The climate emergency is happening right now, in our cities, towns and regions around the world. Our global leaders are struggling to address this urgent crisis. But the daring actions of local leaders are spreading around the globe.
As part of Countdown, a global initiative from TED that is turning ideas into action by championing and accelerating solutions to the climate crisis, we will present TEDxDaringCities, a special event within Daring Cities 2020.
The theme of TEDxDaringCities is cities that are going climate neutral – the how, the why now, and the how do we get more cities onboard. We’ll hear from cities worldwide that are working feverishly towards this goal, and the international partners who are helping them to achieve these goals.
TEDxDaringCities aims to showcase those bold, visionary urban leaders who have made the ultimate commitment toward tackling the climate emergency by setting a target of climate neutrality for their territories, and are actively leading the way toward achieving that target through climate change resilience and bold climate mitigation efforts.
As set out in its Strategic Vision and Plan 2018-2024, ICLEI supports local and regional governments to commit to climate neutrality at the latest by 2050, and pursue all efforts to limit global temperature in line with the Paris Agreement goals.
TEDxDaringCities is made up of three sessions, including the voices of local governments from around the world and a special Countdown film.
A panel of daring urban leaders who are each pursuing the ambitious goal of climate neutrality present and discuss the leading work their cities and regions are undertaking to realize this target, aiming to inspire fellow urban leaders to join them in the commitment to climate neutrality, and highlight that while such targets may be daunting, they are both possible and urgently needed.
UK High Level Climate Action Champion Nigel Topping addresses the criticality of ambitious climate action, and together with Apolitical CEO Robyn Scott, discuss the key role of cities, towns and regions in not only setting ambitious climate targets, but in implementing and accelerating bold climate action worldwide.
A compilation of speakers from Countdown global initiative then illustrate what a healthy, abundant, zero-emission future can look like, presenting both stirring examples of real progress underway around the world, as well as powerful reasons why this post-crisis moment is time to act.
Master of Ceremony:
- Cathy Oke ; First Vice President, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability
Daring Cities & Regions panel:
- Abe Shuichi, Governor, Nagano Prefecture, Japan
- Sandy Verschoor, Mayor, City of Adelaide, Australia
- Bima Arya, Mayor, City of Bogor, Indonesia
- Yeom Tae-young, Mayor, City of Suwon, Republic of Korea
- Andrew Cooper, Councilor, Kirklees City Council, UK; Member of West Yorkshire Combined Authority-Green Economy Panel
- Maryke van Staden, Director, Bonn Center for Local Climate Action and Reporting – carbonn, ICLEI´s commitment: Daring to go Climate Neutral
Dialogue on Ambition and Leadership:
- Nigel Topping, UK High Level Climate Action Champion
- Robyn Scott, CEO, Apolitical
Countdown film (25 min):
- Including Al Gore with activists Gloria Kasang Bulus, Nana Firman, Ximena Loria, Tim Guinee; Angel Hsu and Christiana Figueres.