The Global Centre on Healthcare and Urbanisation Public Seminar series brings together members of the public, researchers and practitioners interested and engaged in urban health issues. The principal aim of the series is to provoke debate and constructive action, linking current best practice in urban development with emerging areas of health research.

One of the most critical challenges of our time, rests in the decisions we choose over the next five years. With the planet warming and our sea levels rising, we have reached the last chance to act on climate change.

The impact of a changing climate is keenly felt within our cities, as they are a key cause of, and solution to climate change. Around the world, cities are responding to residents’ concerns on the impacts of our climate. Many cities are leading the way by utilising their autonomy, powers, and growing populations to develop their own climate action plans to reduce carbon emissions.

So how do we accelerate and scale current climate actions within cities? What do we need to change in our current systems to reach our climate targets?

This seminar explores the ‘enablers’ of accelerating climate action within cities: the critical systems that underpin our approach to climate change. The ‘enablers’ consider the wider political, innovation, data, and economic systems within which climate actions are made. They provide the frameworks for how society operates, and they need to change if cities are to achieve their climate ambitions.