Lead like a girl - In conversation with Catherine McKenna

2026-03-10

Download

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...

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 podcast

Audio clips:
Environment minister tells Rebel Media reporter to stop calling her 'Climate Barbie' - CBC News

Links:

What justice for women in Afghanistan? - Swiss Info

Inside the C40 World Mayors Summit - Cities 1.5

It’s Grand Ol’ Bargain, Alright - Hot Takes

Canada’s former climate minister on making a change, ‘aloof’ Trudeau and sexism - The Guardian

Integrity Matters: Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities - United Nations website

Paris climate deal - The Guardian

Breaking the Tragedy of the Horizon - Mark Carney speech

Meet the young climate activists behind Mathur et. al. v. His Majesty - Ecojustice

Why would anyone hate Catherine McKenna? - Maclean’s

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/

Comments (3)