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URBAN SUSTAINABLEDEVELOPMENTURBAN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTGOV E R N A NCE , F IN A NCE A ND POL I T IC SGOVERNANCE, FINANCE AND POLITICS�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ���������� ���������������� ��� ������� ���� ����������� ������������ ����� ���������� �������� ������� ���� ������ ��� � ������������������ ����������� ���� ���� ������� ������� ���� ­�������������������������­������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������ ������������ ����������� ������� ���� ���������������� ���� �������� ���������� ��� ���������� ���������� ������ �������������������������������������������������������������������������� ���������� ������� ���������� ���� �������������� ��� ���������������������������������������������������­���������������������������� ����������� ����������� ���� ����� ��� ����� ������������ ��� �������������������� ���������� �� ���� ������� ���������� ������� ��� �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ��������� �������� ����������� ��� ���������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������� �� ���������� ����������� ������� �� ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������URBAN SUSTAINABLEDEVELOPMENTURBAN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTGOV E R N A NCE , F IN A NCE A ND POL I T IC SGOVERNANCE, FINANCE AND POLITICS�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ���������� ���������������� ��� ������� ���� ����������� ������������ ����� ���������� �������� ������� ���� ������ ��� � ������������������ ����������� ���� ���� ������� ������� ���� ­�������������������������­������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������ ������������ ����������� ������� ���� ���������������� ���� �������� ���������� ��� ���������� ���������� ������ �������������������������������������������������������������������������� ���������� ������� ���������� ���� �������������� ��� ���������������������������������������������������­���������������������������� ����������� ����������� ���� ����� ��� ����� ������������ ��� �������������������� ���������� �� ���� ������� ���������� ������� ��� �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ��������� �������� ����������� ��� ���������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������� �� ���������� ����������� ������� �� ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������URBAN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTGOVERNANCE, FINANCE AND POLITICSEditorsPedro VormittagMarianna AlbuquerqueEugénie L. BirchEditorial Coordinator�Bruno ZilliEditorial Support�Iuri RosarioMarcelo GribelText Preparation�Barbara PiresGraphic Design�Presto DesignCover�Presto DesignGuilherme BussingerAndré DucciExecutive CoordinatorsFeliciano de Sá GuimarãesJulia Dias LeiteLuciana Gama MunizCommunications and Marketing ManagerGabriella CavalcantiHead of the Rio G20 CommitteeLucas PadilhaPublished by CEBRI – Brazilian Center for International RelationsEdited by Pedro Vormittag Marianna Albuquerque Eugénie L. BirchURBAN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTGOVERNANCE, FINANCE AND POLITICSKnowledge Partner InstitutionsDados Internacionais de Catalogação na Publicação (CIP)(Câmara Brasileira do Livro, SP, Brasil)Índices para catálogo sistemático:1. Desenvolvimento sustentável : Economia 338.9Aline Graziele Benitez - Bibliotecária - CRB-1/3129Urban sustainable development : governance, finance and politics / edited by Pedro Vormittag, Marianna Albuquerque, Eugénie Birch. -- 1. ed. -- Rio de Janeiro : Centro Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais - CEBRI, 2024.Vários autores.Bibliografia.ISBN 978-65-992269-8-41. Desenvolvimento sustentável - Aspectos econômicos 2. Finançaspúblicas - Brasil 3. Governança pública 4. Sustentabilidade social 5. Urbanismo I. Vormittag, Pedro. II. Albuquerque, Mariana. III. Birch, Eugénie.24-234457 CDD-338.9Rio de JaneiroGlobal CenterClimate HubContentsPrefacePedro Vormittag and Marianna AlbuquerqueSection 1. Conceptual FoundationsIntegrating Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies in CitiesCandice HowarthSustainable and Productive Cities and Urban Sustainable Development: A Developing Countries PerspectiveArkebe OqubayThe City Meets Practical EthicsAdela J. GondekUrban 20: Six Editions of City Diplomacy at the Highest LevelFernando Straface & Mariana CammisaFor a City Network JurisdictionJoão Carlos Cochlar 9 161. 2. 3.4. 5. 19 41 79102 122Section 2. Global Paths to ImpactHow the Cidade Maravilhosa Became More Marvelous, Lessons for the G20Eugénie L. Birch Enlightened City Leadership: A New Model for a Sustainable Urban FutureH.E. Fahd Al-Rasheed Advancing the Urban Climate Finance Agenda: The Green Cities Guarantee FundMauricio Rodas Climate Change Perceptions in the Urban Global South and Its ImplicationsYoon Jae Ro, Seungho Lee and Munsu Kang Cognitive and Smart Cities: A New PerspectiveHazem Galal, Rajat Chowdhary, Mounir Kabbara and Cristina Reyes Funding Sustainable Infrastructures for CitiesRiatu Mariatul QibthiyyahBridging the Gender Digital Divide in the Americas: An In-Depth Look at the Municipal LevelRebecca Bill ChavezTransparency, Accountability and Justice: Why Governments Must Share Flood Protection Planning Leadership with Frontline CommunitiesPaul Gallay, Amelia Ding, Hellas Lee, Victoria Sanders and Bernadette Baird-Zars1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.7. 8.146149 191 207 229 252 267294 31479. 10. 11. 12.13.14. 15. 16.358 376 393 413453471 496 519Policy Implications for Climate Adaptation in the Context of Nonlinear Impacts and Catastrophic RisksAmy Campbell and Jeff SchlegelmilchShaping Sustainable Urban Mobility: How Current Narratives Drive ChangeClarisse Cunha LinkeClimate, Equity and Health Problems in Road Transport: Closing the Popular Transportation Gap Jacqueline M. KloppSustainable Cities in the Gulf Cooperation CountriesMohamed AbdelraoufChina’s Urban Green Infrastructure ConstructionXin Dong and Li ZhuangA Conversation with Policymakers, Mayors, and Urban Specialists: An African Perspective on Sustainable Urban Development and the G20Arkebe OqubayIntegrating Climate Disaster Risk within an Interdisciplinary Urban Agenda: Lessons Drawn from the Brazilian ExperienceAndrew J. Kruczkiewicz, Camila Pontual, Jessica Weinberg, Isabella Pereira and Walter BaethgenMobilizing Finance for Climate Adaptation and to Build Back BetterFrederic de MarizContributorsKnowledge Partner Institutions54956489Putting the “Urban” in Sustainable DevelopmentPedro Vormittag and Marianna Albuquerquetransformation and green technologies. The evidence suggests that carbon emissions, energy use, and accelerated growth can be decoupled. The global green transformation landscape is being championed by developing 6. See more: Mathews (2014); Mathews and Oqubay (2024); Thurbon, Kim, Tan, Mathews (2023). 51Sustainable and Productive Cities and Urban Sustainable Development: A Developing Countries Perspectivecountries, particularly in renewable energy, electric vehicles, and battery storage, notably by China, which has allowed drastic cost reduction benefiting from the learning and experience curves. Figure 4 shows the global rise of renewable energy, EV manufacturing, and electric-powered high-speed and metro transport, significantly contributing to urban sustainable development. Figure 3. Renewable energy (2014–2023). Source: Compiled by Greening of African Economic Development from the IRENA database.16001400120010008006004002000450040003500300025002000150010005000USA ChinaInstalled Capacity of Countries (GW)Installed Capacity - World (GW)Europe2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 202352 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and PoliticsFigure 4. Sales of EVs (2012–2024). Source: Compiled by Greening of African Economic Development from data of IEA, IRENA, and Organisation of Motor Vehicles Manufacturers.18161412108642016.0%14.0%12.0%10.0%8.0%6.0%4.0%2.0%0.0%United StatesChina Rest of the World Share of EV salesSales of EVs (millions)Share of EV sales in total vehicle productionEurope2014 20152012 2013 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 20244030201008006004002000Battery Storage Capacity Additionsin the Power Sector EV Battery Annual GrowthGWGWh2010 2023 2010 2023Figure 5. Growth of battery storage technology. The energy sector is propelling huge growth in the global battery market. Today, batteries are the fastest growing clean technology. Source: International Energy Agency.53Sustainable and Productive Cities and Urban Sustainable Development: A Developing Countries PerspectiveOn the political economy side, the incumbent fossil fuel industry receives significant subsidies amounting to over a trillion dollars in direct subsidies annually and over five trillion dollars in indirect support, undermining the global carbon-neutral path. In contrast, green growth and green technology attracted insufficient subsidies. In addition to this perspective, just transition is an essential principle, Common But Differentiated Responsibility (CBDR), a solid commitment to establishing loss and damage fund for vulnerable countries, and the polluter pays principle is a guiding principle.In conclusion, this section reviews the global urban dynamics, which significantly affect policymaking and international collaboration. First, it highlights that developing and emerging economies would play a significant role in global transformation as nearly 80 percent reside in these countries. A considerable wave of urban growth will be concentrated in Asia and Africa, given that the next urbanization shift will occur in these regions. National, sub-national, and local governments can use strategies and policies essential for transformation. Second, all world cities—mega cities, metropolitan, and cities—must focus on economic growth and creating employment opportunities, expanding exports, building productive capacity, and attracting productive investment to steer the economy. For instance, Asia is now emerging as an engine of global economic growth, primarily concentrated in Asian cities. Third, cities have the choice to promote environmental sustainability and green transformation as an essential feature of high-quality economic development and as they have the potential to shape the future. Finally, national urban policies, city plans, and city governance can be crucial in achieving broad goals (Nayyar 2019).54 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and PoliticsUrban Sustainable Development and City Transformation Global Compact on the SDG GoalsThe United Nations adopted Agenda 2030 with 17 SDGs and their main policy application in urban structures, illustrating cities’ centrality. These goals call for productive cities, as goals 1, 2, 4, 8, and 9 illustrate; sustainable cities, as goals 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 show; and inclusive cities, as goals 2, 3, 5, and 10 highlight. The SDG goals’ success depends on the policies, leadership and urban governance, as goals 16 and 17 show (see figure 4). Given the trend that an increasing proportion of the world population will live in urban centres, then, by default, all the SDGs will directly impact cities since the outcome of the goals is to improve the livelihood of people wherever they live.SDG Goal Main policy application in cities and urban settings1 No poverty Implement policies that support affordable housing, social protection, and access to essential services to reduce urban poverty.2 Zero hunger Promote urban agriculture, improve food distribution systems, and ensure access to nutritious food in urban areas.3 Good health and well-beingAddress urban health challenges such as pollution, lifestyle diseases, and access to healthcare; promote healthy living environments.4 Quality educationEnhance access to quality education for all urban residents, particularly marginalized communities; ensure equitable education opportunities.5 Gender equality Promote gender equality in urban areas by ensuring equal access to services, employment, and participation in decision-making processes.55Sustainable and Productive Cities and Urban Sustainable Development: A Developing Countries PerspectiveSDG Goal Main policy application in cities and urban settings6 Clean water and sanitationEnsure sustainable water management, improve urban sanitation services, and reduce water-related environmental impacts.7 Affordable and clean energyIncrease energy efficiency, promote the use of renewable energy, and ensure affordable energy access for all urban dwellers.8 Decent work and economic growthFoster inclusive economic growth, create job opportunities, and promote decent work in urban economies.9 Industry, innovation, and infrastructureDevelop resilient urban infrastructure, enhance public transportation, and foster innovation to support sustainable urban growth.10 Reduced inequalityReduce income disparities, ensure equal access to services, and promote social inclusion in urban settings.11 Sustainable cities and communitiesFocus on urban planning, affordable housing, public transportation, green spaces, and reducing cities’ environmental impact.12 Responsible consumption and productionPromote sustainable urban consumption and production practices, including waste reduction, recycling, and resource-efficient processes.13 Climate action Implement climate mitigation and adaptation strategies in cities, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and enhance resilience to climate-related impacts.14 Life below water Manage urban waste and pollution to prevent harm to marine and freshwater ecosystems and protect waterways that run through urban areas.15 Life on Land Protect and restore urban green spaces, promote biodiversity, and manage urban forests sustainably.16 Peace, justice, and strong institutionsStrengthen urban governance, promote inclusive institutions, ensure access to justice, and reduce violence in cities.17 Partnerships for the goalsTo achieve sustainable urban development, foster collaboration between local governments, businesses, and civil society and share knowledge and resources for effective implementation.Table 1. SDG goals and main policy applicationin urban areas and cities.56 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and PoliticsThe Paris Climate Agreement The Paris Climate Agreement (signed by 196 countries in 2015) aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, net zero emissions, and maximize efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5oC.Paris Agreement Goals Policy application in cities and urban structures1 Limit global warming Implementing policies to reduce carbon emissions from buildings, transportation, and energy use, and promoting the use of renewable energy sources to contribute to the net zero goals.2 Adaptation Enhancing infrastructure resilience, improving urban planning to withstand extreme weather events, incorporating climate adaptation strategies in city development plans, and expanding forest areas.3 Develop clean technologiesSpeeding up technological innovation to bring breakthroughs and enhance international technology transfer.4 Finance flow Attracting and directing investments towards sustainable urban projects, promoting green finance, and ensuring that city budgets align with climate resilience and low emission.5 Climate change funding Establishing the climate loss and damage fund to support vulnerable regions and rich countries to provide a minimum of $100 billion for climate change adaptation. Table 2. Paris Climate Agreement goals. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) Synthesis Report provides the most updated scientific synthesis on climate science, impacts, risks, and potential solutions. The following summary highlights the main policy implications for cities and urban areas.57Sustainable and Productive Cities and Urban Sustainable Development: A Developing Countries PerspectiveTheme Implication for Cities and Urban Sustainable Development 1 Global warmingCities significantly contribute to global warming due to their high energy consumption and emissions. Cities must design strategies to reduce carbon footprint, transition to renewable energy, and improve energy efficiency.2 Climate impacts Cities are highly vulnerable to extreme weather events, including heat waves, flooding, and storms. Therefore, they must build resilient urban infrastructure and services. Long-term urban plans must incorporate projections of climate change impacts to ensure future sustainability. 3 Mitigation and adaptationCities must prioritize sustainable urban planning, such as green building practices, sustainable public transportation, and green spaces. They should also implement adaptation measures such as flood protection, stormwater management, and upgrade urban infrastructure. 4 Climate financeUrban areas require considerable investments to pursue low-carbon transitions and build climate resilience. Cities should prioritize budgets for climate goals and mobilize green financing for urban sustainable development. 