The building and construction sector is responsible for a mind-boggling 37% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The kinds of construction materials we use - and the building sector generally - are also responsible for almost a third of global resource consumption. Shifting to cleaner methods of construction is the only way to minimize the damage we are causing to the planet, while still providing homes, workplaces and vital infrastructure for all.

Featured guests:

Henrique Goes, Clean Construction Manager at C40

Vivek Parekh, Fossil Fuels Program Manager at InfluenceMap

Links:

The building and construction sector’s share in global greenhouse gas emissions - World Economic Forum

UN prediction for rural to urban migration - Our World in Data

Premature deaths from household air pollution - World Health Organization

Clean Construction Programme - C40 Cities

Report on clean construction and green job opportunities - C40 Cities

Influence Map’s LobbyMap

International Gas Union’s Climate Strategy - Influence Map

Electrification as the clearest pathway for decarbonising buildings - IPCC report

State of Victoria’s Gas Substitution Roadmap - Victoria State Government

EU’s Energy Performance of Buildings Directive - European Commission

Overturned gas ban in the City of Berkley - The Guardian

Advanced Energy United

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

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Our executive producers are Calli Elipoulos and Peggy Whitfield.

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

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

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

Capitalism is an illness: it’s killing our planet, and by extension, us. Economic instability and environmental concerns are symptoms that can only be cured by redefining prosperity in terms of health and wellbeing, so that we can create sustainable, equitable societies. In his new book, The Care Economy, returning guest Tim Jackson dives into historical and systemic reasons behind our current economic challenges and shares personal experiences that highlight the importance of systemic change in healthcare and beyond. He shares insights from his book around the philosophical and practical implications of fostering a balanced, care-oriented economic model - and how it might just save the world.

Image credit: Fernando Manoso-Borgas

Featured guests:

Tim Jackson, ecological economist, radio dramatist, Director of the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP), and author.

Links:

Prosperity without Growth - Tim Jackson

Physiologist Walter Cannon - National Library of Medicine

Aneurin Bevin, architect of the NHS - BBC

Current epidemic of chronic disease - CDC

Ecological Economics - The International Society for Ecological Economics

The Flexner Report - National Library of Medicine

Cities as Urban Laboratories - Cities 1.5

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

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Our executive producers are Calli Elipoulos and Peggy Whitfield.

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

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

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

Cities around the world are on the frontlines of climate disaster. In Lisbon, Portugal, unprecedented flooding has required the construction of significant climate resilience projects like the city's drainage master plan. In the global south, cities like Ahmedabad, India are getting hotter and hotter…and the women who live in this region are disproportionately impacted physically and financially by heat wave events. But as we can see through the shining examples of both these urban centres, by combining mitigation and adaptation actions - like innovative parametric heat insurance projects, and equitable public transportation initiatives - with community informed policies, we can build resilient cities that will be able to withstand the increasing impacts of climate change.

Featured guests:

Carlos Moedas, Mayor of Lisbon

Kathy Baughman McLeod , CEO, Climate Resilience for All

Links:

10 of the Oldest Continuously Inhabited Cities in the World - How Stuff Works

Horizon Europe - European Commission

European Research Council

The US brain drain has begun - Politico

Lisbon approved free public transport for young and elderly residents - Mayors of Europe

Lisbon Mayor Wants Companies to Help Fix City’s Housing Shortage - Bloomberg

Lisbon Drainage Master Plan

Lisbon aims to be carbon neutral by 2030 with EU support - LPP

Climate Resilience for All

Heat and gender: Enhancing her resilience to rising temperatures - World Bank

World-First Financial Product Combining Insurance and Cash Payments for Extreme Heat is a Lifeline for 50,000 Informal Women Workers in India - Climate Resilience for All

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

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Our executive producers are Calli Elipoulos and Peggy Whitfield.

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

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

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

As global temperatures and sea-levels rise, so to does the frequency of climate-driven migration. The search for a safe, healthy, and prosperous place to live has been a feature of humanity since time immemorial...but an increasingly polarized and toxic global discourse sees migrants being increasingly demonized, which makes it hard to have much-needed conversations around the issue. For many migrants of the climate crisis, cities are the end destination, which means that our urban centres need to be prepared for these new realities by adapting infrastructure, services, and policies to create healthy and resilient environments for all residents - old, and new. It’s way past time to open up the conversation.

Image credit: Jody Foster

Featured guests:

Spencer Coyne, Mayor of Princeton, BC, Canada.

Jazmin Burgess, Director, Inclusive Climate Action; Giovanni Pagani, Senior Manager, Climate and Migration; and Claudia Huerta, Senior Manager for City Diplomacy and Campaigns, Climate and Migration.

Links:

Simon Kofe’s speech to COP26 - New Scientist (Video)

Why cities must prepare for climate migration - C40 Knowledge Hub

The far right is weaponizing climate change to argue against immigration - Vox

Flooded Princeton, B.C., faces days without heat, says mayor - CBC News (Video)

$1.7 billion flood projects still stalled in Abbotsford, Princeton and Merritt - Vancouver Sun

Future urban landscapes: Climate migration projections in cities - C40 Knowledge Hub

C40-MMC Global Mayors Task Force on Climate and Migration - C40

The ‘Climate Migration’ Narrative Is Inaccurate, Harmful, and Pervasive. We Need an Alternative - Centre for Global Development

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

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Our executive producers are Calli Elipoulos and Peggy Whitfield.

