Cities are at the frontlines of the climate crisis, and CDP data shows that 85% of cities report that they are already feeling the weight of climate hazards from extreme heat, flooding and rainstorms. Meanwhile, 70% of the world’s population will live in urban areas by 2050, meaning that, to sustain future economic growth and remain safe and secure places to live and work, cities must deliver urgent climate action fast. Fortunately, there are steps that cities can, and are taking to build a resilient and climate safe future. Explore our webinars below to learn more.
CDP : Unlocking Climate Solutions, City-Business Collaboration for a Sustainable Future
CDP is inviting data scientists to explore the information supplied to us in our annual reporting process, in search of solutions to the most pressing problems related to climate change, water security, deforestation, and social inequity that cities are facing today.
CDP houses the world’s largest, most comprehensive dataset on environmental action – but as the data grows to include thousands more companies and cities each year, there is even greater potential for our data to be utilized in impactful ways. That’s why we are excited to launch a virtual data competition with Kaggle (a Google company) this October through December. Data scientists will scour environmental information provided to CDP by disclosing companies and cities, searching for solutions to our most pressing problems related to climate change, water security, deforestation and social inequity. CDP will award $90,000 in total prizes to the winners.
Cities Lead the Race to Zero
Subnational governments, including cities are critical for driving strong environmental action and ratcheting up national climate commitments. The Race to Zero Dialogues event series will chart how cities and other actors are already rapidly transitioning to a zero-carbon future, as defined in the Climate Action Pathway.
Cities are one of the most important actors in the Race to Zero. This event will delve into what cities can do to aim for net zero with a session devoted to cities that want to set a science-based target for climate. The event will also showcase success stories of cities in the Race to Zero as well as present, resources, and guidance available to those wishing to join the Race to Zero that will help them in their journey.
Co-benefits of Climate Action Webinars 2020
CDP hosted three webinars on the co-benefits of city climate action, providing cities with an overview of the types of co-benefits climate action can deliver and information on how cities can use co-benefits to support their transition to a low-carbon future.
The actions that cities take to mitigate climate change can deliver additional beneficial outcomes, such as cleaner air, improved health, and job creation. By actively embedding these co-benefits in climate action planning, cities can bolster support from stakeholders, make more efficient use of scarce resources, and accelerate climate action. This webinar provides an overview of recent research undertaken jointly by CDP, the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, and the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations assessing how cities are identifying and using co-benefits to support their climate action.
Climate & urban health
webinars 2020
CDP have hosted several climate and urban health focused webinars to provide cities with introductions to various critical urban health issues and instructions on where to find more information and support.
85% of cities reported climate hazards in 2019 but only 46% of these cities completed risk and vulnerability assessments that help them assess the real-world impact of these hazards. Comprehensive risk and vulnerability assessments are critical to develop a picture of current and future climate risks and opportunities. This webinar hears insights and guidance on developing risk and vulnerability assessments from Dale Sands, co-chair of the United Nations ARISE Global Board (in association with UNDRR), The City of Cascais, Portugal and CDP's Director of Water Security.
The recent pandemic has brought to light the impact that air pollution has on our health, resilience and skylines. In this webinar, we are joined by the Deputy Mayor of Rennes, Charlotte Marchandise – who also serves as the President of WHO’s Healthy Cities for France and the co-president of GUAPO - Global Urban Air Pollution Observatory. The webinar welcomes Nathalie Roebbel, who serves as the Technical Officer for Social Determinants of Health for the World Health Organization (WHO). Finally we're joined by Karin Tuxen-Bettman who leads the Earth Outreach Program and Project Air View at Google which uses Google's mapping tools to help address some of our world’s most pressing problems. Together, we discuss pragmatic and cost-effective measures that cities can consider to target pollutants in key sectors, and bring substantial benefits for public health, air quality, near-term climate protection, and economic growth.
City governments have a leading role to play in ensuring a resilient and sustainable food system. We know that less carbon-intensive food choices coupled with less food waste and improved supply chains can cut city emissions substantially. We also know that by addressing public access and understanding around food choices, cities can help to improve the overall health and wellness of their citizens. In this session, CDP will invite city, health and food systems stakeholders to share their experiences and offer examples on how cities can work to incorporate sustainable food policies and programs that work for their citizens.
We will be joined by Daniel Vennard, WRI Director of the Better Buying Lab and Cool Food Pledge. The webinar also welcomes Diane Johnson, Health Research Specialist with the Toronto Food Strategy at Toronto Public Health (Representing the City of Toronto) and Biaba Rosicka, Project Manager with Getliņi EKO (Representing a Municipal Solid Waste Company set up by the City of Riga, which handles 50% of all the waste in Latvia).
We’ll also hear from Bridget Schrempf, who leads CDP’s new focus on Sustainable Food Systems.
As the world continues to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, global cities are taking steps to protect their citizens from the climate crisis and future public health shocks. In this fourth and final webinar in CDP’s Climate and Urban Health series, we will enable cities to better understand what it means to set a ‘net zero target’ and how science-based targets and co-benefit solutions drive the low-carbon transition in ways that work for and protect citizens. We will be joined by José Siri, Senior Science Lead for Cities with the Wellcome Trust’s Our Planet Our Health Team and Maia Kutner, Associate Director with CDP Cities, States & Regions, who leads CDP’s Cities’ work on Science Based Targets and Race to Zero. We’ll also welcome Celia Peterson, Environmental Sustainability Project Manager in Park City (Utah). Park City has made one of North America’s most ambitious climate goals: to be net-zero carbon and run on 100% renewable electricity for city operations by 2022, and for the whole community to be net zero by 2030.
Start the journey to being a green, sustainable city now by measuring, monitoring and managing your impact on the environment.
