In light of a growing number of local governments demonstrating their ambition for climate action in calling for a climate emergency or aiming for climate neutrality, the session aims to explore tangible and bold local action translating the urgency into practice. Discussing ambition in action in engaging pitch presentations of innovative, replicable low-carbon projects from frontrunning cities, the session will contribute to accelerating the uptake of proven solutions and demonstrate how local governments can walk the talk.

In the first round of panel discussions, city panellists will react to the provocative question of “Declaring climate emergency: publicity stunt or a game-changer for local governments?” and explore their reasoning and motivation to declare an emergency.

Cities will then explore the shape and scale of their most ambitious local climate projects in engaging solution pitches.

In a concluding debate, cities panellists will focus on moving beyond climate emergency building on their experiences in implementing these projects by focusing on how to shape practical, local future pathways towards a low-carbon future in line with the Paris Agreement and the EU Green Deal.

Presenting cities include Aalborg (Denmark), Basque Country (Spain), Budapest (Hungary), Cork (Ireland) and Warsaw (Poland).

The online session is part of the 9th European Conference on Sustainable Cities & Towns (Mannheim2020) taking place from 30 Sep - 2 Oct.