Speaker: Jessica Seddon

Cities are leading the transition to a sustainable economy. Cities are increasingly setting low carbon goals and implementing local policies that recognize sustainability as essential to new markets, jobs and creating attractive places to live and work. However, cities are under more pressure than ever. Housing 50% of the world’s population and growing – core resources are under pressure. Furthermore, a changing climate is adding to the problem threatening energy, water and land security. To continue moving towards a sustainable economy, cities need to focus on good governance and invest in the services and projects that make an impact. A significant challenge in achieving this goal is access and ability to use big data. City leaders need data to understand how to build smarter and more sustainable cites, assess climate vulnerabilities and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For climate data to be useful in cities – scientists, technologists and researches must work closely with urban planners and policy makers. This session will explore where the opportunities and challenges are in the era of smart cities, big data and analytics. Our speakers will discuss how cities can tap into this wealth of data and gain new insights into people’s behaviors and responses to climate change. Examples of emerging innovations in data collection, analysis and visualizations will be presented to understand how they can support and empower cities to enhance their resilience to climate change.

Developing a future research agenda on cities and climate change is a complex task. Setting out to co-design this research agenda across the science, policy, and practice communities makes it daunting task, but one that must occur. This session will open with an overview of a recently published Nature Comment entitled “Six Research Priorities for Cities and Climate” authored by members of the CitiesIPCC Scientific Steering Committee. Following the opening presentation, a panel of scientists, policy makers, and practitioners will build upon the Nature Comment and discuss the opportunities and challenges of designing and implementing a new cities and climate change research agenda that brings together science, policy, and practice.