COP28 | Building partnerships to deliver climate action in cities

Cities account for over 70% of global CO2 emissions. In the last 25 years, the world's urban population has doubled while the urban emissions footprint increased 2.4 times. By 2050 the global urban population is expected to nearly double again with a predicted tripling of urban emissions. Shaping sustainable urban growth and significantly reducing urban carbon emissions is a critical challenge for the world's cities.

'Building partnerships to deliver climate action in cities' elevates the discussion on urban carbon emission reduction and mobilise action in response to cities' climate change challenges through evidence-based programmes and policy innovations.

Welcome and introduction

Cléa Daridan, Community Jameel - Opening remarks and introduction to Community Jameel's work with the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) and C40 on cities

Kris Murrin, CEO, The King's Foundation - Introduction to the event and speakers, followed by short film presentation

Jeremy Cross, associate director, The King's Foundation - moderator

High level presentations

Neil Khor, chief of staff, UN-Habitat (on behalf of Maimunah Sharif, executive director, UN-Habitat) - Cities as agents of climate action, the role of UN-Habitat with Commonwealth partners, localisation of SDGs and looking ahead to WUF12

Lucy Slack, secretary-general, Commonwealth Local Government Forum - Accelerating climate action through multi-level government cooperation and the pivotal role of local government in delivering practical action and public services

Peter Oborn, president, Commonwealth Association of Architects - Closing resource, capacity and finance gaps to accelerate action in secondary cities

Chipokota Mwanawasa, policy advisor to the President of Zambia - Leveraging data for policy innovation

Marwa Farouk ElKabbany, consultant Ordnance Survey - Collaboration and capacity building for implementing technology to advance sustainability

‍Roundtable discussion and summary of outcomes‍

An hour-long discussion comprising 25 participants representing Commonwealth organisations, youth, partner agencies and donors highlighting examples of practical climate action initiatives cities are implementing with particular focus on projects with potential for scaling and replication and time dedicated to profiling new commitments, exploring outcomes and determining key actions.

Participants in the roundtable discussion include: George Richards, director, Community Jameel; Nader Diab, senior policy and operations officers, Community Jameel; Andre Zollinger, senior policy manager, J-PAL Europe; Cassie Sutherland, managing director for climate solutions & networks, C40; Mikir Shah, CEO Africa Specialty Risks; Caroline Hilton, head of strategy and corporate finance, Africa Specialty Risks; Teddy Mugabo, CEO, Rwanda Green Fund-FONERWA; Patrick Welch, policy analyst, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy; Chris Chukwunta, vice president, International Renewable Energy Systems; Annabel Boud, head of Commonwealth scholarships, Association of Commonwealth Universities; Ladislas Ngendahimana, director, Commonwealth Local Government Forum; Nasra Nanda, CEO, Kenya Green Building Society; Jenny Wells, policy & communications manager, WaterAid Resilient Water Accelerator; Haruna Jimoh, fellow, Commonwealth futures climate research cohort, Association of Commonwealth Universities and University of Lagos; Rogier van den Berg, global director, World Resources Institute.