5 Equity and social justiceClimate impacts disproportionately affect low-income and marginalized communities in cities, and urban policies must enhance equitable access to resources, protect from climate risks, and engage communities in decision-making. Table 3. IPCC’s Synthesis Report VI (2022).Nonetheless, the Paris Agreement fails to address the intellectual property rights (IPR) issue under the TRIPS, which continues to be a significant obstacle, as was observed during the COVID-19 crisis, regarding the waiver of IPR for developing countries. Regarding financial resource mobilization, legal instruments for enforcing the decision were not agreed upon, leading to the sidelining of the critical resolution of the Paris Climate Agreement.77. See more: IPCC (2023); UN (2015); UNEP (2024).58 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and PoliticsCity Transformation and Urban Sustainable DevelopmentCities across continents and regions have demonstrated that city governments can play a leading role through exemplary initiatives. This section presents prominent examples in advanced and developing countries and the case of transforming an African city through the case of Addis Ababa, where the author led as a mayor, internationally recognized transformation, for which he received recognition as Best Mayor Addis Ababa and finalist World Mayor, 2006.Transforming an African City: The Case of Addis Ababa The metropolitan city witnessed the first significant transformation during the author’s Mayorship between 2002 and 2006. This paper presents three major flagship priorities among the many initiatives and plans. The first was an award-winning Integrated Housing Development Program, a pioneering initiative in which the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) conducted extensive studies to extract the best lessons. It aimed to address the 700,000 housing units and shelters deficit and integrate with various multiple aims. The creation of employment opportunities through the booming construction industry aimed to create tens of thousands of jobs and the establishment of hundreds of medium-sized construction companies and sub-contracts, which included extensive capacity-building programs. The program was designed to boost technical and vocational education and training (TVET) to build synergy with skills development. The program aimed primarily at wealth creation to motivate city residents to engage in savings and allow ownership. Housing distribution was based on a computer-based lottery basis to ensure transparency. Women got priority, allowing them to benefit from 55–60 percent of completed 59Sustainable and Productive Cities and Urban Sustainable Development: A Developing Countries Perspectivecondominium houses, combined with the city government’s subsidy providing free land lease costs and infrastructure costs and targeted subsidies to low and medium-income like studio and one-bedroom dwellings. Low mortgage interest rates were integrated into the program, allowing for use for building houses and with a 10–20 percent equity requirement, and mortgage paid back in 15–25 years. The program was integrated with slum upgrading to build neighborhoods partly in the city’s old and periphery, maintaining residents’ social fabric and neighborhoods that combine community services and commercial quarters (all ground floors), and designing modular and cost-effective buildings. The typical nature of this program combined the productive city, focusing on boosting the city’s economic vitality, ensuring environmental sustainability, and executing inclusiveness.8The City Government of Addis Ababa initiated an extensive education program to end the shift system in schools, which hosted 700,000 students in primary and high schools and employed over 12,000 teachers. The primary aim was not only to improve the quality of education but also to ensure that mothers have the opportunity to work full day by ensuring that students attend school for a full day. The city built 5,000 school rooms accommodating nearly 300,000 students, which was necessary for ending multiple shifts and allowing double the teaching contact hours. The program upgraded existing schools with toilet facilities, title deeds, and protected compounds. The program created massive jobs that contributed to developing the construction sector and manufacturers. New modular five-floor building designs were introduced for economic land use, reducing construction costs and allowing massive 8. See more: City Government of Addis Ababa (2004), UN-HABITAT (2011).60 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsconstruction to be completed in 12–18 months. All classrooms were equipped with the required furniture and facilities. The project was primarily implemented at the school level in 100 sub-cities and engaged the Teacher-Parent Committees. Additional reforms included reassigning school directors, introducingnew recruitment methods, and improving teachers’ salaries. Again, the program was designed to build a productive, sustainable, and inclusive city.A vital component of the city transformation was the changes introduced in the city plan based on the principle of a compact city, the mixed settlements of various income groups (a unique feature of Addis Ababa), mixed residential and commercial buildings, allocating special zones for industrial use, and expanding production and market clusters for small and medium enterprises. The city plan concept shifted from a rigid city planning approach to a structural plan that allows flexibility to adapt to the growth realities, supported by targeted local economic development contributing to the specialization of various parts of the city. A new initiative, Green and Clean Addis Ababa, was launched to mobilize grassroots communities and partner with the private sector and belief organizations. A new institution, the Beautification and Cleaning Agency and Code Enforcement Agency, contributed to sustaining the initiative. Urban mobility is central to improving the city’s productivity and economic growth, affecting the quality of living. The city government allocated a significant budget for expanding major arteries, and priority shifted to giving adequate pedestrian pavements. A new approach to completing road projects in the shortest time reduced the disruption during the construction period and improved city performance.Piloting and phased approaches were introduced in these projects 61Sustainable and Productive Cities and Urban Sustainable Development: A Developing Countries Perspectiveto test the idea and incorporate best practices and learning, leading to speedy learning and benefitting from the scaling up while managing risks. In addition, the program engaged city residents with inputs to the design of the project, discussion on the draft plans, and reviews during implementation. The city’s structure was restructured to make it lean, reduce waste, and improve execution quality. The city hall’s restructuring involved over 40,000 employees and was implemented with no layoffs but reassignment to new productive activities. The city hierarchy was reduced from five to three levels—city hall, ten sub-cities, and 100 local administrative offices with service delivery responsibilities. The city government also introduced how the city political appointees are organized, municipal services are under the city manager, and critical municipal services are organized under city public enterprises.The factors that led to the success of the city transformation were: first, the federal government’s commitment to grant Addis Ababa Charter City status with broad mandates allowing the city to play a prominent role, improve its revenue sources, and transform into a thriving city. The national urban development policy, city plans, and industrial development strategies focused on promoting a productive city based on the principle of sustainability (FDRE 2003, 2003, 2005, 2008). The city leadership focused on solutions outside the conventional thinking, coming up with unique approaches to the challenges rooted for decades. It maximized the advantage of learning from targeted learning-by-doing and lessons from international best practices. As a federal capital and the diplomatic and political capital, the seat of the African Union and UNECA, close coordination with the federal government and continental organizations was essential. An essential factor in this process was the focus on engaging the civil society, private sectors, and other 62 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsstakeholders, which facilitated the speedy implementation of the transformation plan and inspired the city residents.In summary, all the reforms undertaken led to the emergence of a sustainable and productive city. The city transformation movement’s lasting impact was that the city witnessed a high standard on the city government, and the experiment and outcomes of this pioneering experience became the standard to measure successive mayors. Moreover, the city transformation’s most significant impact was that city residents felt empowered and proud of their city.Global Experiences in Building Urban Sustainable DevelopmentProductive cities focus on employment creation and attracting productive investment and talents to build international competitiveness in exports and industrial and innovation hubs. Experiences in South Korea, Singapore, and China show that industrial clusters and platforms facilitate the development of productive capabilities. Cities such as Shenzhen, Taipei, and Silicon Valley (San Jose and San Francisco belt) are leading global innovation hubs. Shenzhen, a small fishing village of 3,000 people, has grown into an innovation hub generating nearly half a trillion dollars and is home to global technology companies and world-class R&D hubs in four decades. Silicon Valley accounts for over $400 billion in GDP and is the home of international tech companies such as Apple, Google, Meta, and others. Taipei accounts for 25-30 percent of Taiwan’s GDP. From Africa, Tanger City in Northern Morocco emerged as the primary industrial and productive city and major exporter of automotive and aeronautics industry and international logistics and port services within two decades. The Shanghai New Area development became a primary hub that 63Sustainable and Productive Cities and Urban Sustainable Development: A Developing Countries Perspectiveattracted high-tech firms and Fortune 500 companies in advanced technologies, including Tesla.Regional development strategies and inter-city corridors can exploit advantages in massive agglomeration economies, leading to increased economies of scale and higher mobility. The Rotterdam-Amsterdam Corridor incorporating cities such as the port city of Rotterdam, the Hague, Amsterdam, and other cities, and the corridor incorporating transportation, logistics, and economic specialization, is an example that emerged into a major economic hub. The corridor contributes 20–25 percent of the Netherlands’s GDP.Shanghai New Area Pudong Development, developed in the last three decades, is one of China’s most significant urban and economic developments. It accounts for 40 percent of Shanghai’s total GDP and incorporates a global financial centre, a high-tech park, a free trade zone, and transport hubs. The widely implemented high-speed railway system revolutionized economic integration, ensuring sustainable transport and accelerating urbanization and agglomeration in a vast region.Developing sustainable cities has increasingly become popular with city residents, and various innovative initiatives have been taken. Singapore has introduced sophisticated city plans and green thinking, making Singapore one of the best places to live and work. Despite its small land (approximately 700 square km, including reclaimed land), extensive green belts and green space have been expanded. Sustainable mobility incorporates restricting and encouraging non-motorized transport, including pedestrian and cycling. The unique approach of the Singaporean housing development strategy is considered among the most advanced approaches. Singapore has built over one million public houses and 64 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicshigh-rises integrated with neighborhood facilities, contributing to economic land use and making it livable. These approaches are part of Singapore’s compact city planning model.Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, has emerged as Africa’s cleanest city with green initiatives in the last decade. Like Singapore’s green belt, the metropolitan city of London sustained exemplary green parks across the city, improving the city’s livability and contributing to reducing carbon emissions. Similarly, Copenhagenand Amsterdam are the best examples of approaches to non-motorized transport, particularly cycling. A significant solution to sustainable mobility is using sustainable public transport, typically involving a metro or underground system. A pioneer and one of the most successful examples is the underground tube in London, built in 1863, constantly upgraded and supplemented by a fleet of over 8000 red buses, making 10 million passenger journeys daily, managed by the city’s TfL. It is estimated to cut over 2 million tons of carbon emissions. Vienna has also developed an accessible metro system. Among the latest successful examples is the Delhi metro system, which is nearly 400 km long, transporting over two million passengers daily. The system was developed in 2002 at an investment of $20 billion, and it is transformative in reducing carbon emissions and improving the city’s productivity.Challenges of Urban Sustainable Development and ConclusionsUrban Sustainable Development Cities and urban sustainable development are not pivotal in the current state of the global agenda and collaboration, and the G20 65Sustainable and Productive Cities and Urban Sustainable Development: A Developing Countries Perspectivecould play a critical role in addressing a crucial challenge. The opportunity for achieving SDG goals is narrowing, and it appears unlikely that the goals will be met in the coming five years, as initially planned when the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Sustainable Development Goals were agreed upon and launched by the UN General Secretary in 2015. A significant challenge has been the inability to align the global financial architecture with sustainable development goals. Achim Steiner of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) highlights “There is a pressing need for a new international financial architecture. It must align capital with sustainable development and efforts to address the climate emergency, our global community’s greatest challenge since the Second World War” (Focus 2030 2023). A recent review of the urban context of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) Paris Climate Agreement points out that the progress has been inadequate in many countries. According to Urban Content of NDCs: Local Climate Action Explored Through In-Depth Country Analyses, 2024 Report (UNDP and UN-HABITAT 2024), only 27 percent (53 NDCs) had a high urban content, while 39 percent (76 NDCs) showed moderate urban content, and 34 percent (65 NDCs) lacked urban content.According to IRENA, the progress made in the clean energy transition (SDG 7) has been inadequate. It is primarily constrained by financing and resources, although technological breakthroughs and innovations have made significant progress in terms of renewable energy, production of EVS, and battery storage. The aim to triple renewable power and double energy efficiency has not been achieved because of lagging public and private financing and access to low-cost financing in the developing world. The investment requirement is over $1.5 billion annually until 2030, and so far, the 66 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsfinance has reached $0.5 trillion in 2022. Importantly, developing countries have received unequally low, typically seen in Africa, which received below 2 percent of the total. IRENA’s report shows that the disparities in investment per capita shot up between 2015 and 2021 between Sub-Saharan Africa and developed economies- it remained the same in Africa while it rose from 22 times to 41 times in Europe and from 23 times to 57 times in 2021. African cities face a binding constraint of mobilizing resources for urban sustainable development and smooth running of the cities, and this should be seen not only as a challenge for developing countries such as African policymakers but also as a global challenge. The SDG goals and the Paris Agreement are unlikely to be achieved with the current state of commitment. This has to be linked to the $1 trillion average annual super-profits earned in the last 50 years, over $1 trillion in subsidies to the fossil fuel industry, and inadequate subsidies for energy transition. Hence, the obstacle is political constraints rather than the adequacy of financial resources. There has been little progress in raising the loss and damage fund, showing the depth of the problem and pushing cities in the Global South to more profound vulnerability.9Indicators 2023(in $ billions)2024–2030(in $ billions)On/off trackInvestment in renewable power generation (yearly) 570 1,550 Off trackInvestment needs for power grids and flexibility (yearly) 368 720 Off trackTotal (yearly) 938 2,270 Off trackTable 4. Finance and investment requirement of renewable energy (2023–2030) (based on 1.5oC Scenario).9. See more: IPCC (2023); IEA (2024); IRENA (2024). 