SmartCitiesWorld to host second Cities Climate Action Summit

Cities from around the world will be convening at the second SmartCitiesWorld Cities Climate Action Summit (CCAS24) to share knowledge and solutions to tackle this critical issue of our time.

Building on the success of last year’s inaugural summit, CCAS24 takes place from 26-27 June, in-person in London and online and is an official London Climate Action Week event. CCAS24 represents a chance to join a global gathering of climate, technology, finance, policy, and smart city professionals and find out more about real-world solutions and strategies that are transforming cities across the globe.

CCAS24 will deliver an action-oriented, thought-provoking two days. We are also renewing our partnerships with organisations such as the C40 Cities Network to stage the event as well as forging new ones with Connected Places Catapult and Mayors of Europe, among others.

Frontline of climate action

It’s recognised that cities are on the frontline of climate action and we want to build on the momentum created last year to help city leaders develop strategies that tackle climate change and build smarter, more resilient cities. The annual Mayors’ Pulse survey showed that climate action is the most urgent priority for city leaders in 2023, closely followed by mobility and energy transition.

On the other side of this, there exists an estimated $29.4 trillion investment opportunity in climate solutions across six urban sectors in emerging market cities by 2030, including green buildings ($24.7 trillion) and carbon mobility ($1 trillion).

We are convening an international line-up of city leaders, climate experts and organisations to deliver a mix of roundtables, panel debates, intimate fireside chats, real-world case studies and dynamic discussion. The Summit will build on 2023’s central themes of policy development, climate financing, and technology deployment. Among the cities taking part are Boston, Dallas, Greater Manchester, Helsinki, Kyiv, Miami, Prague, London, Los Angeles, San Diego and Sunderland. Find out who’s representing these cities at the Summit, and see our full lineup of speakers so far, on the Summit website.

The agenda for 2024 further dissects the central themes to focus on critical sectors within the city ecosystem, and deliver critical actionable insight on climate action in:

• Energy efficiency and transition: Discover the available technologies, policies, and best practices for retrofitting, bolstering efficiency, and integrating renewable energy into grids, as well as how cities can regulate against unsustainable technologies and practices.
• Transportation: What are the strategies, policies, and technologies that are helping cities achieve the transition to greener transport networks? Find out how to promote the use of public transport, electrify transportation, and promote and integrate active travel.
• Built environment: What strategies can cities adopt to improve efficiency and drive decarbonisation in the built environment? As well as investing in smarter grids and sustainable urban transport, cities can find out where the low-hanging fruit is for – relatively – quick emissions reductions, such as energy-efficient lighting, building retrofits, and incentives for energy conservation.

The agenda has also been built upon three guiding and enabling principles:

• Leadership
• Equity
• Collaboration.

Day one takes place online on Wednesday 26 June while day two will be an in-person event, once again taking place at the iconic County Hall building on the banks of the River Thames in London. We invite you to be part of the conversation at either or both events to play a part in shaping urban climate action.

“Whether it’s transitioning to renewable and clean energy sources, building low-carbon transportation systems, promoting green infrastructure in urban redevelopment or using data to re-shape the built environment to be more sustainable, we want to help cities answer some of the critical questions they face when tackling climate change,” said Chris Cooke, CEO and founder of SmartCitiesWorld.

He added: “Since its inception, SmartCitiesWorld has been about sharing practical urban solutions; delegates will leave this year’s Cities Climate Action Summit with the insight and know-how to battle this critical challenge of our times. 

“As we work together to reshape our urban spaces, we look forward to seeing you both online and in-person to join the conversation. No matter what your area of expertise is, your contribution matters.”

The full agenda will be released soon, but in the meantime, you can find out more by clicking the button below for a taste of what’s to come in 2024, and to register your place.

Cities Climate Action Summit 2024