Cities 1.5

In this first instalment of our two-part special from the C40 World Mayors Summit, Cities 1.5 takes you inside the flagship gathering of the world’s most ambitious urban climate leaders. We hear directly from mayors as they unveil this year’s Offer of Action – a unified commitment that raises the stakes for urban climate leadership and pointedly challenges national governments to match their ambition with action of  their own, all on the eve of COP30. We also speak with leading climate experts and C40 partners to explore why cities remain the most effective engines for rapid, equitable decarbonization, and what they must do next to keep the goal of limiting global heating to 1.5°C alive. And crucially, funders share why they’ve chosen to invest in C40’s global network, highlighting the proven impact of coordinated city action and the urgency of scaling it.Photo credit: ©Bernardo Jardim PhotographyFeatured:Sir Sadiq Khan, C40 Co-Chair and Mayor of LondonNick Reece, Lord Mayor of MelbourneGiuseppe “Beppe” Sala, Mayor of MilanYousef Al-Shawarbeh, Mayor of AmmanKeith Wilson, Mayor of PortlandDr. Nkosindiphile Xhakaza, Executive Mayor of EkurhuleniEduardo Pimentel, Mayor of CuritibaCaterina Sarfatti, Managing Director of Inclusion and Global Leadership at C40Haris Doukas, Mayor of AthensEirik Lae Solberg, Governing Mayor of OsloSøren Staugaard Nielsen, Managing Director of the Ramboll FoundationJo Jewell, Director of Social Responsibility Partnerships at Novo NordiskHon. Catherine McKenna, Chair of the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Expert Group on Net-Zero Commitments of Non-State EntitiesChristiana Figueres, Founding Partner of Global Optimism and Co-presenter of Outrage + OptimismLinks:C40 World Mayors Summit: Cities Delivering Global Leadership for Climate Action - Bloomberg Philanthropies, YouTubeC40 World Mayors SummitFrom negotiation to delivery:The Yearly Offer of ActionRamboll FoundationNovo NordiskCities for Better HealthGreen and Thriving Neighbourhoods ProgrammeIntegrity Matters: Winning the Future reportOutrage + Optimism - Inside COP podcastIf 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 the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/ Cities 1.5 is hosted by David Miller. It's written and produced by Peggy Whitfield and Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/ Our executive producer is Chiara Morfeo. Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/ Cities 1.5 music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

Cities 1.5 is back with a special two-part series focused on the C40 World Mayor's Summit in Rio de Janeiro, convening just ahead of the upcoming COP30 in Brazil. City mayors are continuing to play a critical role in combating climate change as they implement substantial climate policies and actions amidst the inaction of national governments. Tune in to hear behind-the-scenes discussions with funders, policymakers, and mayors who are committed to cutting emissions, creating green jobs, and safeguarding their communities…all in the face of the accelerating urgency of the climate crisis.Featured:Sir Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, England and co-chair of C40 CitiesYvonne Aki-Sawyerr, OBE, Mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone and co-chair of C40 CitiesIf 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 the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/ Cities 1.5 is hosted by David Miller. It's written and produced by Peggy Whitfield and Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/ Our executive producer is Chiara Morfeo. Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/ Cities 1.5 music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

We’re joining podcasts around the world in tandem with the 80th United Nations General Assembly, to ask a vital question: where do we find hope in challenging times? We explore how cities are implementing Herman Daly’s revolutionary economic theories.Featured in this episode:Karen Daly Junker, Herman and Marcia’s youngest daughterTerri Daly Stewart, Herman and Marcia’s eldest daughterDenis Daly Heyck, Herman’s sisterDavid Batker, Ecological economistKatherine Trebeck, Political economistLeonora Grcheva, Cities & Regions Lead at DEALKate Raworth, Co-founder of DEALKaty Shields, Regenerative EconomistCindy Acab, Waste to Resources Network Senior Manager at C40Cllr. Susan Aitken, Leader of Glasgow City CouncilTakehiko Nagumo, Director of Smart Cities Institute JapanJoshua Farley, Ecological EconomistGaya Herrington, Ecological economistAngelos Varvarousis, Research Fellow at UABTim Jackson, Ecological economistClóvis Cavalcanti, Ecological economistJohn Redwood, Former employee of the World BankJon Sward, Environment Project Manager at the Bretton Woods ProjectPeter May, Ecological economistBrian Czech, Executive Director of CASSEThank you to the Daly family for their generous support in sharing Herman’s story.Thank you also to our series consultants and fact checkers, Peter Harnik, Rob Dietz, and Peter Victor, who also graciously supplied the interview tape with Herman Daly, recorded in 2022.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 the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/ Cities 1.5 is hosted by David Miller. It's written and produced by Peggy Whitfield and Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/ Our executive producer is Chiara Morfeo. Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/ Cities 1.5 music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

