Cities 1.5

This episode delves into the intersection of the climate crisis and public health, with a particular emphasis on how the former is impacting on our bodies and our brains. Conversations with both featured guests explore how climate change exacerbates traditional health issues and introduces new risks, such as the increasing range of vector-borne diseases and what that means for the future of health...

In this episode of Cities 1.5, host David Miller speaks with Sophie Howe, the world's first Future Generations Commissioner about her role and the landmark Wellbeing of Future Generations Act - legislation passed by the Welsh government which aims to improve the environment, economy, society, health and wellbeing of Wales and its people, both now and for future generations. They discuss the c...

The climate crisis is making both the planet and its inhabitants critically ill - and it's also amplifying public health issues and creating new ones, especially in urban areas. With over 65% of the world's population projected to live in cities by 2050, it is crucial that city governance integrates emerging research on climate health impacts. Season 4 of Cities 1.5 will feature conversa...

In 2016, the Paris Agreement was adopted by 194 national governments and the EU with the aim of limiting global heating to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Experts warn that exceeding this limit will result in catastrophic climate impacts...and while many nations hesitate, cities around the world are taking action to combat the climate crisis.  Season 4 of Cities 1.5 returns October...

This past January, our editorial counterparts at the the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy published an issue dedicated to Ecological Economics ; this episode showcases two experts in wellbeing economics who contributed their knowledge to that edition. Image Credit: Photo by Milly Vueti on Unsplash Featured guests: Amanda Janoo is the Economics & Policy Lead at the Wellbeing Economy A...

Energy consumed by buildings accounts for almost half of cities’ carbon emissions on average. Because buildings can last over 100 years, increasing their energy efficiency is critical if we are to meet our current global climate goals. To achieve these goals, cities must transition fossil fuels out of their buildings. Image Credit: Tristan Capacchione Featured guests: Frankie Downy is the Head of...

Last episode of Cities 1.5, we took you into the Arctic region through the perspectives of a world-renowned scientist and seasoned canoeist and river guide. This time, we’re staying in that region - but we’re speaking to an expert who hails from the circumpolar North about the connections between climate change and human rights. Because Indigenous communities have been calling attention to warming...

The Arctic is heating at four times the rate of the rest of the planet, and is a key indicator region for mapping the impacts of the climate crisis. Glacial melt is predicted to contribute to disastrous rates of sea-level rise which will have catastrophic impacts on global cities, coastal communities and the millions of people who live there. It is crucial that we  do everything we can in our citi...

Cities 1.5 Host David Miller’s book Solved: How the World’s Greatest Cities Are Fixing the Climate Crisis has just been released to paperback in a revised version and with an all new chapter just in time for World Book and Copyright Day! In it, he chronicles the stories of cities who have taken action to meet - and exceed - the emissions targets laid out in the Paris Agreement to transition away f...

  By 2035, global fossil fuel use must be reduced to 50% of 2020 levels - or else we will face uncertain and serious consequences. But the fossil fuel industry keeps forging ahead, making billions at the expense of all of us, through attempts to re-brand fossil gas as a clean energy alternative, using disinformation narratives to delay and deceive, and advocating for the building of new fossil fue...

Next time on Cities 1. 5, it's a special takeover episode! Acquisitions Editor at University of Toronto Press, Jodi Lewchuk, interviews David about his book, Solved: How the World's Great Cities Are Fixing The Climate Crisis . Solved has just been released in paperback this week with an all-new chapter. David will be at the University of Toronto Bookstore on Wednesday, April 17th to cele...

Cities stand on the frontline of the climate crisis - so they must also work to create frontline policies that support the global systems change required to ensure that cities have a future. Thanks to philanthropic support from both Global North and Global South organisations, the scientists, artists, and community leaders around the world who are making a climate-assured future possible are ensur...

Efforts to address the climate crisis are under siege beneath a rising tide of mis- and disinformation, with smear campaigns often funded and coordinated by vested interests such as the fossil fuel industry, climate conspiracists looking for cash and clicks, and even national governments. We all have a part to play - we must take responsibility for the information we consume and share to ensure a...

Being able to breathe clean air should be a human right but, according to the World Health Organization 99% of the world’s population lives in areas exceeding safe pollution limits, which has huge impacts on public health. Air pollution, climate impacts, and social justice are three sides of the same issue, demanding an intersectional response that not only makes space for the voices of the most i...

Ecological economics lies at the heart of the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy and C40’s mission. It recognises that the former gold standard of measuring economic success – the growth of gross domestic product, or GDP – is no longer fit for purpose, despite the fact that it’s the model that most national governments still rely on. Policies that allow us to prioritize the vitality of bot...

Last year's COP28 conference ended with a historic first: after dramatic and tense negotiations lasting deep into the night, representatives from across the globe agreed upon a roadmap to transition away from dirty energy. But does the agreement fall short of what is required if the world is to avoid breaching crucial and deadly climate tipping points?  Image Credit: © Maurizio Martorana - C4...

The UN Women slogan for International Women’s Day 2024 is “Invest in women: Accelerate progress,” and in support of this goal we’re opening Season 3 of Cities 1.5 with a production team takeover! David Miller may be the voice of the podcast, but our amazing production team is all female. Also, we hear from two amazing women who are working to ensure that women’s voices are heard, mainstreamed and...

This past December, COP28 signalled the beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era. 150 heads of state came to the consensus that in order to halve emissions by 2030 - the target that scientists have warned us be must adhere to in order to avoid climate catastrophe - we must transition away from dirty energy. This is a monumental moment for our planet…and cities are going to be leading the way as...

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been warning us for decades that record-breaking, hot, fire- and smoke-filled summers like the one we just experienced will continue to be the new normal without huge and immediate cuts in global greenhouse gas emissions. The latest IPCC report serves as our last warning: carry on as we are and we’ll face ever-increasing extreme climate even...

In the face of enforced mass migration, the rising cost of recovery from increasing climate disasters, and an uncertain future without drastic and immediate action, it’s important to hold up examples of cities and projects that are successful in their innovative climate actions. In this episode, we look at climate projects in Curitiba, Brazil, and Barranquilla, Colombia, that are working towards s...

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”: the first line of the Charles Dickens novel A Tale of Two Cities is an idea that the two cities featured in this episode’s case study know all too well. The Global South’s Nairobi, Kenya and the Global North’s Rotterdam in the Netherlands are half a world apart, but they’re each facing similar and equally dire climate consequences that are cau...

July 2023 was the hottest month globally since records began. Combine that with several months filled with a series of extreme weather events - from heatwaves in Europe, North America and Asia, to wildfires in Canada and Greece - and it’s undeniable that the impacts of climate change that experts have long been warning us about are here today. And the worse news is that it’s only going to get hott...

Climate breakdown is happening, and the cost of ignoring this phenomenon will be far greater than the cost of immediate action. We know that green investments promote the transition to a more resilient, prosperous, and sustainable economy. But what are the steps that cities need to take in order to shift their investments away from fossil fuels? How can policy makers support the creation of good,...

C40 and the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy are providing an opportunity for cities to rethink conventional economic systems, like capitalism, that have led to the climate crisis. It is abundantly clear that the economic rules and systems created after WWII have led to twin crises: climate change and continued inequality. It’s necessary to unpack these theories to better understand thei...

The traditional economic concepts that the Global North has been using since WWII assume that there is an infinite planet and that pollution has no economic consequences - assumptions that are wildly wrong. In contrast, ecological economics is a model designed to respect the fact that our economy exists on a finite planet and puts more emphasis on the quality of economic activity than its quantity...