67Sustainable and Productive Cities and Urban Sustainable Development: A Developing Countries PerspectiveGovernance Political constraints from government structures include the inadequate powers exercised by local governments, conflicting priorities, blurred mandates among cities, and subnational governments—states, regions, and provinces are significant obstacles that weaken cities’ role and contribution. Across countries, significant diversity is influenced by history, culture, and politics. In recent years, political constraints have been added to the reality of election results, where the ruling party may not have an outright majority, and the coalition has to function jointly while managing the tensions. In some other cases, the difficulties are compounded by a paralysis of governance and long-term investment in public utilities is neglected. The case of metropolitan Johannesburg is a good example where the coalition could not function harmoniously. The ruling parties may also change every election cycle after 4 to 5 years, which may disincentivize long-term investment programs or lead to the sidelining of significant infrastructure programs that must continue beyond the election cycle.In addition, cities’ mandates could be limited to municipal services in many cases. In contrast, cities are not responsible for leading the education system, fiscal centralization limiting the cities’ mandate to raise revenue, or are not mandated to develop and manage infrastructure. Many positive experiences are available on how cities could be empowered with broad mandates and how city, sub-national, and national governments coordinate optimally and build synergy. There is no standard prescription for addressing the political and governance challenges effectively. However, a good beginning could be a political commitment to ensure cities play prominent roles in achieving national goals and effectively 68 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsresponding to citizens’ demands. Targeted learning on such experiences could contribute to better practices.Cities should improve their empowerment of citizens—not only the key constituencies but also the minorities—to ensure all critical decisions are consulted and maximize the direct participation of all communities. Representative democratic practices limited to participating in periodic elections are inadequate.City Leadership and Urban Sustainable Development Several insights and conclusions emerge from the paper. First, resilience, adapting, and learning have become vital. We live in a changed environment where volatility and uncertainty are the order of the day, and we live in an interconnected world. In the last 15 years, the world has faced three global crises: the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, the COVID global pandemic, and the global economic recession in 2020–2024. Leadership based on conventional wisdom no longer works, and management and leadership thinking are being redefined. Resilience is increasinglybecoming a response to a world of poly-crisis with implications of the role of cities, the nature of intergovernmental coordination and how we live, work, and learn. Long-term and strategic perspectives are essential to adapting to the evolving external environment, which demands rapid learning and openness.Second, building on linkage effects in development thinking and policy approaches should be a cornerstone of planning and execution. This approach is based on the principle that all activities do not necessarily have the same leverage and linkage effects. Every program and plan should be designed to maximize the promotion 69Sustainable and Productive Cities and Urban Sustainable Development: A Developing Countries Perspectiveof linkage effects that forcefully lead to other productive activities. Resources are always limited and demands exceed the resource scope of cities and national governments. The approach should be strategic and pragmatic, targeting resources on activities that generate maximum synergy. In addition, city leadership should look at hidden and scattered resources to put in force. Hirschman (1958) highlights that “Development depends not so much on finding optimal combinations for given resources and factors of production as on calling forth and enlisting for development purposes resources and abilities that are hidden, scattered, or badly utilized.” This development perspective is connected to Amsden’s (1989), diversity notwithstanding, all late industrializers have in common industrialization, “emphasizing a developing thinking that builds on learning and an unconventional approach to fundamental development challenges.Third, cities should be able to capitalize and exploit the “advantage” of local governments, leveraging the closeness to city residents, which puts significant pressure for better performance, to tap on ideas and resources of city residents, and the network opportunities within the city, horizontally among cities, and other potential partners and stakeholders. Building on little successes and a phased approach will build momentum and capabilities, building on speed and scale economies. Exerted efforts should be put into developing leadership capabilities through experience sharing, leadership dialogue, and centres of excellence, combined with relevant research—new knowledge and policy research—and building strong partnerships with scientific communities, including research universities and think tanks.70 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and PoliticsConclusions The paper delves into the themes of urban sustainable development within the context of productive and sustainable cities. It highlights the importance of cities in achieving the goals of Agenda 2030, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the Paris Climate Agreement. The paper outlines the key global trends that impact cities and urban transformation, including demographic and urbanization patterns, agglomeration economies, climate change, and the digital and green technologies of the twenty-first Industrial Revolution. It also discusses the concept of productive and sustainable cities and the current status of global compacts and collaboration.The paper emphasizes several vital insights. Firstly, it underscores the historical influence of cities on civilizations, economic development, and innovation. Secondly, it points out that rapid urbanization in the Global South, particularly in Asia and Africa, presents opportunities for government policies to harness this positive force. Importantly, the paper stresses the need for a comprehensive vision and strategy at national, sub-national, and local levels to develop productive and sustainable cities. It provides practical guidance and examples from the evolution of such cities.The paper evaluates the focus of the SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement on cities and urban transformation, acknowledging the challenges, such as financial and political constraints. It also underscores the increasingly significant role of the Global South in driving global economic growth and green transformation, with China at the forefront of this global shift. This recognition of the Global South’s importance to relate it to global collaboration that will bring collective and mutual benefits. The evolving global changes have redefined city leadership, making it crucial and urgent 71Sustainable and Productive Cities and Urban Sustainable Development: A Developing Countries Perspectiveto focus on building productive, sustainable, and inclusive cities.Moreover, the paper suggests that the G-20 Summit in Rio has the potential to invigorate urban sustainable development significantly. 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Yet, the objectives of the other 16 goals, if realized each in their own complex ways, would uplift cities and communities, enhancing them accordingly with purchase capacity (no poverty, the 1st); food security (no hunger, the 2nd); medical care (good health, the 3rd); necessary knowledge (quality education, the 4th); human enrichment (gender equality, the 5th); watershed management (clean water, the 6th); electrical power (clean energy, the 7th); equitable labor (decent work, the 8th); functional 80 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsbuildings (critical infrastructure, the 9th); consensual participation (inequality resolution, the 10th); adequate supply (responsible production, the 12th); effective transportation (climate action, the 13th); teeming waterways (aquatic life, the 14th); bountiful terrain (land life, the 15th); appropriate governance (peaceful institutions, the 16th); and collaborative organization (partnered enterprise, the 17th). In such an abundance of uplifting, cities and their affiliated towns and villages would experience all the boons of urban sustainable development. A PolityWhile progress toward any one of the SDGs can be seen as variously directly or indirectly useful to the progress of any other, a city seems to be dependent on much that is beyond its immediate perimeters. Considering this, the ancient Greeks viewed a city as a city-state, which they called a polity. This included a city and all the surrounding territorial land and coastal water. Unless it was an errant philosopher (perhaps one like Socrates), the observers of that ancient time would undoubtedly be unworried about such concerns as are iterated in the SDGs—other than the 2nd, food security, and the 9th, critical infrastructure, which might be called infrastructure security, as so much is devoted to defense. Not far away, across the Ionian Sea, beyond the perimeters of the city of Rome, roads and aqueducts extended in so many directions that the name of the city was simultaneously the name of the empire. The well-known saying, “all roads lead to Rome,” came into use, accordingly. Indeed, the objective of the 16th SDG, peace, can be seen as integral to Rome’s building program (312 BCE to 226 CE). Much of its far-reaching critical infrastructure was built during the time of the Pax 81The City Meets Practical EthicsRomana (the so-called Peace of Rome), which lasted for about 200 years (27 BCE to 180 CE)—and inevitably facilitated conquest and dominion in practically all directions. Astoundingly, the Roman inscription of the earth with considerably indelible roads provided an infrastructural map of what became, hundreds of years later, the European Union, one of the two regional unions in the Group of 20 (G20); and a component of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Incidentally, the Roman roads reached Turkey, which has become a member of NATO, and subsequently reached Iraq, which has gained partner status with NATO. Interestingly, the critical infrastructure of ancient Rome reached the Crimean Peninsula—but not Russia.Connectivity This startling connectivity to distant regions and entities demonstrates that a city—or a group of them—may be more potent than presumed. This pertains to the many modes of connectivity of the Think Tank 20 (T20), C40 Cities, Urban 20 (U20), and G20. Cities, megacities, and local governments (grouped and launched as the C40 in 2005) engage then with an array of think tanks and academic institutions (grouped and launched as the T20 in 2012). Projecting what might become their critical infrastructure, the cities (grouped and launched as the U20 in 2017), serve as platforms for discourse on urban development, in connectivity with the group or bloc of major economies worldwide (the G20, or “Group of Twenty”, construed in 1999, and convened in 2008) (Rio Capital 2023). In the United States (U.S.), complex connectivity (of “polities”) can be seen in areas of comparatively dense socio-economic population flows. Such areas are officially designated Metropolitan 82 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsand Micropolitan Statistical Areas by the National Office of Management and Budget for the purpose of tracking population data (Executive Office 2023). Otherwise, cities are unofficially called metropolitan areas for actualizing livelihood and lifestyle, whether economically or socially. While people are likely to be unaware of the Metropolitan or Micropolitan Statistical Areas in which they live, they are apt to be aware of the metropolitan area to or within which they regularly commute or frequently travel. One of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world (and the largest by urban landmass) is New York City, which is the largest in the U.S.—and, as a Metropolitan Statistical Area, includes many of the major cities in New Jersey and Connecticut. This metropolis commands a vast water system, which extends over 100 miles (or 160 kilometers) in various directions and includes natural watersheds, engineered reservoirs, and built aqueducts—rather like Rome.Summits To bring to the attention of the U.S. President and Congress issues of urban development, New York City relies on a nonprofit, nonpartisan “group”, named the United States Conference of Mayors. Established during the Depression in 1932, the Conference holds two major meetings and two leadership meetings annually, intending to press their city-level concerns to the national level of government (U.S. Conference of Mayors 2023, About). The organization is composed of all mayors or other chief elected officials of cities with a population of 30,000 or more. Since there are over 1,400 such cities in the U.S., and any of the members can attend the major meetings, these cities might be designated as a macro “C1400”. Even earlier, a predecessor, the National League of Cities, was established in the U.S. in 1924 83The City Meets Practical Ethicsto represent all cities, towns, and villages, regardless of population size. Currently, this organization has over 2,725 member cities, which represent a total of approximately 19,500 cities, towns, and villages (National League of Cities 2024)—potentially a “C19500”. Both organizations are based in Washington, DC, to ensure that their voices are readily heard—but not only at the national level of government. The Conference of Mayors has recently undertaken an international survey, mapping the “Global Footprint” of U.S. cities (U.S. Conference of Mayors 2023, Mapping); and the League of Cities has undertaken a subnational expedition titled, “Centennial Roadshow: 100 Years, 100 Cities” (National League of Cities 2024). Coincidentally, the current year is the 100th anniversary of the National League of Cities, which will be commemorated with a “City Summit”—subtitled, “One Hundred Years of Strengthening Cities”—from November 13 to 16, in Florida, just before the U20 becomes engaged with the G20 from November 18 to 19, in Rio de Janeiro. Both these urban entities will express, in their urban voices, an array of localized concerns, imparting to higher officialdom what people think about homes closer to ground level, including homelessness and belongingness. On CareGiven the expansive interconnectivity among cities around the world today, and hundreds of years after the apex of the Graeco-Roman world, a book written in the form of an encyclical letter titled On Care of Our Common Home (in Latin, Laudato Si’), was published in spring, 2015, in another city: the Vatican City, located at the center of a Rome that changed long ago, sociologically. The current Pope, the first to take the name Francis, wrote the encyclical letter, doing so 84 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance,Finance and Politicsin honor and remembrance of Saint Francis of Assisi (1181–1226), for his care of animals and all nature. Coincidentally, Pope Francis, the first pope from Latin America (born in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina), was elected to be Pope on March 13, 2013—and one day later, the United Nations General Assembly Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals held its first meeting to discuss ideas from around the world (IISD 2023). These would eventually become the SDGs. The encyclical letter focuses on two critical interrelated ailments of the world: the common good—our common home, the earth—is suffering, as are the poor, both from depredation. The earth is plundered, and many people are impoverished (Francis 2015, sections 9–12). By invitation of the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres (from Portugal), the Pope delivered a message (Epatko 2015) to the General Assembly on September 25, 2015, after which it unanimously voted in favor of the resolution on the SDGs. Both the letter and the message emphasize that in “Our Common Home,” whether that of cities, towns, villages, or any other communities, much is amiss. Can one say that “Our Common Home” is replete with ethics? Ethics todayBalanceThere are many different approaches to ethics in both discourse and practice, and among them some are more straightforward than others, particularly in the use of both words and deeds. Terms such as teleological and deontological might require extensive disentangling or be repelled altogether as offensively colonialist; 85The City Meets Practical Ethicswhile actions such as the imposition of law might appear as lawlessness, or be repudiated as essentially tyrannic or, to use the word heard frequently today, as fascistic. The concept of balance, together with its application, seems to be a common baseline in ethics. In his book, the Nicomachean Ethics, the classical Greek philosopher Aristotle (384 BCE–322 BCE), develops the idea that in matters of ethics, there can be too much and too little of something (e.g., some anger becomes wrath to the point of undue violence, while other anger becomes frustration to the point of doing nothing). Somewhere between these extremes, there is a mean or middle point where anger becomes perseverance and achieves a positive outcome. He calls the mean, virtue, which is less a definitive than a flexible quality (Aristotle 2021, II.5). The idea of balancing excess and deficiency to find a mean between them interconnects Aristotle’s primary book on ethics with his book titled Politics – A Treatise on Government. The governor (who he calls the “legislator”) is a “good” man but also knows how to find necessary balances in governing the city-state. The most fundamental balance is between the size, needs, and capabilities of the population and the size, resources, and capacities of the territory (Aristotle 2004, VII. 4–5). The overall message is that sufficiency should exist between people and land, but sufficiency may differ from one to another city. In making such observations about many cities, indicating numerous imbalances throughout and beyond the Greek world, Aristotle stands somewhat as a one-man think tank observing many legislators or governors. Centuries later, in 1972, a book commissioned by a group named the Club of Rome, was published with the title The Limits to Growth. Founded in 1968, the club had grown to include business leaders, scientific researchers, and government officials, who presented the researchers’ findings at 86 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsinternational gatherings in Moscow and Rio de Janeiro in 1971 (Meadows et al. 1972, 186). From that time, 30 million copies have been sold in 30 languages, more than any other environmentalist book (Nørgård et al. 2010, 59). Astonishingly, from a contemporary perspective, neither climate nor