Herman Daly, an influential ecological economist and former World Bank employee, reflects on his revolutionary career critiquing mainstream economics. He shares fascinating insights on sustainability, influenced by his family and activism in Brazil. Karen Daly Junker offers personal anecdotes about her father's passion, while David Batker discusses Daly's impact on ecological economics and the push for policy changes. Together, they explore the fight against neoliberalism at the World Bank, advocating for a shift toward sustainability and social justice in development.

We rejoin Herman Daly in the  late 1970s - a tumultuous time for our renegade economist.  Partnering with theologian John Cobb Jr., Daly began to rebuild economics from the ground up, reframing it around values, community, and the planet that sustains us.Woven through this intellectual journey are stories of faith, family, and friendship that helped Daly persevere. We hear how he sparked a global community of scholars and inspired whole new movements, ranging from wellbeing and regenerative economics to the circular economy and doughnut economics.Featured in this episode:Gaya Herrington, Wellbeing economist & thought leaderJennie King, Senior Fellow at ISDPeter Victor, Ecological economist & author of Herman Daly’s Economics for a Full WorldSandrine Dixson-Declève, Global Ambassador for The Club of RomeRobert Costanza, Ecological economistTerri Daly Stewart, Senior Occupational Therapist, and Herman and Marcia’s eldest daughterKaren Daly Junker, Senior Manager of Provenance Research at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and Herman and Marcia’s youngest daughterBrian Czech, Executive Director of CASSERob Dietz, Program Director at the Post-Carbon Institute and co-host of Crazy TownColvis Cavalcanti, Ecological economistKaty Shields, Regenerative economist, and co-creator/host of Tipping PointKatherine Trebeck, Political economistThank you to the Daly family for their generous support in sharing Herman’s story, and to Barbara Barros, C40 Global Head of Adaptation Finance, for voicing Marcia Daly’s email in this episode.Thank you also to our series consultants and fact checkers, Peter Harnik, Rob Dietz, and Peter Victor, who also graciously supplied the interview tape with Herman Daly, recorded in 2022.Visit the Cities 1.5 podcast page on UTP’s website for the media citations used in this episode.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 the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/ Cities 1.5 is hosted by David Miller. It's written and produced by Peggy Whitfield and Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/ Our executive producer is Chiara Morfeo. Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/ Cities 1.5 music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

We follow Herman from the lecture halls of Louisiana to the forests of Brazil – and through a period of global upheaval and personal transformation. Herman was profoundly shaped by the realities of inequality and ecological fragility in the Global South. These experiences helped crystallize his vision of a steady-state economy; one that operates within the planet’s ecological limits and prioritizes human wellbeing and ecological boundaries over endless growth.With reflections from his family and followers, this episode captures the moment Daly’s thinking moved from quiet resistance to creating economic theories that would go on to have a truly global influence. Featured in this episode:Colvis Cavalcanti, ecological economistBrian Czech, Author of Shoveling Fuel for a Runaway Train and executive director of the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State EconomyRob Dietz, Program Director at the Post-Carbon Institute, co-author of Enough is Enough, and co-host of Crazy TownTerri Daly Stewart, Senior Occupational Therapist and Herman and Marcia's eldest daughterKaren Daly Junker, Senior Manager of Provenance Research at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and Herman and Marcia’s youngest daughterDenis Lynn Daly Heyck (Deni), Professor Emeritus of Spanish language and literature and Herman's sisterKaty Shields, Regenerative economist and co-creator/host of Tipping PointPeter Victor, Professor Emeritus of ecological economics & author of Herman Daly’s Economics for a Full WorldKate Raworth, Author of Doughnut Economics and co-founder of the Doughnut Economics Action LabThank you to the Daly family for their generous support in sharing Herman’s story.Thank you also to our series consultants and fact checkers, Peter Harnik, Rob Dietz, and Peter Victor, who also graciously supplied the interview tape with Herman Daly, recorded in 2022.Visit the Cities 1.5 podcast page on UTP’s website for the media citations used in this episode.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 the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/ Cities 1.5 is hosted by David Miller. It's written and produced by Peggy Whitfield and Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/ Our executive producer is Chiara Morfeo. Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/ Cities 1.5 music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

