Equity Needs to be at the Heart of Climate Action

As vulnerable and marginalized communities bear the brunt of the impacts from climate change, ensuring they have an active role in climate solutions is critical. Mayors and cities are uniquely positioned to ensure marginalized groups are included in the solution. By taking an inclusive and equitable approach to climate action, cities can build trust with communities and in turn develop stronger, more effective climate policies. In addition to climate action led by cities, there are wider economic and systemic challenges that are driving inequality in cities. We will hear from a panel of experts on why approaching housing as a human right and climate action through a lens of equity can lead to better environmental, social and economic outcomes.

Featured in this episode: 

C40 Climate Action Planning Guide: https://www.c40knowledgehub.org/s/guide-navigation?language=en_US&guideRecordId=a3t1Q0000007lEWQAY&guideArticleRecordId=a3s1Q000001iahcQAA

The Shift’s website: https://make-the-shift.org/

Featured guests:
Jazmin Burgess is Deputy Director of the Inclusive Climate Action programme at C40 Cities and leads the Global Green New Deal work, which provides in-depth programme assistance and policy guidance to cities to deliver inclusive climate action and a just transition at the local level. Prior to C40, Jazmin worked for the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, leading the team responsible for the mayor’s Green New Deal for London and as Senior Adviser to the deputy mayor for Environment and Energy.

Pedro Rodrigo Rolim is the Manager of Sustainability and Resilience of the City of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. An Architect and Urbanist, Pedro has developed numerous urbanization works in Rio de Janeiro, Bahia and Paraíba (Brazil). At the Municipal Secretariat of Urbanism (2008-2018), he worked on the review of the City Master Plan, the Rio 2016 Urban and Environmental Legacy Plan and was Head of Social Interest Programs, working with social and urbanistic orientations in favelas and informal communities.

Leilani Farha is the Global Director at The Shift, an organization committed to changing the narrative around housing rights and realizing housing as a human right across the globe. Previously, she served as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing. Leilani has presented reports to the UN on the treatment of housing as a commodity and its consequences for poor and middle-class people, as well as issued reports to guide States and other actors in meeting their commitments under the Sustainable Development Goals.

Image credit: ©C40

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Our executive producers are Peggy Whitfield and Chiara Morfeo.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/