climate change is mentioned in the text. Instead, at that earlier stage of the environmental movement, the central “problematic” (a term the Club used to signify a meta-problem or a meta-systems-problem) was one of imbalance: human population growth was so rapid that it would soon ruinously out-grow both economic and natural resources (Meadows et al. 1971, 191), or in Aristotle’s terms, the people and the land would be in a serious imbalance. The idea of balance hovers in ethics, most pointedly when some form of imbalance looms. Whether in discourse or practice, standpoints such as “extremist belief” and “disproportionate force” are typically viewed as dangerous. Likewise, the “globalization” of human affairs can be viewed as excessive, leaving deficits in the SDGs in localities and their municipalities. One can hear a call rising from them for a counterbalance in the form of the “localization” of human affairs. DocumentsWhile the ethical concept and practice of balance have had a long descent to modernity, even if acclaimed but not achieved, documents have a critical place in our common ethics today. Documents can be confounding inasmuch as they require some form of literacy on the part of the writer, reader, listener, interpreter, editor, amender, publisher, archiver, and all others who work with them. They appear increasingly everywhere, typically in association with organization—and bureaucracy. Some, whether simple or 87The City Meets Practical Ethicscomplex forms to be completed any number of times, are apt to be called “paperwork” or more onerously “red tape.” Others are unique textual writings intended to announce, detail, teach and assert new critical ideas, in the form of guidelines for human affairs. Both kinds of documents, though the former may be tiresomely routine and the latter awakeningly breakthrough, can be described as imbued with ethicality considering they manifest agreement, evidence, fidelity, duty, truth, trust, and other such qualities. Inevitably, there are those who prefer to “give their word” verbally. In the U.S., some argue in favor of verification of citizenship for registration to vote, saying that documental proof demonstrates honesty; while others argue against any such verification (by providing, for example, a birth certificate), saying their spoken word should be believed. However, insofar as new critical ideas are intended to be conveyed efficiently to many people and even generations of them, the practice of utilizing the written word is likely to be implemented. Perhaps surprisingly, especially when the social context is significantly secular, such documents can acquire a hallowed aura. In the U.S., the so-called Charters of Freedom—the original Declaration of Independence (1776), Constitution (1787), and Joint Resolution of Congress to amend the Constitution with the Bill of Rights (1789)—can be seen in Washington, DC, at the National Archives Rotunda. Unsurprisingly, the Rotunda was built to appear as a shrine (National Archives 2016).What could be called “great” documents typically have one or more of three participative features that imbue them with ethics—perhaps even “great” ethics. One is the groundswell of many individuals, communities, groups, leaders, and others involved positively or negatively in a specific subject of ethical concern, possibly for a lengthy period of time. Another is the appointment by a recognized, 88 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsrespected authority, whether formal or informal, of a committee or commission to initiate a process of research and study that results in the document. The third is the gathering of signatories who vote how they will. In 2000, fifteen years before the UN resolution to undertake the SDGs, the three participative features indicated—impetus, work, and approval—all functioned to yield a great participative document: the Earth Charter. Previously, in 1983, the UN General Assembly establishedthe World Commission on Environment and Development to address growing concerns such as global warming. By 1987, the Commission (chaired by former Prime Minister Brundtland of Norway) presented its report titled Our Common Future. The report called for a “new charter” and “new norms” that could guide the transition to sustainable development (Earth Charter n.d.). An increasingly participative discourse led to the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and the Rio Declaration in 1992. By 1997, an independent Earth Charter Commission was initiated by Maurice Strong, who had been the Secretary-General of the Rio Summit, and Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader (1985–1991) of the Soviet Union. Drawing on hundreds of international documents, consultations, and dialogues, and writing numerous drafts, the Earth Charter was completed in 2000. It was endorsed by over 2000 organizations and thousands of individuals (Earth Charter 2023). The Preamble of the Charter indicates that “we are one human family and one Earth community with a common destiny” (Earth Charter Initiative 2001). The statement, like the document in its entirety, is imbued with ethics. Platforms One could say that documents and their derivations, such as 89The City Meets Practical Ethicsconferences, schools, classrooms, films, media, civil and corporate organizations, governmental agencies, religious premises, and any other space from which words spoken or written can be formulated and projected, are platforms. The documents themselves, whether long treatises or shortlists, can be viewed as platforms and, consequently, be replete with ethics. Political parties are said to have platforms, understood to be spoken or written statements indicating what the partisans stand “for” or “on”, in the forms of principles, policies, and practices. To the ancient Greek philosopher, Socrates (470 BCE–399 BCE), it appears that all of Athens, or its most vibrant space, the agora, was his platform, but so were his dialogues with his students. Unsurprisingly, a counter-platform, that of the jury at his trial for questioning the meaning of justice, sentenced him to death, even though the city of Athens evidently had an open-minded democratic regime. The Athenian leader, Pericles (499 BCE–429 BCE), considered to be a model ruler, praised the Athenians when the famed war with Sparta began, saying from his “elevated platform” that “we open our city to the world” with “liberality” to all learning, and consequently, “as a city we are the school of Hellas [Greece]”—standing not as imitators but as innovators (Thucydides 2021, II. VI). From the perspective of ethics, the platform is a critical source of advocacy, or voice, which may be that of a collaborative, an activist, or any other engaged party. Unfortunately, a platform may be replete with propaganda, censorship, and falsehood. Yet, open-minded liberality in learning may be a potent antidote, one that operates from another platform. John Locke (1632–1704), the British philosopher who wrote the book, the Second Treatise of Government, clearly knew that a book could be a revolutionary—and subversive—platform. Asserting that sovereignty belongs to 90 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsthe people, to each of whom “the law of nature” gives a right to rebel against a harmful government (Locke 1690, II. 8), he kept the book anonymous. One might conclude that the ultimate platform, beyond even a great city, is nature itself.With the continuing awareness and development of environmentally—ecologically—, or nature-based sustainability, platforms replete with corresponding ethics have proliferated. The term social responsibility first appeared publicly in a book titled Social Responsibilities of the Businessman written by an economist (Bowen 1953, 151). From the 1960s, the term, corporate social responsibility, together with mission, vision, and values statements came into common usage. Civil society organizations adopted and adapted this terminology in the same period of time. An organization named the Ethos Institute, founded in the 1990s in Brasil, was itself a civil society organization but aimed to guide businesses toward corporate social responsibility (Schlefer 2009, 1). In the U.S., governmental agencies also publicize statements of social responsibility. By the early years of the new millennium, this type of organizational platform appeared on what has become an immeasurable platform, the internet. Coincidently, the term sustainability has joined the term responsibility in the new toolkit of ethical terms for organizations. They can be heard frequently, as many organizations include them in periodic and sequential reports, such as those of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Ironically, the “commonality” of ethics is suggested by the similarity of words in sustainability platforms. Words echo across organizations. The Sierra Club claims to protect the wild places of the earth (Sierra Club 2024), and simultaneously, ExxonMobil claims to care for land and biodiversity on the earth (ExxonMobil 2023, 4). Interpreting what is meant can be difficult.91The City Meets Practical EthicsPracticeStating, listing, reiterating, highlighting, and even averring ethics, whether individually or institutionally, is not enough to realize sufficient change that new (or old) words and terms will come to life in society, whatever its conditions may be. There is always the possibility that anyone will sit on any particular platform without engaging in ethics or applying them in any specific situation. This may be the result of normalization, ineptitude, incompetence, prioritization and even fear, like that of any intended whistleblower concerned about a livelihood. These negativities lead to what has long been called the gap between words and deeds and is now called the gap between values and actions. Unfortunately, values statements or other codes of ethics might be viewed as dishonest—written and signed with a hypocritical hidden agenda or, as commonly said within the environmentalist movement, fraught with “greenwashing”. In response to such gaps, a critical emphasis has been placed on practice in ethics today. The term, practice, can signify repeated endeavor, as in any professional or other form of activity, with the goal of becoming expert or even excellent at whatever is being practiced. Practice can also signify doing some selective activity on a regular basis precisely because one has become learned, efficient, and efficacious in doing it. Aristotle observed that a youth can excel in geometry because it is abstract, but not in ethics because he has no immersive practice in the activities pertinent to human life (Aristotle 2021, I. 1, VI. 8). Yet at least three ways can be identified in which “practice” can be hastened in ethics today. The first is basic engagement with society whether by way of partnerships, internships, networking, voluntarism, and so on. The second is the research, particularly of the many academic and trade books and journals that have been founded on practical ethics, 92 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicssuch as business ethics, medical ethics, bioethics, environmental ethics, and sustainability ethics, many of them launched since the 1960s. The third, and perhaps most critical, is to rely on the inputs of many participants in seeking to resolve issues ethically, as the T20 presently plans to do with the G20, in an effort to reinvent and recreate cities and other localities. Practical ethics have often been thought of as applied ethics, and it is indubitable that practical ethics typically involve applications, such as urban sustainable development. Yet, practical ethics today differ from those of earlier times. One might say that before, significant weight was put on a “wiseman” or a leader with insight, whereastoday, significant weight is put on participative teams or on what might be called “common pool” shareholders. In the former case, a decisive resolution is sought; while in the latter, an experiential resolution is sought. Beyond these observations, there are views on practical ethics that emphasize disputations in everyday life, such as inequality, vegetarianism, poverty, abortion, terrorism, and so on (Singer 2011); and other views that emphasize disputations in public life, especially that of whose responsibility pertains in any situation (Thompson 1987). Yet, one can also understand practical ethics today to be concerned not simply with private or public issues, but especially with how they work or function in reaching a conclusion. In this regard, one can identify three major dimensions of modern practical ethics (Gondek 2024). The first dimension is their global outreach, insofar as practically any issue reverberates throughout the world and stands as a precedent everywhere. The UN and many other organizations report cases from around the world, publishing them for all to review and consider. The second dimension of practical ethics is their scientific outreach since practically every issue involves disciplines of both the natural and 93The City Meets Practical Ethicssocial sciences. These might awaken people to what will become an issue, what impacts it may have, and how to manage them, if possible. The third dimension is their pragmatic outreach, considering issues typically require constant adjustment due to constant changes in human and natural phenomena. To discern the ethics themselves can be difficult where flexibility meets variability. In their three modes of outreach, modern practical ethics navigate a myriad of circumstances. Otherwise, they might be viewed as impractical ethics. ParticipationAt the same time, largely in the 1960s, when modern practical ethics emerged, the concept and practice of public, civic, or democratic participation also became more fully articulated. The two fit together well, as widespread participation provides information from many directions, perspectives, and standpoints, serving as a corrective or enhancement of any dominant or recessive pending decision. Critical platforms are increasingly imbued with inclusion, broadening participation, while practical ethics are increasingly impelled by action, often overdue. In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted with an astounding change of historic words: the phrase, “All men are born free and equal” was changed to “All human beings are born free and equal” (United Nations n.d.). Similarly, in 1964, the landmark U.S. Civil Rights Act was signed into law, with the reparative words: “No person in the United States shall…be excluded from participation in…any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance” (U.S. Department of Labor n.d.). More recently, in 2007, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted with the solemn words: “Indigenous 94 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicspeoples and individuals are free and equal to all other peoples and individuals” (UN Working Group on Indigenous Peoples 2007, 8). As inclusive participation became embedded in practical ethics, these could more readily and effectively close the values-actions gap by proceeding with actions in alignment with their values and informed by the attendant participants. In this sociological milieu, the concept and practice of environmental ethics emerged, and in 1979, the first scholarly journal dedicated to the topic was launched with the title, “Environmental Ethics.” Considerably earlier, four thinkers, writers, and activists had become iconic in the newly developing environmental movement and, consequently, critical to this branch of modern practical ethics: Henry David Thoreau (1817–1865), John Muir (1838–1914), Aldo Leopold (1887–1948), and Rachel Carson (1907–1964). Thoreau lived in simplicity in the woods (Thoreau 1854); Muir gazed upon nature as a temple (Muir 1912); Leopold sought a “land ethic” (Leopold 1949); and Carson beheld the death of songbirds (Carson 1962). Following upon those visions but keeping in step with practical ethics, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, established in 1970, published a Public Participation Guide in 1981. This “provides tools for public participation and public outreach in environmental decision-making” and has been augmented with additional information on “public participation ethics, values and principles” (U.S. EPA n.d.). The English language version is 96 pages long. While practical ethics became significantly participative, rather than distributive, the branch named environmental ethics was developing into a second generation: sustainability ethics (Gondek 2024). Terms such as “biocentric” and “ecocentric” circumvented a recurring debate between the “non-anthropocentric” and “anthropocentric” leanings of scholars and activists. With the newer 95The City Meets Practical Ethicsterms in place, the reality that humans are at fault and risk also tended to refocus consciousness and discourse to problem-solving, or at least management, of a complex version of that original “world problematic.” The term sustainability is now common, as befits the adoption of the SDGs. Ready to apply, sustainability ethics can be understood to have three major components: earth justice, on the biosphere as a whole; environmental justice, pertaining to marginalized human populations; and sectoral justice, about socio-economic sectors, where earth justice and environmental justice intersect in numerous ways (Gondek 2024). A potent trio of critical ethics, it also has many subtypes of sustainability ethics that beckon from within ongoing cases in a host of socio-economic sectors. Many of these ethics can be affiliated with the SDGs. Among them, in the order of the SDGs, are opportunity, food, health, education, gender, water, energy, economic, infrastructure, equal, urban, consumer, climate, ocean, land, institutional, and organizational justice. All these appear in scholarly and civic arenas, and hence, can be found readily explained across the internet. Beyond them are others, some exceedingly fraught, such as racial and transition justice; while any of them can be combined with or converted to equity, which boosts possibilities that were lost or diminished due to previous injustices. Sustainability has proven to be a fountain of ethics, and these belong to us all, in common. The question remains: will they be applied? ClosingClearly, it is easier to enunciate an ethic or set of ethics than to put it to work. Much depends on human motivation, which is difficult to anticipate or understand, as everyone knows. Consequently, 96 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicspractically all that is discussed above has its nemesis. Balance is an integral component of ethics, yet narcissistic privilege and other conditions may be impediments. Documents can be replete with ethics, yet their content may be too change-making to undertake. Platforms in a broad sense, including entire organizations, can iterate statements of ethics, yet hypocrisy can defeat an endeavor. Practice is essential to ethics, yet it can be abandoned for an acquisitive and even corrupt life. Participation can be a critical element of ethics, yet the marginalization of others may leave them with inaccessibility. As suggested earlier, in launching the project of reinventing the City of Rio, or the larger project of “enhancing the role of cities as global economic and political leaders” (CEBRI 2024, 3–4), one might ask the question, who is speaking for whom, and the ancillary question, whose ideas are we seeking? Will the voices of the people be heard, and if so, how?ReferencesAristotle. 