Inside the Global Race to Decarbonize Cities and Improve Urban Life

Supercool

Cities are in a high-stakes race to cut carbon. Responsible for 70% of global emissions, urban centers around the world are rising to the occasion. In Africa, Addis Ababa is planting millions of trees. In Asia, Shenzhen operates an all-electric fleet of thousands of public transportation buses. In North America, New York City is driving deep decarbonization in large buildings through ambitious greenhouse gas reduction laws. In Europe, Paris is hyper-localizing everything — work, school, groceries, healthcare, parks — to curtail car dependence.

Mayors are at the forefront of this global effort. Through C40 Cities — a global network of nearly 100 leading cities — mayors collaborate to learn, share, discover, and rapidly spread the best climate solutions from one corner of the globe to another. They know that decarbonizing their cities achieves much more than carbon reduction; it makes life better, healthier, and more connected for their residents.

David Miller was Mayor of Toronto from 2003-2010 and led the city’s transformation into a global climate leader with a plan that championed innovation, inclusion, and economic opportunity. Now, as Managing Director of the Center for City Climate Policy and Economy at C40, host of the podcast Cities 1.5, and author of Solved: How the Great Cities of the World are Fixing the Climate Crisis, David guides cities toward a sustainable future that counters climate change and makes urban life better in the process.

“I truly believe that if people understand what's possible today and how it can enrich our lives and not just solve the climate crisis, they're going to demand the kind of action at scale that we need.” - David Miller

Show Links:

Guest: David Miller

Organization: C40 Cities

Podcast: Cities 1.5, hosted by David Miller and produced by the University of Toronto Press. It features progressive policy conversations with urban leaders taking action to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees.

Book: Solved: How the Great Cities of the World are Fixing the Climate Crisis

For more Supercool climate solutions that cut carbon and improve modern life, subscribe to our weekly newsletter.