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

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

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

As the world enters yet another period of unprecedented political and environmental tumult, it is becoming even more clear that our current economic system based on the primacy of profit over the health and wellbeing of people and planet is failing. Throughout history, cities have always been at the forefront of new ways of thinking, and are urban laboratories to test and pilot new concepts. The same holds true today: the degrowth strand of economics, along with policies that focus on healthy people and environments, are being trialled in some Spanish cities, such as Barcelona and Girona. On the other side of the world, it is becoming more widely accepted that GDP is an outdated and inaccurate measurement of the health and wellbeing of a city or nation, and new tools and indexes are being implemented in cities across Japan. Despite their very different cultural contexts, these cities are thriving. Now, the question is: will nation states follow their lead?

Featured guests:

Dr Angelos Varvarousis, Author & Research Fellow at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB)

Takehiko Nagumo, Director of the Smart City Institute Japan

Links:

GDP Is the Wrong Tool for Measuring What Matters - Scientific American

This Pioneering Economist Says Our Obsession With Growth Must End - New York Times

'Letter to Nature' by Mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau - C40 website

Girona City Council, a pioneering administration in exploring degrowth - Nació Impacte

What is a Smart City anyways? - IMD

Japan has a new way to measure city success – happiness - Cities Today

New Zealand – Implementing the Wellbeing Budget - Wellbeing Economy Alliance

Policy Design for a Wellbeing Economy - JCCPE

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

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Our executive producers are Calli Elipoulos and Peggy Whitfield.

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

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

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

The United States of America’s second withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord under the Trump administration has enormous implications for both international and local climate efforts - and the Inflation Reduction Act is also potentially under threat. If the IRA is even partially repealed, it would be a huge step backwards in the fight against the climate crisis. But all is not lost - engaged individuals and organizations are striving to ensure the it stays and place, and more broadly, cities, mayors, and subnational entities are playing a critical role in continuing climate action amidst federal challenges. This coalition of actors are leading the growing resistance movement stateside and globally, proving the importance of local level engagement in the bid to halt climate breakdown.

Image credit: Chelsea Matson Photography

Featured guests:

Kate Johnson, C40 Regional Director for North America

Amy Turner, Director of the City's Climate Law Initiative at the Sabin Center, Columbia University

Links:

Trump signs order to withdraw US from Paris climate agreement for second time - The Guardian

Elon Musk Says DOGE Aims to Finish $1 Trillion in Cuts by End of May - Bloomberg

The Data Hoarders Resisting Trump’s Purge - The New Yorker

Inflation Reduction Act Archives C40 website

Climate action and the Inflation Reduction Act: A guide for local government leaders - C40 Knowledge Hub

One Year After Trump Decision to Withdraw from Paris Agreement, U.S. Cities Carry Climate Action Forward - C40 website

Appeals Court Keeps Order Barring Federal Funding Freezes in Place - New York Times

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

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Our executive producers are Calli Elipoulos and Peggy Whitfield.

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

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

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

Risk is an integral part of the human experience…but risk also needs to be managed if we are to live safe, healthy and happy lives. The recent wildfires in Los Angeles were a tragic reminder of the risks that the climate crisis poses to health, homes, habitats, and the lives of human beings. But the risks posed by extreme weather events are also multi-faceted: disinformation in the wake of hurricanes and wildfires can lead to chaos, with online hate transforming into real-life violence. The insurance industry is based on mitigating risk - but for cities with high probabilities of climate impacts such as wildfires, the risk is becoming too great and financially unviable. There is hope, though: insurance can be used as a climate adaptation tool, reducing risk, to better protect people, cities and the planet.

Image credit: This image was AI-generated and does not depict real events.

Featured guests:
Jodie Molyneux, Subject Matter Expert (mis- and disinformation) at Resolver
Kate Stein, Director of the Climate-Resilient Insurance Strategy Project (CRISP)

Links:

Estimated cost of fire damage balloons to more than $250 billion - LA Times

MAGA Blames Homeless in Deranged California Fires Theory - The Daily Beast

The LA Fires Could Change the Insurance Industry - Harvard Business Review

Man arrested over alleged violent threat against Fema staff in North Carolina - The Guardian

California wildfires deliberately set for ‘Agenda 2030’ and smart cities? Fact-checking the bizarre claims - Hindustan Times

LA's wildfires prompted a rash of fake images. Here's why - NPR

Vigilance and protection service against foreign digital interference (VIGINUM)

The 2024 Miami-Dade Property Insurance Strategy Forum

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

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Our executive producers are Calli Elipoulos and Peggy Whitfield.

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

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

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

We live in the age of technology…in the blink of an eye, the Internet and social media have created new opportunities, jobs, and possibilities for connection. But they have also fuelled polarization, persecution, and real-world violence. Artificial intelligence, or AI, promises to turbocharge this revolution. But many questions remain unanswered by the advocates of these new technologies. Can we afford to let AI use infinite amounts of energy? Is it possible to create planetary responsible AI, or is that just a pipe dream? And if the need arises, how can we resist these dark machines?

Image credit: This image was AI-generated and does not depict real events.

Featured guest:

Victor Galaz is an academic and author whose expertise lies at the intersection of governance, climate and technology. He is an Associate Professor in Political Science at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, and a Program Director at the Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics. His most recent book is Dark Machines: How Artificial Intelligence, Digitalization and Automation is Changing our Living Planet and he is also co-founder of the Biosphere Code.

Links:

AI and the Future of Cities - Fortune

The workers already replaced by artificial intelligence - BBC

AI voice cloning tools imitating political leaders threaten elections - The Independent

New AI Now Paper Highlights Risks of Commercial AI Used In Military Contexts - AI Now Institute

A.I. has a discrimination problem - CNBC

Generative AI’s environmental impact - MIT

The ‘AI divide’ between the Global North and the Global South - World Economic Forum

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

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Our executive producers are Calli Elipoulos and Peggy Whitfield.

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

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

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