2021. The Ethics of Aristotle.EditorsThis book is born from a shared understanding of the crucial role cities, like Rio de Janeiro, played during Brasil’s G20 presidency1 and the need to enhance the global conversation on sustainable development by focusing more on its urban and local dimensions.In the context of an escalating climate crisis, urban sustainable development is emerging as a critical issue. As cities grow at unprecedented rates, the demand for innovative approaches to environmental sustainability, social justice, regulatory frameworks, and economic vitality becomes even more pressing. In response, Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politics seeks to shape the agenda for sustainable urban futures. This volume brings together leading scholars, government officials, practitioners, and experts from across the world to discuss the governance, financial structures, and political dynamics driving urban sustainability.While the role of cities in sustainable development is increasingly 1. Following the official branding of the G20 Brasil, we have adopted the spelling “Brasil” throughout this book.10recognized, it remains underexplored. To address this, the book is divided into two sections, each providing unique insights into the complexities of urban sustainable development.The first section offers a conceptual debate, laying the theoretical foundation to understand the intersections between taxation, regulation, mitigation, and adaptation policies. Here, the authors explore the crucial roles of local governments, the importance of multilevel governance, and the financial mechanisms that can either support or hinder green initiatives. It also examines the political tensions between urban development and environmental conservation, particularly in regions where these goals are often seen as incompatible. This theoretical lens equips readers with the tools to critically assess current sustainability frameworks and imagine future pathways for resilient cities.Professor Candice Howarth begins the discussion by outlining the key ideas shaping both urban sustainability and the broader environmental sustainability agenda. Dr. Arkebe Oqubay follows with an experience-driven analysis, drawing on his tenure as Mayor of Addis Ababa to discuss the concept of productive cities. Professor Adela Gondek explores the often-overlooked ethical dimensions of sustainability in urban spaces.The G20’s Urban 20 (U20) engagement group, central to this book’s development, provides a framework for Professor Fernando Straface’s contribution, which traces the origins and evolution of U20 since its launch during Argentina’s 2019 G20 presidency. Together with Mariana Cammisa, he reflects on lessons in city diplomacy at the highest level. João Cochlar tackles the legal question of how city networks can play a role in climate litigation, a pressing issue for advancing the international urban sustainability agenda.11The second section transitions from theory to practice, presenting case studies illustrating how cities worldwide address urban sustainability in diverse contexts. From large metropolises to regional centers, these case studies analyze governance models, financing instruments, and political strategies that are making an impact. Topics include innovative public-private partnerships, community-based urban planning, gender, digitalization, and best knowledge-sharing practices among cities.Professor Eugénie Birch offers a historical reflection on Rio de Janeiro’s recent trajectory as a global city. H.E. Fahd Abdulmohsan Al-Rasheed shares lessons from Riyadh’s transformation, one of the most significant urban projects in the world. Mauricio Rodas, former Mayor of Quito, introduces the Green Cities Guarantee fund, a recent step toward financing sustainable urban transformations. Dr. Yoon Jae Ro and colleagues Sungho Lee and Munsu Kang address the particular challenges Global South cities face. Practitioners Hazem Galal, Rajat Chowdhary, Mounir Kabbara, and Cristina Reyes push the discussion of smart cities forward by introducing the concept of cognitive cities.Dr. Riatu Mariatul Qibthiyyah explores the financial bottlenecks hindering the development of sustainable cities, while Dr. Rebecca Bill Chavez addresses the intersection of gender, urban spaces, and the digital divide. Paul Gallay and co-authors Amelia Ding, Hellas Lee, Victoria Sanders, and Bernadette Baird-Zars emphasize the need to rethink public engagement with community leaders on flood management, a debate that resonated in Brasil in 2023. Dr. Jeffrey Schlegelmilch and colleague Amy Campbell examine how cities can manage increasingly unpredictable risks associated with the climate crisis.12Urban mobility, a critical aspect of sustainability, is tackled by Dr. Jacqueline Klopp, who addresses the policy gaps in Global South cities, while Dr. Clarisse Cunha Linke maps the path toward decarbonizing Brasil’s transport matrix. Dr. Mohamed Abdelraouf highlights successful examples of sustainability in Gulf Cooperation Council cities. Dr. Xin Dong and Li Zhuang delve into China’s urban transformation since its 1978 reforms, considering the challenges ahead for greening Chinese cities. Dr. Arkebe Oqubay returns to offer insights from African leadership, while Dr. Andrew J. Kruczkiewicz, Camila Pontual, Jessica Weinberg, Isabella Pereira, and Walter Baethgen use Rio de Janeiro’s case to discuss preparing cities for increasingly severe weather events. Mr. Frederic de Mariz, drawing on both academic and financial expertise, outlines how to mobilize finance in response to climate disasters like those that impacted Rio Grande do Sul in 2024.The strength of this book lies in the diversity of its contributors. It brings together voices from academia, government, civil society, international organizations, and the private sector, representing countries such as Argentina, Brasil, China, Ecuador, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Academics provide theoretical insights, government leaders share practical policy experiences, and finance and sustainable development experts offer critical economic and political feasibility analyses.This project owes much to its authors but also benefited from the invaluable support of many individuals and institutions. Professor Eugénie Birch, from the University of Pennsylvania, offered unwavering support and intellectual leadership since the project’s initial and often confusing steps. Bruno Zilli’s editorial guidance and 13project management skills proved indispensable for the successful completion of a book with so many authors, a mission for which he counted on the steadfast assistance of Iuri Rosario, Marcelo Gribel, and Barbara Pires.At the Brazilian Center for International Relations (CEBRI), Feliciano de Sá Guimarães’s support and Luciana Gama Muniz’s enthusiasm for the project kept us moving forward, while Julia Dias Leite’s leadership proved yet again indispensable for the daring and necessary endeavors of thinking about Brasil’s place in the world. José Pio Borges’s bold intellectual vision for CEBRI allowed it to be the home of such an ambitious book.At the Rio de Janeiro City Hall—a government body that proved essential not only for this book but for the whole G20 presidency of Brasil in 2024—, this book owes to Secretary Lucas Padilha’s belief in its relevance and Vice-Mayor Eduardo Cavaliere’s unwavering political support in putting out a book that helps Rio continue to lead the world in sustainable development. Both have counted on the support of Mayor Eduardo Paes, a veteran of the international conversation on cities and sustainable development, at all times.Way beyond the borders of Guanabara Bay in Rio, this book could not have been born with such quality without the support of its Knowledge Partner Institutions,Credited by Garvin, Ted, David Widger, and the DP Team. The Project Gutenberg eBook. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/8438/pg8438-images.html.Aristotle. 2004. The Politics – A Treatise on Government. 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Accessed September 1, 2024. https://www.epa.gov/international-cooperation/public-participation-guide.https://www.usmayors.org/the-conference/about/https://www.usmayors.org/category/news/https://www.usmayors.org/category/news/https://www.dol.gov/agencies/oasam/regulatory/statutes/title-vi-civil-rights-act-of-1964https://www.dol.gov/agencies/oasam/regulatory/statutes/title-vi-civil-rights-act-of-1964https://www.dol.gov/agencies/oasam/regulatory/statutes/title-vi-civil-rights-act-of-1964https://www.dol.gov/agencies/oasam/regulatory/statutes/title-vi-civil-rights-act-of-1964.%2028https://www.dol.gov/agencies/oasam/regulatory/statutes/title-vi-civil-rights-act-of-1964.%2028https://www.epa.gov/international-cooperation/public-participation-guidehttps://www.epa.gov/international-cooperation/public-participation-guide1014.Urban 20: Six Editions of City Diplomacy at the Highest LevelFernando Straface & Mariana CammisaUrban 20: A Milestone in City Diplomacy to Advocate for Global Challenges in the Multilateral DialogueIn recent years, the internationalization of cities has become essential for their development. Urbanization, the need for new skills, the growth of a globalized economy, and the urban focus of contemporary global agendas have all turned cities into hubs of economic and political influence, making their internationalization a key priority.The international arena has traditionally been linked to the actions of national states or governments, which makes sense given that they have dominated the structure of international order, global agenda discussions, and economic participation for centuries. However, since the late 20th century, new players, including cities, have emerged in this space.According to the well-known theory of complex interdependence 103Urban 20: Six Editions of City Diplomacy at The Highest Levelby Keohane and Nye (1988), central governments are no longer the sole actors on the global stage. This challenges the realist perspective that focuses on the state as a singular entity, highlighting the importance of non-governmental organizations, social movements, associations, and various transgovernmental bodies.Here, cities play a substantial role: they are major actors with popular legitimacy that can influence the quality of life of their residents by playing on the global stage. Michele Acuto (2021, 25), Professor in Urban Politics at the Melbourne Centre for Cities at the University of Melbourne, stated it clearly: cities are “centers of political power, gateways for trade (with seaports, airports, railroads, trade routes, etc.), focal points for the collection and dissemination of information and culture (with important academic institutions, museums, [...]), primary sites of religious organizations, and hubs for global mobility and/or tourism.”In this context of growing relevance, it is unsurprising that the global development agenda is increasingly linked to what happens in cities. Cities are important actors to make achieving international pledges possible. They also enrich the international agenda by providing innovative ideas and experiences accumulated through the resolution of problems that impact the well-being of their residents.Although, in recent years cities’ global leadership has grown in the multilateral fora, this was not always the case, and the launch of Urban 20 (U20), in 2018, was a milestone in city diplomacy. From the starting point that global cities should not remain outside of the discussion about development-related issues, Buenos Aires and Paris proposed the creation of Urban 20, an initiative in which cities would share their experiences in a way that enriches the debate on 104 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsmajor global issues. It aimed to coordinate a series of goals and actions between the mayors of major G20 cities and other global cities that could be used to inform and enrich the agenda developed by national leaders at the G20 Summit.The conception of U20 was possible because of the leadership role of cities and city networks over the years. Several successful initiatives have served as inspiration. A noteworthy influence is the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), which at its bi-decennial conference in 2016 produced a document laying out a New Urban Agenda, a series of principles for how cities should be planned and managed to promote sustainable and inclusive urbanization best.Likewise, C40, a network of megacities that have been united to address climate change and drive urban actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, was also a key inspiration. More than a decade after its creation, the network continues to generate concrete initiatives within its member cities and other key international actors in its fight against climate change. In September 2016, C40 mayors from G20 countries signed an open letter to national leaders to ensure collaboration between different levels of government in working toward the shared objectives of the Paris Agreement. This pioneering effort to make the voice of city governments heard at the G20 has shaped the objectives that U20 sought to fulfill.Previous initiatives linking global cities demonstrate a growing recognition of the need to coordinate joint actions to address urban issues, and the G20 has been receptive to receiving input from a broad array of stakeholders. Thus, in December 2017, Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, Mayor of Buenos Aires, and Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris, launched U20 as an initiative for cities and by 105Urban 20: Six Editions of City Diplomacy at The Highest Levelcities to actively engage with the G20 process. They invited peer cities in G20 countries to join them during the G20 meeting under Argentina’s presidency in 2018.U20 strived to inaugurate a lasting engagement practice between the G20 and cities, to emphasize their unique role in the global development agenda. A key goal of the initiative was to create instances to engage with G20 discussions. As such, an Action Plan was developed and divided into two main elements to achieve this goal: first, a presentation of U20 priorities (encapsulated in the U20 Joint Statement) in line with the Argentine G20 Presidency; secondly, a roadmap for the initiative’s existence beyond the Argentine G20 Presidency.This second element was not to create a new institution, but to outline the overall goal and recommended activities to ensure that U20 continued as an ongoing dialogue mechanism with the G20 and that the collective efforts achieved under the 2018 Argentine Presidency endure.After two sherpa meetings, the involved cities released a Joint Statement (U20 2018) to call on the leaders of the G20 to consider the experience and contributions of cities as they explore policies for a better world. Besides, the U20 cities committed to: “(1) contributing their unique perspectives and best practices to the G20 agenda on relevant urban issues; (2) proposing joint solutions and experience-based recommendations to enhance and achieve the objectives of the G20 agenda; (3) promoting dialogue and cooperation between G20 nations and cities through a regular effort, and (4) delivering detailed recommended actions to achieve the priority areas of U20.”106 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and PoliticsFurthermore, the statement set the joint position of 25 cities on the priorities of the 2018 G20 Presidency:1. Climate action: building sustainable, inclusive, and resilient cities.2. The future of work: preparing citizens for a shift in the labor market.3. Social integration and inclusion: delivering opportunities, safety, and equality for all.The inaugural U20 Summit took place in Buenos Aires in October 2018, where 35 mayors and city representatives invited by Mayor Rodríguez Larreta pledged to promote dialogue and cooperation between the G20 and cities around the world and presented a common position to G20 President Mauricio Macri. The result of the Summit was the communiqué to the President of Argentinato be shared with the G20 world leaders.Six years after its creation, Urban 20 is an established mechanism that amplifies local voices fulfilling the commitments under which it was created: (1) generating a shared platform on behalf of global urban centers, to be shared in a coherent and organized manner with G20 