City leadership is mission-critical to managing the climate crisis

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Webinars

OnDemand Panel Debate: Paving the way towards sustainability with proactive strategies & intelligent transport system

This SmartCitiesWorld panel discussion is now available OnDemand and brings cities together for bilateral learnings on the challenges and potential solutions to sustainability by utilising intelligent transport systems (ITS). The CSO of the City of Vilnius - European Green Capital 2025 are among the speakers.

Panel Debate (OnDemand): Technologies and policies to accelerate the decarbonisation of the built environment

This SmartCitiesWorld panel discussion focuses on how to decarbonise the built environment, from municipal buildings to public indoor and outdoor spaces.

Special Reports

A clean and efficient future: energy in focus at Cities Climate Action Summit 2024

Discover how this year’s Cities Climate Action Summit puts the spotlight on the switch to clean and renewable energy, and the importance of energy-efficiency.

SusHi Tech Tokyo 2024: experience ‘Tokyo 2050’ todaySponsored by The SusHi Tech Tokyo 2024 Showcase Program Executive Committee

Discover innovative concepts to solve urban issues through SusHi Tech Tokyo’s programme focused on leveraging diverse ideas, digital know-how and cutting-edge technologies.

Smart Cities Reports

SmartCitiesWorld City Profile –Shenzhen

SmartCitiesWorld City Profiles explore the city of Shenzhen, designated as China’s first special economic zone and a role model of urban modernisation. Find out more about Shenzhen’s smart city strategy in this 16-page report.

SmartCitiesWorld City Profile – Sydney

In 2020, the City of Sydney released a Smart City Strategic Framework to harness the opportunities brought about by digital disruption, to plan for uncertainty and to sustain a global reputation as a leading place to live, work, learn and visit.

Podcasts

Urban Exchange Podcast Episode 19 - The intersection between risk, resilience and insurance

The Urban Exchange welcomes Miami-Dade County’s Galen Treuer and Howden’s Peter Adams to explore the challenges facing residents and insurers in the face of climate events.

Urban Exchange Podcast Episode 18 - Dr. Tavida Kamolvej, City of Bangkok - Holistic disaster resilience

Dr. Tavida Kamolvej, Deputy Governor in Bangkok, joins the Urban Exchange Podcast to discuss the city’s forward-thinking plans for disaster resilience.

Opinions

Cities Climate Action Summit 2024 – meet the speaker: Lauren Sorkin, Resilient Cities Network

Lauren Sorkin, executive director of Resilient Cities Network, explains the importance of equity in resilience and why R-Cities is partnering the Cities Climate Action Summit again this year.

Cities Climate Action Summit 2024 – meet the speaker: Jonathan Carr-West, Local Government Information Unit

Jonathan Carr-West, chief executive of the Local Government Information Unit, says tackling climate change is a universal issue so collaborative events like Cities Climate Action Summit are essential.

Home | Energy & Environment | Cop26 | Cop26 Charter

Most people now live in cities which are the epicentres of human activity. While covering 3 per cent of earth's surface, cities consume 78 per cent of the world's energy and produce more than 60 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions.

With this in mind, SmartCitiesWorld and our Advisory Board (made up of cities, city networks and industry experts) have put forward 10 principles that we believe should be reflected in any COP26 agreement. (You can read our Special Report by our Editor, Luke Antoniou)

These principles will help us all in the move towards net zero carbon emissions and also immeasurably improve the lives of a city's citizens.

Pledge your support and help SmartCitiesWorld spotlight the critical role cities will play in delivering a sustainable future, and how important it is that they are given the full support of national governments in doing so.

Add your name to the SmartCitiesWorld Open letter to COP26 leaders

10 Principles

INCLUSION: Including all citizens in decision making drives the best results. The hallmarks of good city governance are participation, transparency, accountability and open data.

DIVERSITY: Encouraging diversity is a key principle in fostering city-scale resilience and sustainability.

RESILIENCE: Cities with a resilience strategy are better equipped to protect their citizens and environment from the worst effects of climate change.

WELLBEING: City strategies measured by wellbeing indices deliver better long term outcomes than cities driven by economic measure alone.

GREEN SPACES: The cities that create and preserve green spaces for native trees and flora create bigger long-term resilience, wellbeing, and prosperity for their citizens and the bio-sphere.

NATIONAL-LEVEL SUPPORT: Cities committing to net-zero targets and a 'just transition' should be actively encouraged and supported by national government programmes to help nations achieve their ambitions.

INFRA-STRUCTURE: The best cities give citizens access to infrastructure that provides physical safety, clean sanitation, waste disposal, clean air, a renewable energy supply, digital connectivity.

SYSTEMS THINKING: Nations that equip leaders with systems thinking, including the ability to build on system synergies and circular economy principles, are most likely to meet their challenging net zero targets.

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY: Cities using secure digital technology to measure and manage activity across city-systems are more able to bring about effective local change then those without the data.