Location: International
Website: c40.org
The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, now in its 11th year, connects more than 80 of the world’s
greatest cities, representing 600+ million people and one quarter of the global economy. Created and led
by cities, C40 is focused on tackling climate change and driving urban action that reduces greenhouse gas
emissions and climate risks, while increasing the health, wellbeing and economic opportunities of urban
citizens.
The current chair of C40 is Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo; three-term Mayor of New York City
Michael R. Bloomberg serves as President of the Board. C40’s work is made possible by our three strategic
funders: Bloomberg Philanthropies, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), and Realdania.
C40 was founded on the idea that cities can achieve more by working together than acting alone. C40’s
international staff supports mayors of the world’s megacities to deliver bold, ambitious and
transformational action on climate change, through the exchange of ideas, programmes and policies;
world class research; technical expertise; events that convene the world’s foremost climate experts and
communications support to highlight the individual achievements and collective leadership of
cities. Member cities have already committed to reducing their emissions by a total of more than 3
gigatons of C02 by 2030 - the equivalent of taking 600 million cars off the road.
C40 Initiatives and Networks.
Working across multiple sectors and issues, C40 convenes networks that provide a range of services in
support of cities’ climate change efforts. C40 has 17 networks organised under 6 initiative areas covering
the mitigation, adaptation and sustainability topics of highest priority to C40 cities and with the potential
for the greatest climate impact. C40 is also positioning cities as a leading force for climate action around
the world, defining and amplifying their call to national governments for greater support and autonomy in
creating a sustainable future.
C40 networks help cities replicate, improve and accelerate climate action. These city-only working groups
provide for honest knowledge exchange, enabling cities to tap into the global expertise of their peers as
well as connect with technical partners. Through networks, cities find opportunities to undertake joint
projects in areas of mutual interest and benefit. C40 networks also amplify individual city solutions by
providing a global platform for showcasing city successes. The result is that cities' climate actions to
reduce GHGs and climate risks are bolder, more impactful, implemented faster, at a lower cost and with
less resources than if they were to go it alone. No other organisation facilitates such deep connections
amongst city staff across 50+ countries, 20 time zones and 26 languages to accelerate local action with
major global impact.
Showing posts with label Climate change. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Climate change. Show all posts
Sunday, January 1, 2017
Monday, June 15, 2015
World Urban Forum
Location: International
Website: wuf7.unhabitat.org
The World Urban Forum (WUF) is a non-legislative technical forum convened by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), hosted in a different city every two years, to examine the most pressing issues facing the world today in the area of human settlements, including rapid urbanization and its impact on cities, communities, economies, climate change and policies. It is the World’s Premier Conference on Cities.
The Forum gathers a wide range of experts from every walk of life. Participants at the Forum include, but are not limited to, national, regional and local governments, non-governmental organizations, community-based organizations, professionals, research institutions and academies, professionals, private sector, development finance institutions, foundations, media and United Nations organizations and other international agencies.
The WUF promotes the strong participation of Habitat Agenda partners and relevant international programmes, funds and agencies, thus ensuring their inclusion in the identification of new issues, the sharing of lessons learned and the exchange of best practices and good policies.
Website: wuf7.unhabitat.org
The World Urban Forum (WUF) is a non-legislative technical forum convened by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), hosted in a different city every two years, to examine the most pressing issues facing the world today in the area of human settlements, including rapid urbanization and its impact on cities, communities, economies, climate change and policies. It is the World’s Premier Conference on Cities.
The Forum gathers a wide range of experts from every walk of life. Participants at the Forum include, but are not limited to, national, regional and local governments, non-governmental organizations, community-based organizations, professionals, research institutions and academies, professionals, private sector, development finance institutions, foundations, media and United Nations organizations and other international agencies.
The WUF promotes the strong participation of Habitat Agenda partners and relevant international programmes, funds and agencies, thus ensuring their inclusion in the identification of new issues, the sharing of lessons learned and the exchange of best practices and good policies.