Herman Daly, a pioneering ecological economist, argues against endless economic growth and advocates for a sustainable, steady-state economy. Joined by Peter Victor, his biographer, and his sister Denis Lynn Daly Heyck, they discuss the dangers of neoliberal policies and the necessity of innovative economic approaches. They share personal anecdotes about resilience and the importance of limiting resource consumption. The conversation honors Daly's legacy while contemplating how his ideas can address today’s ecological and societal challenges.

Is it time to retire the concept of growth as the sole measure of prosperity? This summer, join host David Miller for a special miniseries dedicated to Herman Daly, an economist who transformed how we think about growth. Featuring never heard before interviews with Daly himself alongside experts, scholars, and Herman’s nearest and dearest, this is a story you won’t want to miss!The first episode of Going Steady with Herman Daly debuts on August 19th, 2025. We can’t wait for you to hear it!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 the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/ Cities 1.5 is hosted by David Miller. It's written and produced by Peggy Whitfield and Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/ Our executive producer is Chiara Morfeo. Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/ Cities 1.5 music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

Herman Daly would have turned 87 years old on July 21st, 2025. While he is no longer with us, his ideas have lived on - shaping an economic future that we haven’t yet achieved, but is steadily becoming the most probable way forward in the face of rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and ecological and economic decimation.But who exactly was Herman Daly? Why was his work scorned by the World Bank? And how can his plan for world economics save the planet?Featuring economists Gaya Herrington, Tim Jackson, Kate Raworth, along with other experts, scholars, and Herman's nearest and dearest, join host David Miller for a special limited series exploring the life of Herman Daly, the economist who transformed the thinking of some of the leading economic and climate thinkers of our times. Going Steady premieres this August - check back on this feed for updates!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 the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/ Cities 1.5 is hosted by David Miller. It's written and produced by Peggy Whitfield and Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/ Our executive producer is Chiara Morfeo. Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/ Cities 1.5 music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

For hundreds of years, people have been pondering the power of information. In this past season of Cities 1.5, we’ve seen examples of cities from around the world who are using data and the lived experiences of their inhabitants to create policies that support healthier lives for people and planet: from Freetown, Sierra Leone, to Tokyo, Japan, to Princeton, Canada. But while history - and our own conversations on this podcast - prove that knowledge is powerful…it isn’t always easy to come by. For the final episode of Cities 1.5 season 5, David meets two knowledge and dissemination specialists who speak with him about the importance of data and information for climate action and what other ingredients are key to effective communications about global heating. Featured guests:Katie Walsh, Head of Climate Finance for Cities, States, and Regions at CDPAndrea Learned, climate influence catalyst and strategistLinks:Leviathan by Thomas HobbesCities are responsible for over 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions - World BankGlobal Covenant of MayorsEarth Positive Action - CDPCities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance ForumGlobal Snapshot Report 2024 - CDPParis Climate AgreementCHAMP - C40Andrea Learned’s Green Biz article on the five Ls of Twitter leadershipLiving Change podcastBike Talk podcastBowinn MA, Canadian politician elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in 2017Album: Joy as an act of resistanceSustainable Development Goal 11 - United NationsIf 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 the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/ Cities 1.5 is hosted by David Miller. It's written and produced by Peggy Whitfield and Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/ Our executive producer is Chiara Morfeo. Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/ Cities 1.5 music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/