Cities 1.5

Lead like a girl - In conversation with Catherine McKenna

What links the Paris Agreement, Barbie and Arnold Schwarzenegger? The answer is this week’s guest on Cities 1.5!As a key architect of the Paris Agreement, Catherine McKenna - Canada’s former Minister for Climate Change and the Environment - reflects on why cities are now the true engines of delivery. There’s also a powerful exploration of Catherine’s new memoir, Run Like a Girl, and a firsthand account of why we cannot solve the climate crisis while leaving half the world’s population out of the corridors of power. It’s time to lead like a girl.Featured guest:Hon. Catherine McKenna, Chair of the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Expert Group on Net-Zero Commitments of Non-State Entities and host of Women Leading on Climate podcastAudio clips:Environment minister tells Rebel Media reporter to stop calling her 'Climate Barbie' - CBC NewsLinks:What justice for women in Afghanistan? - Swiss InfoInside the C40 World Mayors Summit - Cities 1.5It’s Grand Ol’ Bargain, Alright - Hot TakesCanada’s former climate minister on making a change, ‘aloof’ Trudeau and sexism - The GuardianIntegrity Matters: Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities - United Nations websiteParis climate deal - The GuardianBreaking the Tragedy of the Horizon - Mark Carney speechMeet the young climate activists behind Mathur et. al. v. His Majesty - EcojusticeWhy would anyone hate Catherine McKenna? - Maclean’sIf you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/ Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeries Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/ Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield. Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo. Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/ Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/ Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

Whose Streets? Our Streets: Curbing Fossil Fuel Industry Disinformation

In a world where climate emergencies are being declared daily, why do so many of our city streets and public transport networks have misleading ads for the very industries driving the crisis?Our conversation with two C40 experts reveals how the fossil fuel industry mirrors old tobacco industry tactics using sophisticated techniques to "greenwash" their image and frame essential health protections as attacks on free speech. Tune in to learn how cities reclaiming the narratives in our transit systems and urban squares is a vital step toward fending off industry attacks and securing a safer, more sustainable future for all.Featured guests:Mariana Batista, C40 Senior Manager, Public TransportCharlie Worthington, C40 Project Officer, High Carbon Advertising BansLinks:The War Against Tobacco: 50 Years and Counting - National Library of MedicineHow the Fossil Fuel Industry Polluted the Information Landscape - Center for Climate Change CommunicationAir pollution from fossil fuels kills 5 million people a year - The GuardianIn The Hague, ban on Big Oil ads survives legal challenge - Courthouse NewsProfitable Growth Without Fossil Fuels - Clean CreativesFrequently Asked Questions - A World Without Fossil Fuel AdsDeclaration on Information Integrity on Climate Change - UNESCOCities Climate Transition Framework - C40 Knowledge HubClearing the way: A toolkit for positive, fossil-free city advertising - C40 Knowledge HubHow cities can restrict carbon-intensive advertising - C40 Knowledge HubIf you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/ Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeries Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/ Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield. Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo. Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/ Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/ Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

HOT TAKE: The Kids are alright - Youth take the Mic in Rio

Hot Take: the climate crisis isn’t some abstract data point or a dry policy debate, it’s a deeply human story of survival. Right now, a whole generation is growing up inside the emergency, doing the heavy lifting to fix a mess they didn't create. We’re bringing you the raw, human heartbeat of the movement and amplifying the voices that stole the show at the World Mayor’s Summit in Rio. The C40 Youth Hub members dive into what real intergenerational collaboration looks like when those with the biggest stake in the future are finally the ones leading the change.Youth Moment featured leaders:Juliet Oluoch, Research fellow, Ufanisi Research NetworkAnjali Raman-Middleton, Co-founder and Director, Choked UpEsther Kamara, Founder of Youth Initiative For Climate Action Sierra LeoneFoday Kamara, National Coordinator, Youth Climate Council Global AllianceLetícia Mathias, Co-founder and Executive Director, Instituto SustentAçãoMicheala Chan, Young Water Utilities Expert for the Pacific, Asian Development BankFeatured interview guest:Earl Aldrin Burgos. C40 Youth Engagement and Campaigns ManagerLinks:World Mayors Summit special - Cities 1.5US cities as climate first responders - Cities 1.5C40 Youth Moment - YouTube Youth Hub - C40Youth Engagement Playbook for Cities - C40Loss and Damage: Challenges and Opportunities for City LeadershipIf you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/ Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeries Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/ Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield. Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo. Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/ Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/ Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

Tales from the Belly of the Beast: An ExxonMobil Whistleblower’s Story

What would you risk to tell the truth, if the institution you served was one of the most powerful corporations on Earth?Early scientific warnings about global heating have long stood in tension with corporate narratives shaping public understanding. This episode examines the enduring disinformation created and disseminated by the fossil fuel industry: how it evolves, why it persists, and what it means for the pace of climate action. Through the perspective of a former insider at ExxonMobil, we explore the widening gap between the disinformation narratives pumped out by fossil fuel companies and the personal consequences of challenging one of the most powerful corporations in modern history.Featured guest:Lindsey Gulden, Principal Data Scientist at Leg Up Data and former employee at ExxonMobilAudio sources: Oil giant ExxonMobil predicted climate change in 1970s - BBC NewsExxon CEO and Chairman of the American Petroleum Institute Lee Raymond speech (1996) - CPANWSJ: SEC probes Exxon after whistleblower complaint - CNBCLinks:New study in 'Science' puts a number on what Exxon knew decades ago about climate change - Potsdam InstituteHow a Newton woman became an enemy of ExxonMobil - The Boston GlobeTracing Big Oil’s PR war to delay action on climate change - The Harvard GazetteCarbon Capture and Storage: The Billion Dollar Scam - Environmental DefenceTrump says he might keep Exxon out of Venezuela - ReutersCountering Climate Disinformation - C40 CitiesDisinformation episodes - Cities 1.5If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/ Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeries Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/ Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield. Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo. Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/ Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/ Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

Mayoral Deep Dive: US cities as climate first responders

Across the United States, cities are acting as climate first responders - carrying climate action forward even as national politics grow more hostile. From clean energy and buildings to transport, land use and resilience to extreme weather events, mayors are proving that climate leadership does not depend on federal permission. It grows from proximity: to people, to impacts, and to the places leaders are entrusted to protect. Cities are stepping in to safeguard neighbourhoods, rivers, urban ecosystems and public health, often while the federal government undermines climate policy or attacks local authority.Featured guests:Keith Wilson, Mayor of Portland, Oregon, USAKirk Watson, Mayor of Austin, Texas, USAJuliet Oluoch, Research fellow at Ustawi Analytica and youth climate activist from Nairobi, KenyaLinks:Solved: How the World’s Great Cities Are Fixing the Climate Crisis by David MillerThe Fate of the Inflation Reduction Act in the Second Era of Trump - Cities 1.5Trump signs order to withdraw US from Paris climate agreement for second time - The Guardian‘Poet, writer, wife, mom’: who was Renee Nicole Good, the woman killed by an ICE agent? - The GuardianMayor Keith Wilson Announces Portland Has Reached more than 1,500 Emergency Overnight Beds, Delivered at Unprecedented Speed - Portland.govCostumed protesters in Portland defy description of the city as a 'war zone' - NBC NewsAustin Climate Equity Plan$3,000 grants offered to groups addressing climate change and food access challenges - Austin MonitorMore links for this episode available at jccpe.utpjournals.press and c40.org.If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/ Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeries Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/ Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield. Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo. Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/ Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/ Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/