leaders; (2) enriching the general G20 discussion by exploring cities’ unique perspectives and good practices; (3) promoting inter-city collaboration in implementing G20-led measures to maximize benefits and ensure positive results; (4) proposing joint solutions to specific obstacles to economic development, using tools from the current G20 urban agenda and cities’ experience-based recommendations.107Urban 20: Six Editions of City Diplomacy at The Highest LevelUrban 20 Agenda: A Reflection of the Supply and Demand Dynamics of Global ChallengesThe internationalization of cities and their engagement in multilateral forums happen under dual dynamics. Cities turn to the world to enhance their development opportunities, and the world turns to cities in search of innovation and solutions for major global challenges. So, we can say that there is a dynamic of supply and demand of global challenges, where spaces like U20 play a major role in advancing sustainable development at the local level. The U20 agendas over the years are a clear reflection of that dynamic.Since its launch in 2018, there have been 6 editions of the U20 Mayors Summit hosted by the city where the G20 Summit has been held. Each host city has worked on its summit’s agenda and sent a communiqué to the G20 Presidency.Besides the thematic agenda, the first edition of U20 in Buenos Aires (2018) had a clear goal: “to contribute our knowledge and advice to G20 forums; to ask the G20 to formally recognize the broad, ongoing efforts at city-level to address the most pressing global challenges; and to call on the G20 to translate the recommendations in our Joint Statement and Communiqué into action (...) We therefore urge the G20 to acknowledge urban experiences and contributions as essential tools and components of the solutions to the global challenges of our time.” In other words, establish Urban 20 as a long-lasting mechanism that cities could use to accelerate their priorities within the G20 and be recognized as leading voices to address the most urgent global challenges.In terms of global agendas, the 2018 Communiqué calls on the G20 Member States on 17 points, divided into 5 thematic areas:108 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politics1. Step Up Climate Ambition. Regarding climate action, U20 cities call on the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the achievement of carbon neutrality; the diversification of financial resources for mitigation and adaptation solutions; support city commitments to build resilience and achieve an inclusive and equitable low-carbon transition; consider the specific challenges faced by cities as a result of air pollution, disasters, poverty, inequality, and climate-induced migration when determining policy, programming and budgeting at the national level; support policy to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement and accelerate a global shift away from fossil fuels toward clean and renewable energy.2. Empower Citizens for Future Labor Markets. Focusing on collaborating with cities in developing and implementing education, training, skill-building, apprenticeship systems, and employment programs and policies to support and empower employers, workers, and citizens; promoting entrepreneurship, support micro, small, and medium-sized businesses, and foster the development of enterprises with specific focus on youth opportunities and gender empowerment; and improving women and girls’ access to education, skills, training and financial support to enhance their economic empowerment.3. Achieve Social Integration and Inclusion. The U20 calls on G20 Member States to work proactively to make our societies more inclusive, welcoming, peaceful, safe, and discrimination-free; foster civic participation in policymaking, neighborhood planning, and city governance to ensure all citizens are represented in decision-making processes; ensure that cities 109Urban 20: Six Editions of City Diplomacy at The Highest Levelhave the funding and power to secure access to safe, genuinely affordable housing near community services; and support the social integration of migrants and refugees.4. Develop a Safe and Sustainable Food Future. The Communiqué focuses on addressing food security, particularly in a rapidly urbanizing world, to ensure the access, availability, stability, and utilization of food; ensuring that sustainable production, distribution, retail, and consumption patterns are supported throughout urban-rural food systems; and improving access to quality food supply, facilitate recovery and redistribution channels for surplus food and further implement the “3Rs”—reusing, reducing, and recycling food.5. Enable Wider Access to Finance for Infrastructure. They call on Member States to Collaborate with cities to improve access to bilateral, multilateral, and private sources of capital to implement sustainable infrastructure projects; and ask that Simpler and more direct access to financing be accompanied by joint efforts to strengthen good governance and promote transparent, participatory, and research-based planning processes.In 2019, the U20 Mayors Summit had its second edition in Tokyo, during Japan’s Presidency of the G20, and its Communiqué acknowledges the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as a universal and comprehensive framework to address many of the planet’s most urgent priorities. Likewise, the cities “commit to identifying the links between our local sustainable development strategies and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), particularly in three main areas: climate action; social inclusion 110 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsand integration; and sustainable economic growth,” further linking local governments to the multilateral dialogue.As mentioned, the cities gathered in Tokyo convey their joint recommendations to the G20 around three key areas:1. Climate Action. They call on Member States to set targets and develop pathways towards decarbonization by 2050 at the latest; strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate change; enhance energy efficiency, encourage energy system transition and zero-emission transport; and encourage the global mobilization of city dwellers and cities for an effective response to climate change.2. Social Inclusion and Integration. The U20 Cities focused on promoting equality in economic opportunity, access to basic social services and political participation; promoting resilient, accessible, and inclusive urban development; mainstreaming a gender perspective across the G20 agenda to achieve greater gender equality; addressing proactively needs of aging populations; and facilitating socio-economic integration of migrants in societies.3. Sustainable Economic Growth. The Communiqué recommends promoting inclusive economic development and solving urban challenges by harnessing digitalization and emerging technologies; developing sustainable, resilient, and quality infrastructure to ensure no one is left behind; enhancing local governments’ access to adequate finance for sustainable infrastructure; and ensuring a just transition to decarbonized development.111Urban 20: Six Editions of City Diplomacy at The Highest LevelIn 2020, the U20 Mayors Summit was hosted by Riyadh and, unsurprisingly, the agenda and Communiqué revolved around the COVID-19 pandemic. Acknowledging the legacies built by the Buenos Aires and Tokyo Summits, the Communiqué stated the commitment to achieving equitable, carbon-neutral, inclusive, and healthy cities -adding a newpriority to the agenda. Likewise, it highlights the importance of Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) as tools and processes to implement global agendas, continuing the previous year’s trend.The Riyadh Communiqué calls on G20 leaders to build back better cooperation with all levels of government and external actors and to work in order to:1. Partner by investing in a green and just COVID-19 recovery. It focuses on green stimulus and funding for net-zero carbon, climate-resilient, and inclusive societies; economic revitalization, ensuring cities’ funding needs are reflected in International Financial Institutions (IFIs) lending; enhancing cities’ creditworthiness and de-risk short-term lending; social infrastructure investment—health, education, public transport—and acknowledge the informal economic sector’s role in the economy; ensure technology and innovation access; and guarantee global vaccine access.2. Safeguard our Planet through national-local collaboration. The cities call for immediate action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; achieve carbon neutrality by 2050; invest in nature-based solutions in collaboration with IFIs; develop green and blue infrastructure; ensure the active participation of cities in local implementation efforts; coordinate national and local efforts by aligning action plans, Nationally Determined 112 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and PoliticsContributions and Voluntary National Reviews.3. Shape new frontiers for development, by accelerating the transition to a circular, carbon-neutral economy. The Communiqué asks for the advancement of circular economy regulation; the support of local governments for circular economy, enhancing financing and focusing on retrofitting technologies and fostering new industries; the investment in carbon-neutral, affordable zero-emission mass transport systems; the increase of investments in renewable energy; and the establishment of a universal right to access urban sanitation and waste management. 4. Empower people to deliver a more equitable and inclusive future. The cities focused on affordable housing and urban development; food security and urban-rural linkages; youth development and skill development; the future of work and education; and empowering local governments to strengthen urban cultural and social identity.The 2021 U20 Mayors Summit, hosted by Rome and Milan, called on G20 leaders to partner with cities in achieving human-centered, equitable, carbon-neutral, climate-safe, inclusive, and prosperous societies. Similarly to previous Communiqués, it highlighted the importance of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and VLRs and the need for a more inclusive multilateral system where cities have a seat at the decision-making table.Thematically, it is organized into 3 priorities set by the G20:1. People. The Communiqué called for strengthening health systems, supporting strong frameworks of basic services and 113Urban 20: Six Editions of City Diplomacy at The Highest Levelmulti-stakeholder engagement; guaranteeing local public service provision, through capacity building and direct access to financing; prioritizing equal access that leaves no one behind; investing in cultural life; and fostering social cohesion.2. Planet. The U20 Cities asked for Smart investments for a green and just recovery, focusing on green stimulus, green energy, sustainable mobility, and introducing the 15-minute city concept, and by securing financial streams; accelerating climate action ahead of COP26, with a strong commitment to net-zero emission, enhanced Nationally Determined Contributions, a financial package for developing countries, and clean energy, among others; supporting intermediary cities; building cities with nature for climate resilience and wellbeing; and transforming food systems.3. Prosperity. The call for G20 Leaders is aimed at adapting to the future of work and a just transition; strengthening local democracy; promoting fiscal autonomy by enabling conditions to create an ecosystem of public and private financial partners; fostering local economic development; and protecting digital rights.In 2022, Jakarta hosted the Urban 20 Mayors Summit, and the Communiqué reaffirmed the United Nations General Assembly Resolution No. ES-11/1 on Aggression against Ukraine and, hereby, urged the cessation of violence without delay to end the war. Additionally, they ratified, once again, their commitment to achieving the SDGs, the New Urban Agenda, and the Paris Agreement.They appealed to the G20 on three large priorities:114 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politics1. Investing in health and housing is a cornerstone of an economic and social recovery for all. This included health systems resilience; mental health, social protection and cohesion; sustainable and affordable housing; and urban regeneration land use.2. Fostering a sustainable energy transition and equal access to sustainable mobility. The cities called for fossil fuel phase-out; financing the renewable energy transition; reducing systemic, technological, and financial barriers and constraints of renewable energy and energy efficiency; undertaking social campaigns to raise awareness and understanding of the importance of transitioning to renewable energy; and sustainable mobility.3. Providing education and training in the future of work to give all people equitable access to the job market. G20 Member States were called to ensure inclusive job opportunities; elevate workers’ holistic well-being; bolster just and sustainable jobs through investment, workforce development, training, and just transition policies; unleash the potential of micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) productivity; bridge the disparity of digital infrastructure and innovation between and within cities and countries, and harness innovation.Finally, in 2023, the Comuniqué produced by the U20 Mayors Summit in Ahmedabad, during the G20 Presidency in India, set a clear goal: move from intention to action and called for more ambitious cooperation between national governments, cities, citizens, and other stakeholders to achieve the SDGs, the Paris Agreement and the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework.115Urban 20: Six Editions of City Diplomacy at The Highest LevelThe document centers on the following topics:1. Encouraging environmentally responsible behaviors. Specifically in terms of localizing global sustainability agendas, creating a framework for sustainable and just transitions that leave no one behind, and enabling whole-of-society behavioral change towards environmentally responsible practices. 2. Ensuring water security. It recommended mainstream sustainable water management practices; protecting and revitalizing water ecosystems, and strengthening effective water governance.3. Accelerating climate finance, by overhauling development finance to increase support for climate action in cities; creating an enabling environment for the flow of climate finance to cities and improving city readiness for climate financing.4. Championing local culture and economy. It calls for promoting local and regional economic development and community well-being; fostering a “sense of place,” meaning promoting a fairly represented, equitable, and diverse participation of citizens and local stakeholders in planning, design, and operation of public spaces; and leveraging traditional knowledge and frugal innovation, by enhancing the capacity and agency of local communities to implement local solutions and retain/reclaim ownership of community commons.5. Reinventing frameworks for urban governance and planning. U20 Cities called for promoting frameworks for planning and governance of emerging urban patterns; shifting to a ‘strategic” planning framework, by reforming land use-oriented planning to include strategiesfor green-blue infrastructure, 116 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicseconomic growth, cultural development, low-carbon mobility, net-zero built environment, disaster preparedness and affordable housing for all; and facilitating equitable and sustainable urban regeneration of existing areas.6. Catalyzing digital urban futures. G20 Leaders are called to ensure that the benefits of the digital economy are shared universally; facilitate data-informed decision-making; and encourage digital innovations.Channels, Aspirations, and Limits: U20’s Influence in the Multilateral DialogueThe generation of aggregated consensus U20 creates throughout the global cities’ ecosystem unraveled the need to transform traditional structures to address some of the most pressing development goals, especially regarding financial architecture. Between the 2018 and the 2019 Communiqués, deeper integration into the multilateral dialogue and a trend in local priorities can be observed. Although the Buenos Aires Communiqué refers to topics included in the 2030 Agenda and the New Urban Agenda, the Tokyo Communiqué explicitly mentions SDGs and the commitment of cities to integrate the Agenda into their local planning. This also happens in a global context where cities start producing VLRs and report voluntarily to the UN their progress on the SDGs. In terms of priorities, climate action, social inclusion, and integration, gender equality and financing—climate action and infrastructure leading this headline—continued to be at the center of the cities agenda.In 2020, with the disruption of the pandemic, a new spotlight was given to cities for various reasons. Firstly, due to its competencies 117Urban 20: Six Editions of City Diplomacy at The Highest Levelin health systems, transport, education, and public safety, many local and subnational governments were the first line of action against COVID-19. Secondly, at the international level, cities represented the perfect example of what cooperation between peers meant by exchanging knowledge, good practices, and data not only in terms of health systems management but also regarding the world they wanted after the crisis. Likewise, they took these practices to the multilateral dialogue revitalizing an already outdated system. Thirdly, cities started further promoting the “new public goods”—access to green and public spaces, and sustainable mobility, to mention a couple—that gained new value during the crisis and that are deeply connected to the development agendas and life quality improvement.This last point makes cities even more appealing