Pioneer Stage, Session 3: City-Business-Finance Collaboration for a Sustainable Future

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80% of people will live in cities by 2080, c 10 bn people in c 10,000 cities. Cities are the concentrations of our people, the clusters of our economy, trade, and jobs, and the hubs of our infrastructure, real estate, and utilities. So, it is no surprise that our cities are also the places where the concentrations of carbon emissions and other greenhouse gases occur. Our cities are also victims of the climate crisis, with major risks of flooding, over-heating, and devastation from extreme weather and natural disasters, as well as water and food supply risks, and the likelihood of many climate refugees flocking to the cities that are considered safe. So, the climate agenda for cities is about both decarbonisation through an urban transition, and urban resilience. Our current models of urbanisation have been carbon intensive, as our cities grow our carbon emissions have increased. But with new technologies, better urban leadership, and new sources of partnership and investment, it may be possible to de-couple carbon emissions from urban growth, and build cities that are more resilient. How can we do that?