Thursday, May 21, 2015
The Next System Project
Location: Nationwide:
Website: www.thenextsystem-.org
It’s time for everyone who cares about our troubled country to face the depth of the systemic crisis we now confront as a nation. We must step back from the daily fray and ask: How do we actually get on a path to the kind of society—and world—we’d like now and for future generations? We must begin a real conversation—locally, nationally, and at all levels in between—on how to respond to the profound challenge of our time in history.
"If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending,” Lincoln said, “we could better judge what to do.” Today’s answer to Lincoln’s charge is grim. If one looks at “where we are” among advanced democracies across more than a score of key indicators of national well-being—including relative poverty, inequality, education, social mobility, health, environment, militarization, democracy, and more—we find ourselves exactly where we don’t want to be: at or near the bottom.
The challenging realities of growing inequality, political stalemate, and climate disruption prompt an important insight. When big problems emerge across the entire spectrum of national life, it cannot be due to small reasons. When the old ways no longer produce the outcomes we are looking for, something deeper is occurring. We have fundamental problems because of fundamental flaws in our economic and political system. The crisis now unfolding in so many ways across our country amounts to a systemic crisis.
Today’s political economic system is not programmed to secure the wellbeing of people, place and planet. Instead, its priorities are corporate profits, the growth of GDP, and the projection of national power. If we are to address the manifold challenges we face in a serious way, we need to think through and then build a new political economy that takes us beyond the current system that is failing all around us. However difficult the task, however long it may take, systemic problems require systemic solutions.
The social pain arising from the economic crisis, the steady unfolding of the climate calamity, and many other deeply troubling developments have made it possible to pose the question of large-scale system change in a serious fashion in the United States. Yet, despite this new space for a debate about fundamental change, challenges to the system have until recently been constrained by a continuing lack of imagination concerning social, economic and political alternatives. It is said that the existing system is the only possibility, one we must accept and work with—that, as Margaret Thatcher famously insisted, “There is no alternative.” But she had it wrong.
The good news is that the inability of traditional politics and policies to address fundamental challenges has fueled an extraordinary amount of experimentation in communities across the United States—and around the world. It has also generated an increasing number of sophisticated and thoughtful proposals for transformative change. Together these developments suggest that it is possible to build a new and better America beyond the failed systems of the past and present. Indeed, new terms have begun to gain currency among diverse social movements and activist communities—an indication that the domination of traditional thinking has already started to weaken. Thus we encounter the sharing economy, the caring economy, the solidarity economy, the restorative economy, the regenerative economy, the sustaining economy, the resilient economy, and, of course, the new economy. There is talk of the need for a great transition. Several of these approaches already have significant networks and thoughtful research efforts underway. New thinking by creative scholars and members of the labor movement and community-oriented advocates is also contributing to the ferment.
It is time for Americans to think boldly about what is required to deal with the systemic difficulties facing the United States. It is time to explore genuine alternatives and new models—“the next system.” It is time to debate what it will take to move our country to a very different place, one where outcomes that are truly sustainable, equitable, and democratic are commonplace.
Website: www.thenextsystem-.org
It’s time for everyone who cares about our troubled country to face the depth of the systemic crisis we now confront as a nation. We must step back from the daily fray and ask: How do we actually get on a path to the kind of society—and world—we’d like now and for future generations? We must begin a real conversation—locally, nationally, and at all levels in between—on how to respond to the profound challenge of our time in history.
"If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending,” Lincoln said, “we could better judge what to do.” Today’s answer to Lincoln’s charge is grim. If one looks at “where we are” among advanced democracies across more than a score of key indicators of national well-being—including relative poverty, inequality, education, social mobility, health, environment, militarization, democracy, and more—we find ourselves exactly where we don’t want to be: at or near the bottom.
The challenging realities of growing inequality, political stalemate, and climate disruption prompt an important insight. When big problems emerge across the entire spectrum of national life, it cannot be due to small reasons. When the old ways no longer produce the outcomes we are looking for, something deeper is occurring. We have fundamental problems because of fundamental flaws in our economic and political system. The crisis now unfolding in so many ways across our country amounts to a systemic crisis.
