Empowering Cities To Shape Stronger, More Inclusive NDCs: Lessons from Colombia
Empowering Cities To Shape Stronger, More Inclusive NDCs: Lessons from Colombia
Cities are responsible for more than 70% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and are highly vulnerable to the consequences of climate change, yet when it comes to climate action, national governments tend to take center stage. Of the 194 ...
Laying the Foundation for Green, Resilient Cities in Latin America
Laying the Foundation for Green, Resilient Cities in Latin America
Amid the vast Amazon River delta, Belém, Brazil, sits at the intersection of the urban and natural worlds. A network of waterways and islands home to resources like açaí and cacao surround the city, serving as a critical port for ...
Empowering Justice40: How Community-Based Organizations Are Driving Environmental Justice Forward
Empowering Justice40: How Community-Based Organizations Are Driving Environmental Justice Forward
Since President Joe Biden launched the Justice40 Initiative in January 2021, over $600 billion has been designated for more than 500 programs across 19 federal agencies. This funding supports climate-related infrastructure initiatives with a commitment to ensuring 40% of the benefits reach ...
To Meet 2030 Targets, Cities Need Systems Change
To Meet 2030 Targets, Cities Need Systems Change
Cities are not just places where people live—they are interconnected networks of people, services and economic activity. A city is a system of systems, bringing together transportation, energy, buildings, water, waste management and more. Transforming these interconnected systems is vital ...
How an Urban Bioeconomy Can Promote Healthy Ecosystems and Spur Sustainable Economic Prosperity
How an Urban Bioeconomy Can Promote Healthy Ecosystems and Spur Sustainable Economic Prosperity
Departing from the Amazonian city of Belém, Brazil, in a speedboat, it takes around 10 minutes to reach the shores of Combu Island. As the skyline fades into the distance, the lush, green environment of the island comes into view ...
Amidst Record-Breaking Fires, Will Brazil Confront Its Climate Challenges?
Amidst Record-Breaking Fires, Will Brazil Confront Its Climate Challenges?
Brazilians are currently living in a dystopian landscape. Thick smoke, oppressive heat and eerily orange sunsets blanket both major cities and small villages. Hundreds of cities are exposed to dangerous levels of air pollution while thousands of hectares of forest burn. ...
What Would Cities Look Like With 3 Degrees C of Warming vs. 1.5? Far More Hazardous and Vastly Unequal
What Would Cities Look Like With 3 Degrees C of Warming vs. 1.5? Far More Hazardous and Vastly Unequal
The world recently experienced a 13-month streak of record-breaking global temperatures. And as blistering heat waves punish communities across several continents, 2024 is on track to be the hottest year on record. Global average temperatures are now perilously close to exceeding 1.5 ...
Building for People: Towards an Equitable Transition in the Built Environment
Building for People: Towards an Equitable Transition in the Built Environment
The built environment is not on track globally to achieve its sectoral climate targets. Accounting for over a third of total energy system emissions already, the continued use of carbon-intensive materials paired with inefficient energy use throughout the built environment ...
E-Tricycles Are Powering a Recycling Revolution in Fortaleza, Brazil
E-Tricycles Are Powering a Recycling Revolution in Fortaleza, Brazil
Rafaela Aires’s workday starts at 9:00 a.m., leading her down city streets that weave past the Atlantic shoreline and under concrete overpasses. Her collected bottles and cardboard boxes used to form heaps in a hand-drawn cart. Now, they rattle in ...
What Happens When Extreme Heat and Air Pollution Collide
What Happens When Extreme Heat and Air Pollution Collide
On July 22, the world experienced its hottest day in recorded history. The global average temperature reached 17.2 degrees C (62.9 degrees F), prompting UN Secretary-General António Guterres to issue a global call to action on extreme heat. The problem of extreme ...