On 10 July 2018 (5:00 PM CET), the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities held a Champion Mayors webinar on "In the Green: Building Inclusive Climate Change Agendas in Cities".
Background: Subnational actors are on the frontlines of managing the response to climate change, as they balance both the short-term imperative to protect residents and manage climate-related disasters, as well as the long-term challenges to make cities more low-carbon, resilient and inclusive. Cities and regions are major investors in the infrastructure that will be the foundation of a low-carbon, inclusive future, accounting for almost 60% of public investment in OECD countries. They will also manage the impacts of such investments over the longer term — either benefitting from investments in more resilient infrastructure, or paying the economic, environmental and human price for those that are not climate-proofed. Indeed, climate change damages are poised to have a disproportionate impact on populations that are already vulnerable: for instance, low-income households often have increased exposure to climate risks and hazards and a higher susceptibility to damages from climate change; they also have a lower capacity to recover from damages, as they often lack access to insurance systems and safety nets.
Key questions this webinar explored:
- Why are cities incorporating an inclusive growth/equity lens in their climate change strategies and policies? What dimensions of inclusive growth are being prioritised?
- In what areas and policy sectors have cities identified opportunities for win-wins between climate and inclusion objectives, as well as trade-offs that must be mitigated?
- What are examples of promising strategies? How are cities measuring the impacts of these efforts?
WEBINAR RECORDING