to the multilateral dialogue and the interests of international organisms. Furthermore, it is here that the dual dynamic mentioned before—cities searching for new opportunities in the world, and the world searching for solutions in cities—reaches its peak. The Communiqués of Rome-Milan (2021), Jakarta (2022), and Ahmedabad (2023) reflect cities stepping up their ambition in promoting the development agenda, demanding the attention and co-action of national governments, and advocating for a stronger position in the multilateral fora.So, cities take their ambitions higher, they take actions that move the needle to better quality of life and the multilateral system demands bolder solutions for the pressing development challenges. However, the one tool that the international system must implement is a type of solution that does not move at the same pace and is not easily—or affordable, for that matter—available for cities, limiting the length they can reach.118 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and PoliticsIn the last few years, the restructuring of financial architecture has been discussed deeply. The possibility of cities being able to access the Lost and Damage Fund after the COP20 in Dubai is a step forward. The Pact for the Future’s inclusion of the “Request the Secretary-General to provide recommendations on how engagement with local and regional authorities could advance the 2030 Agenda, particularly the localization of the Sustainable Development Goals, by the end of the seventy-ninth session for Member States’ consideration” (UN 2024), shows a similar trend.Moreover, cities continue championing this quest. The creation of the SDSN Global Commission for Urban SDG Finance, a high-level group of mayors, experts, city networks, and scholars, are delivering actionable recommendations for how cities can obtain larger and better financing—shows how cities’ advocacy persists. U20 Co-Chairs endorse their Green Cities Guarantee Fund Proposal that aims to show “how current efforts ranging from the recently launched Green Guarantee Fund to the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Company do not support city borrowers” (Penn IUR 2024) and, eventually, translate into funds for cities.All the work done by cities over the years—the creation of their own spaces, like U20; the generation of aggregated consensus as U20 Communiqués, the localization of global agendas, and their increased participation in the multilateral fora—puts the 2024 U20 Mayors Summit, co-hosted by Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, in a unique position. The agenda already reflects the cities’ priorities with a strong focus on reforming multilateral institutions, besides tackling climate change and the global fight against hunger and poverty. It is yet to be seen if the Communiqué can further advance local interests and allow cities to unleash their fullest potential.119Urban 20: Six Editions of City Diplomacy at The Highest LevelReferencesAcuto, Michele. 2021. How to Build a Global City: Recognizing the Symbolic Power of a Global Urban Imagination. Cornell University Press.Acuto, Michele, Anna Kosovac, and Kris Hartley. 2021. “City Diplomacy: Another Generational Shift?” Diplomatica 3 (1): 137–146. https://doi.org/10.1163/25891774-03010007.Keohane, Robert Owen and Joseph S. Nye. 1988. Poder e Interdependencia. La Política Mundial en Transición. Grupo Editor Latinoamericano.Penn Institute for Urban Research. 2024. “Paris Meeting of Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Global Commission for Urban Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Finance Marks A Year of Progress.” May 21. https://penniur.upenn.edu/publications/paris-meeting-of-sustainable-development-solutions-network-sdsn-global-commission-for-urban-sustainable-development-goal-sdg-finance-marks-a-year-of-progress.United Nations (UN). 2024. “Pact for the Future, Global Digital Compact and Declaration of Future Generations.” Summit of the Future Outcome Documents, September. https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/sotf-the-pact-for-the-future.pdf.Urban 20. 2018a. “Urban 20: Joint Statement.” U20 Buenos Aires. https://www.uclg.org/sites/default/files/u20_joint_statement_final_endorsed_1.pdf.Urban 20. 2018b. “U20 Cities Call on The G20 To Prioritize an Urban Perspective in Tackling Global Issues: An Official https://doi.org/10.1163/25891774-03010007https://penniur.upenn.edu/publications/paris-meeting-of-sustainable-development-solutions-network-sdsn-global-commission-for-urban-sustainable-development-goal-sdg-finance-marks-a-year-of-progresshttps://penniur.upenn.edu/publications/paris-meeting-of-sustainable-development-solutions-network-sdsn-global-commission-for-urban-sustainable-development-goal-sdg-finance-marks-a-year-of-progresshttps://penniur.upenn.edu/publications/paris-meeting-of-sustainable-development-solutions-network-sdsn-global-commission-for-urban-sustainable-development-goal-sdg-finance-marks-a-year-of-progresshttps://penniur.upenn.edu/publications/paris-meeting-of-sustainable-development-solutions-network-sdsn-global-commission-for-urban-sustainable-development-goal-sdg-finance-marks-a-year-of-progresshttps://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/sotf-the-pact-for-the-future.pdfhttps://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/sotf-the-pact-for-the-future.pdfhttps://www.uclg.org/sites/default/files/u20_joint_statement_final_endorsed_1.pdfhttps://www.uclg.org/sites/default/files/u20_joint_statement_final_endorsed_1.pdf120 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and PoliticsCommuniqué from Urban 20 (U20).” U20 Buenos Aires, October. https://www.urban20.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/U20-2018-Communique.pdf.Urban 20. 2019. “2019 Urban 20 Tokyo Mayors Summit Communiqué.” U20 Tokyo. https://www.urban20.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/U20-2019-Communique.pdf.Urban 20. 2020. “Communiqué from the Urban 20 (U20).” U20 Riyadh, October 2. https://www.urban20.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/U20-2020-Communique.pdf.Urban 20. 2021. “Urban 20 Calls on G20 to Empower Cities to Ensure a Green and Just Recovery: An Official Communiqué from Urban 20 (U20).” U20 Rome-Milan, June 17. https://www.urban20.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/U20-2021-Communique-Final.pdf.Urban 20. 2022. “Communiqué.” U20 Jakarta, August 30-31. https://www.urban20.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/U20-2022-COMMUNIQUE-280822.pdf.Urban 20. 2023. “U20 2023 Communiqué.” U20 Ahmedabad. https://www.urban20.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/2023-Final-U20-Communique.pdf.https://www.urban20.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/U20-2018-Communique.pdfhttps://www.urban20.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/U20-2018-Communique.pdfhttps://www.urban20.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/U20-2019-Communique.pdfhttps://www.urban20.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/U20-2019-Communique.pdfhttps://www.urban20.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/U20-2020-Communique.pdfhttps://www.urban20.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/U20-2020-Communique.pdfhttps://www.urban20.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/U20-2021-Communique-Final.pdfhttps://www.urban20.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/U20-2021-Communique-Final.pdfhttps://www.urban20.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/U20-2022-COMMUNIQUE-280822.pdfhttps://www.urban20.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/U20-2022-COMMUNIQUE-280822.pdfhttps://www.urban20.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/2023-Final-U20-Communique.pdfhttps://www.urban20.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/2023-Final-U20-Communique.pdf1215.For a City Network JurisdictionJoão Carlos CochlarWhat Do Climate Change and the Rule of Law Have in Common?Climate change and the decline of the rule of law are two world crises of the 21st century. The first is a consensus. Between 2010 and 2024, global temperature broke year records nine times (NCEI 2024). From 2001 to 2023, there were 488 million hectares (Mha) of global tree cover loss, equivalent to a 12% reduction since 2000, and 207 Gt of CO2 emissions.1 Rising temperatures, historic pollution, and the devastation of our forests led to an existential threat to humanity: an environment of sterility and scarcity of natural resources incompatible with life. Therefore, action to fight climate change’s urgency is a race for life.The second might sound more subtle, but it is also severe. As Brazilian Chief Justice Luís Roberto Barroso pointed out, States face a democratic recession, and one of its expressions is the weakening of the operative capacity of institutions of power control 1. See more in “Global Forest Watch”: https://www.globalforestwatch.org/dashboards/global/.https://www.globalforestwatch.org/dashboards/global/123For a City Network Jurisdiction(Barroso 2023a). According to the 2023 World Justice Project (WJP) Report, 78% of countries between 2016 and 2023 experienced rule of law deterioration,2 and countries with weaker rule of law have experienced larger declines than countries with stronger systems. Expressions of the rule of law such as the absence of corruption, regulatory enforcement, and civil justice are atrophying, posing a threat to social cohesion.Lord Tom Bingham, in his seminal book The Rule of Law (2010) defined this concept as what he called a core principle: “all persons and authorities within the state, whether public or private, should be bound by and entitled to the benefit of laws publicly made, taking effect (generally) in the future and publicly administered in the courts.”3 Rule of law is, as stated by the 2023 WJP Report, an indispensable condition to ensure safety for investments and business, quality of public infrastructure, and halting implications of pollution, wildlife poaching, and deforestation for the environment.Here, both crises find an intersection. Based on Professor Bingham’s lessons, fighting climate change requires more than shifting the laws and practices that regulate the way we are, live, and consume towards a more sustainable society. It also demands ensuring there are institutions capable of bonding agents to their environmental liability and entitling citizens to the benefit of the fundamental right 2. In the last seven years (2016–2023), the rule of law has declined in 78% of countries, where on average the rule of law has deteriorated by -5.0%. The factors with the most countries experiencing declines in the past seven years are Constraints on Government Powers (74%), Fundamental Rights (77%), and Criminal Justice (74%). See more at: https://worldjusticeproject.org/rule-of-law-index/downloads/WJPInsights2023.pdf.3. Bingham contextualizes just afterward that: “This statement, as will appear in Chapters 3–10, is not comprehensive, and even the most ardent constitutionalist would not suggest that it could be universally applied without exception or qualification. There are, for example, some proceedings in which justice can only be done if they are not conducted in public, as where a manufacturer sues to prevent a trade competitor unlawfully using a secret and technical manufacturing process. But generally speaking, any departure from the rule I have stated calls for close consideration and clear justification.”https://worldjusticeproject.org/rule-of-law-index/downloads/WJPInsights2023.pdf124 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsto an ecologically balanced environment.4This is where the climate crisis consensus unfolds in several challenges and barriers, such as (i) the need for implementing costly projects and policies of adaptation; (ii) facing all kinds of resistances due to political, economic, and social repercussions of such measures5; and (iii) the urgency for environmental conflicts to be overcome so that the necessary adaptation measures are implemented before a point of no return is reached. Therefore, strengthening the rule of law is an urgent matter for building efficient governance, ensuring sufficient financing, and pacifying the political environment towards sustainable urban development.In an increasingly urban world, cities are called to reconcile their expansion and development with sustainability and climate resilience (U20 Ahmedabad 2023). At the same time, they are “responsible for around 75% of global energy consumption and 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions.” (IEA 2024) Hence, dealing with climate change at the local level requires worldwide coordination and even alternatives to the traditional national governance structures.The constitution of city networks, such as C40—which coordinates the U20 Summits—, is an initiative to exchange expertise on policies to combat climate change, but also a reaction to possible barriers and inefficiencies of traditional State institutional designs (Silva 2023, 53). City networks allow information and expertise exchange, setting common goals and standards. They become 4. For example, Article 225 of the Brazilian Constitution provides that: “Everyone has the right to an ecologically balanced environment, a common good for the people and essential to a healthy quality of life, imposing on the Public Authorities and the community the duty to defend and preserve it for present and future generations.”5. “A despeito das dimensões do problema e do considerável consenso científico a seu respeito, são enormes as resistências atais mudanças, dadas as repercussões políticas, econômicas e sociais das medidas necessárias ao enfrentamento da questão climática.” (Mello 2023, 263)125For a City Network Jurisdictiona parallel system of governance to the State structure (Silva 2023, 53) responsible for gathering financing and resources, elaborating projects inspired by successful cases, and monitoring their implementation. By the same token, cities’ protagonism in fostering climate change led them to organize themselves to improve their capacities at the local level, and one of the highlights of this movement can be seen at the Rio de Janeiro edition of U20,6 in 2024. It is recognized as an axis of city action initiatives such as tackling climate change and reforming multilateral institutions, highlighting the perspective of local governments and the diversity of urban realities among G20 members.Against this backdrop, this article proposes that city networks should consider exchanging successful policies to strengthen the rule of law as part of the effort to combat the climate crisis and ensure a safe regulatory environment for climate investments. We also sustain that city networks should go a step further and offer a new service to their members: jurisdiction, id est, the capability of identifying the applicable law to a conflict and enforcing it to a particular situation (Bermudes 1995, 22–23). City networks should offer structures where their members may solve their controversies with other government levels, companies, or foreign institutions in a self-composing manner or count on an impartial, expert, and effective deliberation board. Conflicts, both in the public and private sectors, are an important source of delay for the goals intended by policies and financing. Time is not on our side. In this context, city networks should foster the rule of law—an environmentally sustainable rule of law, if we may say so.6. U20 is a city diplomacy initiative that brings together cities from G20 member states under a common framework to discuss global economic, climate, and development issues. Check U20 São Paulo Press Release at: https://www.urban20.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/U20-2024-Sa%CC%88o-Paulo-Press-Release.pdf.https://www.urban20.