Today’s political economic system is not programmed to secure the wellbeing of people, place and planet. Instead, its priorities are corporate profits, the growth of GDP, and the projection of national power. If we are to address the manifold challenges we face in a serious way, we need to think through and then build a new political economy that takes us beyond the current system that is failing all around us. However difficult the task, however long it may take, systemic problems require systemic solutions.
The social pain arising from the economic crisis, the steady unfolding of the climate calamity, and many other deeply troubling developments have made it possible to pose the question of large-scale system change in a serious fashion in the United States. Yet, despite this new space for a debate about fundamental change, challenges to the system have until recently been constrained by a continuing lack of imagination concerning social, economic and political alternatives. It is said that the existing system is the only possibility, one we must accept and work with—that, as Margaret Thatcher famously insisted, “There is no alternative.” But she had it wrong.
The good news is that the inability of traditional politics and policies to address fundamental challenges has fueled an extraordinary amount of experimentation in communities across the United States—and around the world. It has also generated an increasing number of sophisticated and thoughtful proposals for transformative change. Together these developments suggest that it is possible to build a new and better America beyond the failed systems of the past and present. Indeed, new terms have begun to gain currency among diverse social movements and activist communities—an indication that the domination of traditional thinking has already started to weaken. Thus we encounter the sharing economy, the caring economy, the solidarity economy, the restorative economy, the regenerative economy, the sustaining economy, the resilient economy, and, of course, the new economy. There is talk of the need for a great transition. Several of these approaches already have significant networks and thoughtful research efforts underway. New thinking by creative scholars and members of the labor movement and community-oriented advocates is also contributing to the ferment.
It is time for Americans to think boldly about what is required to deal with the systemic difficulties facing the United States. It is time to explore genuine alternatives and new models—“the next system.” It is time to debate what it will take to move our country to a very different place, one where outcomes that are truly sustainable, equitable, and democratic are commonplace.
Friday, April 3, 2015
theCityFix
Location: International
Website: www.thecityfix.com
TheCityFix is an online resource for learning about the latest in sustainable urban mobility and planning. Launched in 2007, the site connects a global network of writers, urban planners, designers, engineers, and citizens who work to make cities better places to live. The blog is produced by EMBARQ, a not-for-profit program of the World Resources Institute that works to catalyze and help implement environmentally, socially, and financially sustainable transport and urban planning solutions.
Since 2002, the EMBARQ network has grown to include six centers – based in Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and Turkey – that work together with local authorities, businesses and national governments to reduce pollution, improve public health, and create safe and accessible urban environments.
TheCityFix relies on this international community and other volunteer contributors to provide a global, multi-disciplinary perspective to its coverage of issues relating to urban sustainability.and policies that help advance sustainable urban mobility and planning, with a strong focus on scalable and replicable solutions for cities in the developing world. Launched in 2007, the site produced by EMBARQ connects a global network of writers, urban planners, designers, engineers, and citizens who work to make cities better places to live.
TheCityFix covers key happenings in sustainable transport and urban planning, with a focus on the following topics:
Integrated Transport – advanced bus systems, rail, metro, bicycling, walking, fuels and technology.
Urban Development + Accessibility – land use, urban design, infrastructure, public space
Climate Change– local pollution, air quality, global CO2 emissions, climate adaptation
Health + Road Safety – public health, quality of life, active transport, non-communicable diseases
Communications – branding, mapping, visualization, user engagement, photography, video, trends.
Website: www.thecityfix.com
TheCityFix is an online resource for learning about the latest in sustainable urban mobility and planning. Launched in 2007, the site connects a global network of writers, urban planners, designers, engineers, and citizens who work to make cities better places to live. The blog is produced by EMBARQ, a not-for-profit program of the World Resources Institute that works to catalyze and help implement environmentally, socially, and financially sustainable transport and urban planning solutions.
