In this first instalment of our two-part special from the C40 World Mayors Summit, Cities 1.5 takes you inside the flagship gathering of the world’s most ambitious urban climate leaders. We hear directly from mayors as they unveil this year’s Offer of Action – a unified commitment that raises the stakes for urban climate leadership and pointedly challenges national governments to match their ambition with action of  their own, all on the eve of COP30. We also speak with leading climate experts and C40 partners to explore why cities remain the most effective engines for rapid, equitable decarbonization, and what they must do next to keep the goal of limiting global heating to 1.5°C alive. And crucially, funders share why they’ve chosen to invest in C40’s global network, highlighting the proven impact of coordinated city action and the urgency of scaling it.

Photo credit: ©Bernardo Jardim Photography

Featured:

Sir Sadiq Khan, C40 Co-Chair and Mayor of London

Nick Reece, Lord Mayor of Melbourne

Giuseppe “Beppe” Sala, Mayor of Milan

Yousef Al-Shawarbeh, Mayor of Amman

Keith Wilson, Mayor of Portland

Dr. Nkosindiphile Xhakaza, Executive Mayor of Ekurhuleni

Eduardo Pimentel, Mayor of Curitiba

Caterina Sarfatti, Managing Director of Inclusion and Global Leadership at C40

Haris Doukas, Mayor of Athens

Eirik Lae Solberg, Governing Mayor of Oslo

Søren Staugaard Nielsen, Managing Director of the Ramboll Foundation

Jo Jewell, Director of Social Responsibility Partnerships at Novo Nordisk

Hon. Catherine McKenna, Chair of the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Expert Group on Net-Zero Commitments of Non-State Entities

Christiana Figueres, Founding Partner of Global Optimism and Co-presenter of Outrage + Optimism

Links:

C40 World Mayors Summit: Cities Delivering Global Leadership for Climate Action - Bloomberg Philanthropies, YouTube

C40 World Mayors Summit

From negotiation to delivery:The Yearly Offer of Action

Ramboll Foundation

Novo Nordisk

Cities for Better Health

Green and Thriving Neighbourhoods Programme

Integrity Matters: Winning the Future report

Outrage + Optimism - Inside COP podcast

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Cities 1.5 is hosted by David Miller. It's written and produced by Peggy Whitfield and Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Our executive producer is Chiara Morfeo.

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Cities 1.5 music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/