As the AI boom drives an unprecedented rush for computing power, cities face a critical question: how do we support digital expansion, without derailing net-zero climate goals? Left unregulated, data centers can consume staggering amounts of energy and water, threaten to destabilise power grids, strain local resources, and alienate communities. But it doesn’t have to be like this: city leaders are stepping up to demand both climate-friendly solutions and accountability for big tech. In this Hot Take, we explore how local leaders are moving to prevent a digital “wild west” through international collaboration. We examine the launch of the Global Urban Data Centers Pact - a landmark commitment from 41 mayors across six continents, representing 90 million people - which aims to enforce clean energy mandates, water stewardship, and tangible community benefits for future data center development.

Featured guests:

Hannah Daly, Professor of Sustainable Energy at University College Cork

Kate Gallego, Mayor of Phoenix, United States of America

Nick Reece, Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Australia

Links:

The Cloud vs the Climate? Lessons from Ireland on the data centre debate - Cities 1.5 podcast

Wyoming tightens wastewater rules after Meta datacenter contractor flushed contaminated water - The Guardian

Mayors from around the world unite in call for sustainable urban data centres - C40 website

Urban Data Centres - C40 website

Data centers and the climate landscape: An actionable resource for US mayors - C40 Knowledge Hub

Thirsty for power and water, AI-crunching data centers sprout across the West - Stanford University

Stockholm, Sweden : Heat recovery from data centres - EU Covenant of Mayors

Inside the C40 World Mayors Summit: The battle for cities, truth, and a fossil-free future at COP30 and beyond - Cities 1.5, featuring Lord Mayor Nick Reece on data centres

Seizing the opportunity to do data centres right - Climate Council

Australian government announces plan for new AI and data centre regulations - Architecture AU

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeries

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/

Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield.

Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

The winds of change are blowing through the world’s maritime hubs…despite some national governments’ efforts to the contrary. While the shipping industry carries 90% of global trade, it also leaves a heavy carbon trail in its wake. In this episode of Cities 1.5, we explore the high-stakes transformation of our global ports: once seen as industrial hotspots of pollution, these urban harbours are emerging as the front lines of the green transition. We dive into the groundbreaking "Green Shipping Corridors" that are linking sustainable cities, and the bold shift toward zero-emission fuels. From local air quality to global supply chains, discover how cities are turning the tide on emissions and steering the industry toward a 1.5°C future. It’s time to rethink the horizon: clearer skies and smoother sailing ahead.

Featured guests:

Eric Garcetti, C40 Ambassador for Global Climate Diplomacy and former Mayor of Los Angeles

Alisa Kreynes, Director of Ports and Shipping at C40

Featured clips:

The Shipping Forecast - BBC Radio 4

Global shipping emissions vote on a knife edge at IMO - BBC Business Today

Links:

Greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution from global shipping, 2016–2023 - The International Council on Clean Transportation

A guide to the IMO’s Net-Zero Framework - Global Maritime Forum

Landmark deal to cut global shipping emissions in tatters after US pressure - BBC News

Ports and Shipping - C40 Knowledge Hub

Green shipping corridors programme - C40 Cities website

From Los Angeles to Shanghai, the port cities collaborating to cut shipping emissions - Reuters

Green Ports Forum - C40 Cities website

Why should we talk about a 'just and equitable' transition for shipping? - UN Trade and Development

Rescuing shipping's Net Zero Framework - Climate Analytics

Cities take the global stage to showcase climate action at the IMO for the first time - C40 Cities website

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeries

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/

Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield.

Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

From fossil fuel lobbying to coordinated political disinformation campaigns, vested interests have built a profitable disinformation infrastructure designed to spread confusion, polarize debate, and exhaust the public. The good news is that the world is waking up. For the first time in the history of the COP, a Declaration on Information Integrity was agreed upon, with governments committing to address climate disinformation and promote accurate, evidence-based information globally.

But we need to go further upstream - instead of simply fighting falsehoods, we need to build ecosystems where truth can take root and flourish. In this episode, we look to Brazil and speak to an individual who was integral in bringing information integrity both to COP and the international agenda. She makes the case for cities as one of the most powerful forces in reclaiming the narrative, building the infrastructure of truth from the ground up - one community at a time.

Featured guest:

Thais Lazzeri, Investigative Journalist and Founder of FALA

Links:

Declaration on Information Integrity on Climate Change - UNESCO

Integrity Information Observatory - Oii

Mentiro Tem Preco (Lies Have a Price)

Climate Information Integrity

5 Million Acts for Truth - FALA

Tomorrow is today - YouTube (Portuguese)

500 Grams of Life - Thais Lazzeri (Portuguese)

‘Democracy on the line’: Brazil’s election and the Bolsonaro disinformation ecosystem - Columbia Journalism Review

Environmental and Climatic Disinformation in Northern Brazil: Dynamics and Impact in the Context of COP-30 - Heinrich Boll Stiftung

Environmental journalism and the struggle against disinformation in Brazil - Frontiers in Communication

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeries

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/

Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield.

Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/