The Innovate4Cities Conference will be an international gathering at the nexus of cities, climate change science and innovation. This groundbreaking meeting will be co-hosted by UN-Habitat and the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM). It will bring together over 1,000 city leaders, scientists, researchers, innovators, academics, youth and business people to advance pragmatic and action oriented research and science that will help cities reduce their carbon footprint and increase resilience to climate change.
“The UN Secretary General has called 2021 a ‘make or break year’ to confront the global climate emergency, highlighting that COVID-19 recovery plans offer the opportunity to build back greener and cleaner,” said UN-Habitat Executive Director Maimunah Mohd Sharif. “The Innovate4Cities Conference aims to accelerate knowledge creation and solutions implementation, and to mobilize the transformative potential of cities towards zero carbon and climate resilient cities.”
The first Cities and Climate Change Science conference, attended by over 800 participants in Edmonton, Canada in 2018, led to the Global Research and Action Agenda on Cities and Climate Change Science, the GCoM’s Innovate4Cities initiative to drive climate action in cities and the Edmonton Declaration on climate change signed by over 3400 cities.
“As governments look beyond COVID-19, cities have a vital role to play in building back better. On the front lines, they’re integral to facilitating cooperation and securing necessary green investments. In what promises to be a robust discussion of ideas and action, the Innovate4Cities conference will bring together champions of green recovery — those leading the way in transitioning to a more just, healthier, safer and sustainable world,”
Amanda Eichel, Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy Executive Director
As a follow-up to the 2018 Cities and Climate Change Science Conference the multi-day, virtual Innovate4Cities Conference will provide inputs to the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP 26) being held in November, and the Special Report on Climate Change and Cities in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Seventh Assessment Report (AR7) cycle.
See the conference website for more information on the Innovate4Cities Conference.