2017. Before being elected, Susan worked in a variety of policy and research roles in the Scottish Parliament and the third sector and as a freelance writer and editor specialising in health and social care policy. She is a graduate of both Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities.
Links
“Prosperity Beyond Growth: An Emerging Agenda for European Cities,” by Ben Rogers et al., Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy
“Cities Can Lead the Energy Employment Transition … but They Must Plan for It,” by Jim Stanford
The Limits to Growth
Scientist Johan Rockström Explains Earth's Climate Tipping Points - Global Commons Alliance
Glasgow’s Regional Economic Strategy
Wellbeing economy policy design guide - C40 Knowledge Hub
The shared ingredients for a wellbeing economy - C40 Knowledge Hub
Image credit: © Aline Souza C40If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/
Cities 1.5 is a podcast by University of Toronto Press and is produced in association with the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy.
Our executive producers are Dali Carmichael and Peggy Whitfield.
Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/
Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/ - Show more
