How Cities Are Leading Global Climate Action
Learn more about why why action at the city level is essential to averting the worst of the climate crisis.
Last updated 1 March 2025
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Lecture details
How Cities Are Leading Global Climate Action
6 Nov 2023
4.00 pm – 5.30 pm.
CLC Training and Development Centre, 45 Maxwell Road, #08-01 The URA Centre, 069118
1.5 SIP CPD Pts, 1 SILA CPD Pts, 2 BOA-SIA CPD.
Lecture video
Synopsis
Mark Watts will explain why action at the city level is essential to averting the worst of the climate crisis. At the global level, we are off track to limit heating to the 1.5°C average temperature rise of the Paris Agreement, but cities are taking action aligned with that goal. Mark will show that science-based climate action necessitates the phaseout of all fossil fuels and will share case studies from global cities who are taking action to deliver that. Finally, he will show how well-designed policies to improve the sustainability of urban life can create good, green jobs and make cities better and healthier places to live.
Lecture report
Cities have been the cornerstone of human societies. Today, some 56% of the world’s population – approximately 4.4 billion inhabitants – live in cities. By 2050, more than two-thirds of the world’s population is projected to live in urban areas. Coupled with an increasing urban population, cities are placed under further stress due to climate change. All these could have a costly impact on cities’ infrastructure and its inhabitants’ livelihoods over time, especially if cities are not adequately prepared. Nevertheless, cities are also part of the solution to manage climatic impacts.
In his lecture, Mark Watts, Executive Director of C40, shared how cities are leading global climate action and filling the void in existing climate leadership through their initiatives, while stressing the continued importance of addressing climate injustice. Sharing examples from C40 member cities, Mark illustrated how cities can deal with climate issues successfully through continuously learning from one another.
Cities are filling the global leadership void in this era of “Global Boiling”
Mark shared that the focus on city leadership is because climate action is still not happening at the scale and pace required, on the global level. The recent global stocktake report released by the UN, which assessed countries’ progress since the Paris Agreement, found that global aim for 1.5°C is not on track. Emissions are still rising when they should have peaked in 2020. Moreover, planned fossil fuel expansion is completely incompatible with 1.5°C.
On the flipside, 75% of C40 member cities are reducing emissions faster than their nation states. Climate action in cities has multiple co-benefits, ranging from people’s health and wellbeing to the economy. For example, C40’s research, focused on the United States, Italy and South Africa, found that retrofitting buildings to improve energy efficiency is the leading climate action for job creation.
Net-zero buildings as priority areas towards achieving cities’ decarbonisation goals
Mark also spoke about the various sectors within a city that can be targeted to achieve comprehensive decarbonisation objectives. This includes the built environment which is a major emissions source alongside the energy sector. For example, 60% of emissions in C40 cities are from the operation of buildings - even reaching 80% in some cities. Reducing emissions from buildings can be achieved by implementing and enforcing building energy regulations and mandatory performance standards. In cities where there is a high demand for cooling, city governments can use buildings codes and standards to reduce demand for energy for cooling. These can be further complemented with green roofs, cool/white roofs, and passive design measures such as shading and insulation.
For example, in San Francisco, it is a requirement for new, large buildings to incorporate renewable energy and living roofs - specifically roof space must consist of 15% solar or 30% living roofs. Closer to home, Singapore’s Super Low Energy Programme has a target of 60% energy efficiency improvement in buildings compared to 2005 by 2030 (at the national level, Singapore is striving to reach 80% improvement) using both passive strategies to keep buildings cool and more active technologies to improve the energy efficiency of air conditioning.
Continued innovation and collaboration are the missing puzzle piece to accelerate global climate action
Mark reiterated the importance of continued innovation and cities working together to achieve decarbonisation goals. C40 provides such a platform, bringing cities together to collaborate on climate action while engaging in peer-to-peer learning.
Some examples of successful collaborations include C40’s climate budgeting programme which is led by Oslo. Oslo has introduced climate budgeting whereby a city’s annual financial budget can only be passed if it will deliver the city’s annual carbon reduction target. This anchors the issue of climate across the city’s decision making. Currently, there are 12 cities that adopt this innovative climate budgeting programme which allows for cities to learn from Oslo’s experience.
He shared another example on the collaboration between Tokyo and Kuala Lumpur which had been established as part of an innovative Global South-Global North climate partnership to decarbonise their building sectors. In 2010, Tokyo implemented a Cap-and-Trade Program which implemented a mandatory emissions reduction for large commercial and industrial buildings which has reduced emissions by 33% compared to 2000 levels. Based on this experience, Tokyo is sharing knowledge with Kuala Lumpur to improve its capacity to implement carbon reduction for its City Hall buildings.
About the Speakers
SPEAKER
Mark Watts
Executive Director
C40 Cities
Mark Watts is Executive Director of C40 Cities, a network of the mayors of nearly 100 of the world's largest and most influential cities, dedicated to delivery science-based and inclusive climate action. C40 cities represent 25% of global GDP and hundreds of millions of residents.
Mark was appointed in 2013 by then Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, and has subsequently served the mayors of Rio, Paris, Los Angeles and, currently, Sadiq Khan - Mayor of London, in their capacity as elected Chairs of C40. Under Mark’s leadership C40’s team has grown from 30 to over 300 and C40 has focused on showing through city leadership how the world can halve global carbon emissions by 2030, while creating millions of good green jobs and reducing inequality.
Prior to joining C40, Mark was a director at the radical design and engineering firm, Arup, and before that was transport and climate adviser to the Mayor of London, in which capacity he was described by the London Evening Standard as “the intellectual force behind Ken Livingstone’s drive to make London a leading light of the battle against global warming.” Outside of work he can usually be found running up a mountain, or getting excited about a new band.
MODERATOR
Michael Koh
Executive Fellow
Centre for Liveable Cities
Mr Michael Koh has 25 years of experience in the public service including 7 years as CEO of the National Heritage Board and 4 years concurrently as CEO of the National Art Gallery. He was also the former Director of Urban Planning & Design at the Urban Redevelopment Authority where he spearheaded the planning and urban design of the new mixed use Downtown at Marina Bay, revitalisation of Orchard Road as a shopping street and creation of an arts and entertainment district at Bras Basah Bugis.