Since 2002, the EMBARQ network has grown to include six centers – based in Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and Turkey – that work together with local authorities, businesses and national governments to reduce pollution, improve public health, and create safe and accessible urban environments.
TheCityFix relies on this international community and other volunteer contributors to provide a global, multi-disciplinary perspective to its coverage of issues relating to urban sustainability.and policies that help advance sustainable urban mobility and planning, with a strong focus on scalable and replicable solutions for cities in the developing world. Launched in 2007, the site produced by EMBARQ connects a global network of writers, urban planners, designers, engineers, and citizens who work to make cities better places to live.
TheCityFix covers key happenings in sustainable transport and urban planning, with a focus on the following topics:
Integrated Transport – advanced bus systems, rail, metro, bicycling, walking, fuels and technology.
Urban Development + Accessibility – land use, urban design, infrastructure, public space
Climate Change– local pollution, air quality, global CO2 emissions, climate adaptation
Health + Road Safety – public health, quality of life, active transport, non-communicable diseases
Communications – branding, mapping, visualization, user engagement, photography, video, trends.
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Pacific Institute
Location: Worldwide
Website: www.pacinst.org
We envision a world where the basic needs of all people are met, where resources are managed sustainably and the natural world protected, and where conflicts over resources are resolved in a peaceful and democratic fashion.
The Pacific Institute works to create a healthier planet and sustainable communities. We conduct interdisciplinary research and partner with stakeholders to produce solutions that advance environmental protection, economic development, and social equity—in California, nationally, and internationally.
Our aim is to find real-world solutions to problems like water shortages, habitat destruction, global warming, and environmental injustice.
Based in Oakland, California, we conduct research, publish reports, recommend solutions, and work with decision makers, advocacy groups, and the public to change policy. Since our founding in 1987, we’ve become known for independent, innovative thinking that cuts across traditional areas of study. Our interdisciplinary approach not only helps us make connections that others miss, it also enables us to bring opposing groups together to forge effective real-world solutions.
Website: www.pacinst.org
We envision a world where the basic needs of all people are met, where resources are managed sustainably and the natural world protected, and where conflicts over resources are resolved in a peaceful and democratic fashion.
The Pacific Institute works to create a healthier planet and sustainable communities. We conduct interdisciplinary research and partner with stakeholders to produce solutions that advance environmental protection, economic development, and social equity—in California, nationally, and internationally.
Our aim is to find real-world solutions to problems like water shortages, habitat destruction, global warming, and environmental injustice.
Based in Oakland, California, we conduct research, publish reports, recommend solutions, and work with decision makers, advocacy groups, and the public to change policy. Since our founding in 1987, we’ve become known for independent, innovative thinking that cuts across traditional areas of study. Our interdisciplinary approach not only helps us make connections that others miss, it also enables us to bring opposing groups together to forge effective real-world solutions.
Monday, July 1, 2013
Future Proofing Cities
Location: International
Website: www.futureproofingcities.com
A major new report ‘Future Proofing Cities’ has been published by Atkins in a unique partnership with the Department for International Development (DFID) and University College London (UCL).
This report assesses the risks to cities from climate hazards, resource scarcities, and damage to ecosystems and how they can act now to future proof themselves. Covering 129 cities totalling 350 million people in 20 countries, this report identifies practical measures that cities can take to now manage these future risks.
Around 75% of the world’s population will live in cities within 40 years. Almost all of this population growth will happen in the developing world, with 4.6 billion people projected to live in already rapidly growing cities.
How will these cities in the developing world cope socially, environmentally and economically with such accelerated urbanization
Future Proofing Cities assesses the risks from mega cities like Bangkok to smaller cities such as Zaria in Africa. It looks at their risk profile from climate hazards, resource scarcities, and damage to ecosystems and urges action now to future proof against these risks.
This report provides a fresh approach to the urgent issues arising from rapid urbanization. It assesses the environmental risks facing cities in an integrated way and identifies more than 100 practical policy options that are most relevant and will be of most benefit to people living in different types of cities.
The report is set against a growing awareness of the need for increased funding for infrastructure development in developing countries at the city level.
