City leadership is mission-critical to managing the climate crisis

MEMBERSHIP

Panel discussion: Harnessing the power of AI for smarter utilities

Join the next SmartCitiesWorld panel discussion to discover how AI can bring innovative solutions to enhance efficiency, sustainability, and reliability for utilities providers.

OnDemand Panel discussion: Using AI to create value in cities for communities and workforce

Join the next SmartCitiesWorld panel discussion to discover how AI can transform cities, enhancing operations and services for communities and empowering the workforce.

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.

SmartCitiesWorld City Profile 2024 – City of Madrid

Discover how the city of Madrid is innovating to become a smarter, more sustainable city that’s able to deliver improved services to residents and visitors alike.

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.

Podcasts

Urban Exchange Podcast Episode 23 - Identifying urban solutions at the intersection of climate, health, and equity

Tune into the latest Urban Exchange podcast, where guests from the city of Buenos Aires City Government and Yale University discuss the links between climate, health and inequity.

Urban Exchange Podcast Episode 22 - Digital solutions shaping the urban landscape

The latest Urban Exchange takes us inside the world of digital financial innovation and how it supports urban resilience, with experts from Cape Town and StateUp.

Opinions

The built environment’s Scope 3 emissions conundrum

Without serious consideration for Scope 3 emissions, we will be unable to reach global net zero goals and improve the quality of life of building occupants, says Mahesh Ramanujam, CEO of Global Network for Zero.

Cities Climate Action Summit 2024 – meet the exhibitor: Latitudo 40

Latitudo 40 sits at the convergence of satellite imagery analysis and AI and will demonstrate the vital role satellite data has to play in helping cities tackle the challenges of climate change.

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.