Nearly 120 major cities worldwide have pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050 – a target which, paradoxically, can feel both challenging and woefully insufficient. With the clock ticking on climate change action, our speakers explore how urban climate initiatives can be taken from the experimental to the everyday. What are the winning innovations in building materials, energy and mobility that can be deployed to make cities more sustainable and accessible? How can more cities be brought onboard? Can zero-carbon goals be advanced to 2040, or even 2035? And what are the mind-sets, models and approaches that could take city “labs” beyond pilot programs to the next level of systemic change?

Speakers:

Moderator: Brad Plumer, Climate Reporter, The New York Times

Claudia López Hernández, Mayor of Bogotá

Gonzalo Muñoz, High-Level Climate Champion for Chile

Dr. Maria Neira, Director, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health, World Health Organization

Prof. Naomi Oreskes, Henry Charles Lea Professor of the History of Science, Harvard University

Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, Mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone

Ruchi Varma, C.E.O. and Founder, HumanQind