Website: www.futureproofingcities.com
A major new report ‘Future Proofing Cities’ has been published by Atkins in a unique partnership with the Department for International Development (DFID) and University College London (UCL).
This report assesses the risks to cities from climate hazards, resource scarcities, and damage to ecosystems and how they can act now to future proof themselves. Covering 129 cities totalling 350 million people in 20 countries, this report identifies practical measures that cities can take to now manage these future risks.
Around 75% of the world’s population will live in cities within 40 years. Almost all of this population growth will happen in the developing world, with 4.6 billion people projected to live in already rapidly growing cities.
How will these cities in the developing world cope socially, environmentally and economically with such accelerated urbanization
Future Proofing Cities assesses the risks from mega cities like Bangkok to smaller cities such as Zaria in Africa. It looks at their risk profile from climate hazards, resource scarcities, and damage to ecosystems and urges action now to future proof against these risks.
This report provides a fresh approach to the urgent issues arising from rapid urbanization. It assesses the environmental risks facing cities in an integrated way and identifies more than 100 practical policy options that are most relevant and will be of most benefit to people living in different types of cities.
The report is set against a growing awareness of the need for increased funding for infrastructure development in developing countries at the city level.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Urban Climate Lab
Location: Nationwide
Website: www.urbanclimate.gatech.edu
Georgia Tech's City Regional Planning Program who are exploring the connections between climate change and the built environment.
Through this website, we hope to highlight the range of mechanisms through which land use change, both within and outside of cities, is driving ongoing warming trends and impacting human and environmental health.
Globally, urbanized areas account for the majority of the human population but have received relatively little attention in climate change research. The UCL integrates expertise in the realms of environmental science, urban design, and public health to develop strategies to manage and counteract climate change at the urban scale.
Of particular interest to our research group is the influence of land use on observed warming trends in cities. Land use is contributing to climate change through two distinct mechanisms. First, land use change in the form of urbanization is associated with increased energy consumption and the emission of greenhouse gases, serving to enhance the global greenhouse effect. As detailed on the "Projects" page, our work has addressed the potential benefits of alternative land development strategies, such as "smart growth," for reductions in auto use and emissions of carbon dioxide. A second and more direct mechanism through which land use influences climate change is through the displacement of natural land covers, such as tree canopy cover, by building materials with a greater capacity to absorb, store, and reemit heat energy. In response to what we term the "green loss effect," our work finds large cities in the U.S. to be warming at more than twice the rate of the planet as a whole as a result of the loss of naturally vegetated land covers. Through several ongoing research effects, the UCL is measuring the success of alternative land development and urban design strategies in abating the pace of climate change in cities.
Website: www.urbanclimate.gatech.edu
Georgia Tech's City Regional Planning Program who are exploring the connections between climate change and the built environment.
Through this website, we hope to highlight the range of mechanisms through which land use change, both within and outside of cities, is driving ongoing warming trends and impacting human and environmental health.
Globally, urbanized areas account for the majority of the human population but have received relatively little attention in climate change research. The UCL integrates expertise in the realms of environmental science, urban design, and public health to develop strategies to manage and counteract climate change at the urban scale.
Of particular interest to our research group is the influence of land use on observed warming trends in cities. Land use is contributing to climate change through two distinct mechanisms. First, land use change in the form of urbanization is associated with increased energy consumption and the emission of greenhouse gases, serving to enhance the global greenhouse effect. As detailed on the "Projects" page, our work has addressed the potential benefits of alternative land development strategies, such as "smart growth," for reductions in auto use and emissions of carbon dioxide. A second and more direct mechanism through which land use influences climate change is through the displacement of natural land covers, such as tree canopy cover, by building materials with a greater capacity to absorb, store, and reemit heat energy. In response to what we term the "green loss effect," our work finds large cities in the U.S. to be warming at more than twice the rate of the planet as a whole as a result of the loss of naturally vegetated land covers. Through several ongoing research effects, the UCL is measuring the success of alternative land development and urban design strategies in abating the pace of climate change in cities.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
ioby
Location: Nationwide
Website: www.ioby.org
Climate change. Toxic landfills. Shrinking parks—and wildlife.
You care about these things, and you want to pitch in. So you recycle, buy local and use only ‘green’ products. You’re doing your part for the environment. Right?
Sure. Recycling and buying local or green are great. But if you want change that goes deeper—change you can really invest in—what about starting in our backyard?
Welcome to ioby. Together, we represent a new face for change—one that’s hopeful, positive…and visible.
"It’s our backyard, and it belongs to us and our kids." –Brandon Whitney
It started with a legacy of city dwellers. These people—your everyday neighbors—created daily change. They cleaned up lots. Planted trees and gardens. Brought fresh produce to areas that needed it. They got their hands dirty. But few noticed. Joyful as it was, the change was tiny—and isolated. To gain steam, it needed power, money, people and hype. It needed a platform.
Enter ioby. ioby connects change with resources. It enables all of us to invest in change—then see (and live with) the return on our investment. These pages aren’t glamorous. There are no celebrities, no large-scale protests. There are everyday neighbors taking small steps—bringing sunlight, open space, fresh food and greenery into our backyards.
Small steps have big impact. They can ripple through the city. To us, that’s real—and it goes far. It goes beyond your intentions, beyond the abstract, beyond the simple ‘click.’ Take a look around! Pick a project close to your home or your heart—and help us spread the word.
ioby is an environmental nonprofit organization. Our name is derived from the opposite of NIMBY. We have a mission to deepen civic engagement in cities by connecting individuals directly to community-led, neighbor-funded environmental projects in their neighborhoods. We do this primarily through our web-based crowd-resourcing platform.
Crowd-resourcing is a made-up word combining the concepts of crowd-funding (the ability to pool small donations made online to a specific cause or project) and resource organizing (a core tenet of community organizing that considers activists and advocates the best supporters to ensure financial sustainability of a cause or project). We believe that crowd-resourcing is a powerful way to build support and ensure success of a project.
Website: www.ioby.org
Climate change. Toxic landfills. Shrinking parks—and wildlife.
You care about these things, and you want to pitch in. So you recycle, buy local and use only ‘green’ products. You’re doing your part for the environment. Right?
Sure. Recycling and buying local or green are great. But if you want change that goes deeper—change you can really invest in—what about starting in our backyard?
Welcome to ioby. Together, we represent a new face for change—one that’s hopeful, positive…and visible.
"It’s our backyard, and it belongs to us and our kids." –Brandon Whitney
It started with a legacy of city dwellers. These people—your everyday neighbors—created daily change. They cleaned up lots. Planted trees and gardens. Brought fresh produce to areas that needed it. They got their hands dirty. But few noticed. Joyful as it was, the change was tiny—and isolated. To gain steam, it needed power, money, people and hype. It needed a platform.
Enter ioby. ioby connects change with resources. It enables all of us to invest in change—then see (and live with) the return on our investment. These pages aren’t glamorous. There are no celebrities, no large-scale protests. There are everyday neighbors taking small steps—bringing sunlight, open space, fresh food and greenery into our backyards.
Small steps have big impact. They can ripple through the city. To us, that’s real—and it goes far. It goes beyond your intentions, beyond the abstract, beyond the simple ‘click.’ Take a look around! Pick a project close to your home or your heart—and help us spread the word.
ioby is an environmental nonprofit organization. Our name is derived from the opposite of NIMBY. We have a mission to deepen civic engagement in cities by connecting individuals directly to community-led, neighbor-funded environmental projects in their neighborhoods. We do this primarily through our web-based crowd-resourcing platform.
Crowd-resourcing is a made-up word combining the concepts of crowd-funding (the ability to pool small donations made online to a specific cause or project) and resource organizing (a core tenet of community organizing that considers activists and advocates the best supporters to ensure financial sustainability of a cause or project). We believe that crowd-resourcing is a powerful way to build support and ensure success of a project.
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