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/U20-2024-Sa%CC%88o-Paulo-Press-Release.pdf126 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and PoliticsDespite its indispensable role, national and international ordinary fora are sometimes insufficient to solve such disputes. We argue that cities that seek sustainable urban development cannot prescind effective dispute resolution mechanisms arising from the new paradigms imposed by the urgency to address the climate crisis. With their city networks, they are capable of forming dispute boards, mediation, and arbitration chambers as dispute resolution mechanisms. They might enhance legal certainty and efficiency to climate investments and environmental damage compensations towards their goals in due time and with less border constraints of decision enforcement.The development of this article is based on a literature review and relevant environmental disputes raised by or involving cities. Its structure unfolds in five parts. In the first, we address the climate crisis as a justice crisis, giving three justifications for why climate change generates not only new disputes but also challenges to find mechanisms to solve them. In the second part, we argue that climate change can lead to transnational litigation when domestic jurisdictions compete with each other to present themselves as the most effective outside their borders. In this topic, we present a Brazilian case to justify why it is problematic. Thirdly, we suggest how cities and city networks might unite efforts towards strengthening the rule of law towards climate and environmental adaptation. Finally, we present the main conclusions and proposals that may contribute to the development of these mechanisms.Climate Crisis as a Justice CrisisMary Robinson, former President of Ireland, pioneered the 127For a City Network Jurisdictionmessage that climate change transcends science or environmental law. For Robinson, there is no effective fight against climate change without addressing global injustice. As she wrote in her seminal book Climate Justice (2018):If there is a climate change problem, it is in large part a justice problem. […] Raising awareness about climate justice requires us to marry the standards of human rights with issues of sustainable development and responsibility for climate change. (Robinson 2018, 18)Climate change impacted on the idea of justice since many of our values and habits shall change to fight it. An economy based on plastic, jobs based on fossil fuel production, or development based on damaging nature are just some examples of long-term structures we need to reform. Tackling these topics is synonymous with facing severe resistance.Daniel Vargas (2017) defined justice as “the metric a community uses to resolve its collective conflicts.” John Rawls, in his seminal book A Theory of Justice, states that conflict of interest is an inherent phenomenon in any organized society. However, the maintenance of social organization depends on its ability to absorb these conflicts through general agreement of principles that appropriately distribute the benefits and burdens of social cooperation (Rawls 1999, 4).Climate change, however, strains such capability of absorbing conflicts for at least three reasons. The first is that climate change has not only created new conflicts but has also disrupted the metrics by which these are resolved. Building on Rawls’ thinking, it is evident that the governance models of States over the past 128 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicscenturies were based on principles established in a world where the climate crisis was not seen as an existential threat. When traditional economic development and social organization models generate this existential threat as negative externalities, demand for its reform produces instability. This gives rise to a demand for new metrics of justice from the affected groups, which not only address the externalities produced by the existing institutional framework but also call for effective institutions and mechanisms to implement them.To give an example of the intricate tension of the disorganization of metrics of conflict solving, Roberto Mangabeira Unger (2008) pointed out that people who have lived in the Brazilian rainforest for generations were submitted to public policies that didn’t incentivize the construction of a harmonic economy with nature. Some people act on mining or reckless deforestation because of pressure from economic forces and the discouragement of the state. There will be no justice for these people if their way of living is constrained without having the capability of surviving otherwise amidst an apparent climate urgency. This is an example of the disorganization of metrics imposed by climate change.7The second reason is that, beyond conflicts of interest, there is the challenge of holding multiple agents accountable. The climate crisis involves considering a multitude of public and private actors responsible for adjusting their behaviors, which requires immense coordination and alignment efforts among these agents—from the isolated individual to large corporations in the private sector, from municipal administration to national states or transnational bodies 7. Brazilian writer Silvio Meira wrote a romance called “The Gold from Jamanxim” [O Ouro do Jamanxim] as the story of a Brazilian migrant who goes mining in the rain forest to find his way of living.129For a City Network Jurisdictionin the public sector. This broad responsibility of agents not only complicates the organization of necessary actions to combat the crisisbut also obscures the role of each part. This loss of clarity undermines the efficiency of actions against climate change.To better clarify this second justification, consider the following contrast. It is not an exaggeration to say that the existential threats of the 20th century did not revolve around an “eco-dystopia.” They involved issues such as economic collapses, genocides, and nuclear, chemical, and biological wars. These crises were predominantly political-economic in nature, with decision-making power about the future of humanity concentrated in the hands of a few powerful states or financial actors. The climate crisis, on the other hand, is multidisciplinary, transnational, and a shared responsibility. However, the resistances are numerous. Companies resist changing business models due to high costs. Federal states suffer from internal conflicts about their roles. Centralized states restrict the actions of subnational units. Individuals refuse to change behaviors due to entrenched habits and the short-term “costs” such changes might bring. Maintaining old ways of living could threaten humanity and the world as we understand it. The search for identifying and extending the responsibility of these climate change actors is one of the critical areas of attention in establishing sustainable development governance.Overcoming these two challenges is the final goal of climate justice. As precisely stated by Brazilian Chief Justice Luís Roberto Barroso, who also refers himself to President Robinson:Climate Justice is understood as the fair distribution of responsibilities, costs, and consequences arising from the impacts of climate change. This distribution 130 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsinvolves developed and developing countries, rich and poor people, as well as current and future generations. (Barroso 2023b)Nonetheless, there is also a third justification: the democratic recession and the decline of the rule of law itself. In addition to the new conflicts of interest and the multiplicity of agents with different responsibilities, the 21st century is witnessing illiberal waves emerging in various States. There are noticeable signs that contemporary constitutional democracies are viewed with skepticism and disbelief regarding their ability to implement the necessary changes or solve the newly arisen conflicts. As we said, while the pursuit of development is a common goal for everyone, the means to achieve it are the focal point of controversies that hinder progress on this issue. What happens if nation-states are incapable of properly solving conflicts? Or if the solution they provide does not meet the communities’ expectations? Joaquim Falcão (2021) answers: “Conflicts do not disappear, obviously; they are merely postponed. They escalate. Some spiral out of control. In the face of unresolved issues, parallel systems emerge. Not necessarily peaceful ones. They compete with each other. An ecosystem of conflict resolution is established.”The domestic State monopoly of conflict resolution becomes a myth. In each time more globalized world, even the capability of solving conflicts is now part of a market, in which different jurisdictions—official or not official—present themselves as more efficient and capable of solving conflicts whether due to the quality and persuasiveness of the solution presented or the strength of the 131For a City Network Jurisdictiondecision in reality. In this topic, city networks might have a role to play. The Market of Jurisdictions, Climate Litigation, and the Brazilian DramaIn a speech delivered in New Delhi in 1996, former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso stated that globalization reached goods, services, and persons, but the stimulation of an increasing uniformity of the institutional and regulatory framework in all countries was still in progress. It could lead to a movement towards a world where legal orders would gradually resemble or even reach an integrated governance through which law-making and jurisdiction could flourish. However, the world of centralized global governance that federalists once imagined the end of the 20th century would lead to has not been accomplished. History showed a different tendency. While they contended that “only when the interests of both parties are served by binding third-party settlement are disputes referred to forms of adjudication” (Commission on Global Governance 1995), international bodies did not become responsible for issuing binding decisions. We see several examples of domestic courts (instead of global courts) ruling on international controversies and deciding cases whose effects occur in the territory of another jurisdiction.There are several examples of environmental controversies that abide by that tendency. In Milieudefensie et al. v. Royal Dutch Shell, a Dutch court ordered the whole Shell group, which is now British, to reduce its worldwide operations’ CO2 emissions by 45% by 2030 compared to 2010 levels and to zero by 2050, in line 132 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicswith the Paris Climate Agreement.8 A foreign arbitration court ordered the suspension of an Ecuadorian decision against Chevron that convicted the company of paying US$ 9.5 billion due to environmental damages. Brazilian NGO Comissão Pastoral da Terra sued BNP Paribas in French jurisdiction seeking compensation for “providing financial services to companies that allegedly contribute to the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest” (Setzer and Higham 2023). The list goes on. Climate litigation created an emergent sector of a transnational litigation network.This is not new. If we go beyond climate topics, research shows that U.S. district courts apply foreign law at an estimated rate of 44.5% in transnational litigations (Whytock and Quintanilla 2011)—not to mention the vulture hedge funds case in Argentina, when the country defaulted on its debt in 2001. Vulture funds bought Argentinian bonds for a small percentage of its value and demanded in the U.S. Courts for the whole amount. A U.S. District Judge, Thomas P. Griesa, granted it, leading the country to severe external debt as a consequence. These examples reveal that jurisdiction is a service of the rule of law, and the most efficient wins their clients. It leads, according to Whytock and Quintanilla (2011, 31), to the “United States and the United Kingdom acting as the leading providers of courts and law for transnational disputes.”Climate litigation is an imperative mechanism for serving civil society, individuals, and others, even governments, with one possible avenue to address inadequate responses by the public and private sectors to the climate crisis (Burger and Tigre 2023). There is a reason why the rule of law is fundamental to combat sources of climate 8. See more at: https://climatecasechart.com/wp-content/uploads/non-us-case-documents/2021/20210526_8918_judgment-1.pdf.https://climatecasechart.com/wp-content/uploads/non-us-case-documents/2021/20210526_8918_judgment-1.pdfhttps://climatecasechart.com/wp-content/uploads/non-us-case-documents/2021/20210526_8918_judgment-1.pdf133For a City Network Jurisdictionchange—from human-provoked disasters to ensuring compliance with environmental policies. A Brazilian drama shows that.In November 2015, a dam, owned by Samarco, in the municipality of Mariana, in Minas Gerais state, ruptured, resulting in the spill of more than 60 million cubic meters of mining waste into the Doce River valley. As a result, there were 19 deaths, over 600 people displaced and homeless, thousands of people without access to water, as well as incalculable environmental and socioeconomic damage throughout the Doce River Basin, affecting around 40 municipalities in the states of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo. The sludge traveled 650 kilometersand reached the Atlantic Ocean (Porto et al 2016).As if that wasn’t enough, another dam rupture happened in another municipality of Minas Gerais, called Brumadinho, in January 2019. When this dam, owned by Vale, which is one of Samarco’s holders, collapsed, it resulted in the spill of approximately 12 million cubic meters of mining waste. The disaster provoked 270 deaths, left dozens missing, and caused significant environmental and socioeconomic damage. The sludge contaminated surrounding areas and had a direct impact on the local population and the environment, as it traveled about 10 kilometers before reaching the Paraopeba River, causing severe impacts on water quality and aquatic life.Although Brasil has one of the finest legislations concerning environmental protection, injured people are yet to receive proper compensation from the companies for such damages. Mariana’s procedures, for example, started delivering convictions only in 2024, and it is still subject to all sorts of appeals until they might have access to reparations.134 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and PoliticsDue to this despair, these affected cities hired foreign law firms to present their cases abroad. Cities filed tort procedures against the holders and auditors of the dam owners in British, Dutch, German, and American jurisdictions. The most prominent of such cases, Município de Mariana v. BHP, is scheduled for trial in October 2024 and involves a demand of £40 billion. The London-based law firm Pogust Goodhead, responsible for several cases of these disasters abroad, presented a Q&A where they answered why the firm is filing this procedure in England and not in Brasil. The answer is simple: “Pogust Goodhead believes that those affected will be adequately compensated within a reasonable time in England.”As a backlash, a representative of those companies, which have been resisting paying proper compensation for such damages, presented a constitutional demand before the Brazilian Supreme Court, asking it to declare it unconstitutional for cities to litigate in foreign jurisdictions. Brazilian cities wouldn’t have a legal personality before foreign jurisdictions, and the plaintiff of this constitutional case argues that only the country itself would be capable of representing its subnational levels abroad. They employ this sovereignty argument because if a city loses the procedure, a foreign jurisdiction will possibly constrain not only the cities to pay costs and fees but also the national level, even if the Union was never a part of the dispute. If the Brazilian Supreme Court grants this demand, municipalities will be ordered to drop the lawsuits presented in those foreign jurisdictions. The issue is so controversial that, in a talk at the Rio de Janeiro City Attorney’s Office in August 2024, I asked Justice Ines Härtel, of the German Federal Constitutional Court, if German cities can litigate compensatory environmental damages in foreign courts. She commented it wouldn’t be possible since it would constitute a violation of the federal principle.135For a City Network JurisdictionThere is a tension between, on one side, sovereignty, and the federative principle, and, on the other, effective jurisdiction and protection of human rights. From one side, a national jurisdiction has been failing to ensure that companies that destroyed entire cities, and their surrounding environment, killed citizens, and made such areas close to the uninhabitable should compensate for their damages and ensure proper urban and environmental reconstruction. On the other, a sake to keep the constitutional framework effective and operative.Which way to get out of this puzzle? Cities in general, which are the final spaces affected by those tragedies, should find a way to ensure they have room for solving controversies. This is where city networks might provide some assistance. Cities’ Roles and a City Network Jurisdiction as a Possible ContributionCities have at least three roles in the climate crisis. If we understand the idea of a city as a geographically delimited urban space, its role is a polluter causing climate change, whose action should be constrained and adapted. According to the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), cities account for approximately 70% of global CO2 emissions related to energy, with the urban transportation sector responsible for 16% of greenhouse gas emissions. They generate 60% of the world’s solid waste, often subject to inadequate treatment. Cities are characterized by soil impermeabilization and the formation of heat islands. They exhibit reckless consumption patterns, absorbing around 75% of the planet’s natural resources (ONU-Habitat 2011).136 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and PoliticsFrom a second perspective, the idea of a city might be also understood in its political-administrative dimension. Cities refer not only to a geographic space but also to the organized bureaucracy that manages it. Local administration is the state unit closest to the needs and characteristics of a community, thus being well-positioned to have immediate knowledge of local needs. In addition to being oriented towards community participation due to their proximity to major decision-making centers, cities are not bound by the various national and subnational levels for the implementation of public policies. It enables them to implement quicker responses to citizens’ demands.Modern constitutions, written in the 20th century, have the characteristics of detailing the political roles of cities. Germany, for instance, provides in Article 28 of the Grundgesetz that cities “must be guaranteed the right to regulate all local affairs on their responsibility within the limits prescribed by the laws. Within the limits of their functions designated by a law, associations of municipalities shall also have the right of self-government in accordance with the laws.” Brasil’s 1988 Constitution also postulates that municipalities are entitled to legislate about local issues and ensure proper land use management, through planning and control of land use, subdivision, and urban development. The Indian Constitution in the same vein specifies that municipalities are entitled to enable institutions of self-government, notably to the preparation of plans for economic development and social justice.If we set a magnifying glass on these competencies, we realize that city administrations are predominantly responsible for activities such as land regularization and control, urban planning, solid waste management, pollution control, green space protection, water 137For a City Network Jurisdictionmanagement, sustainable urban planning, primary environmental awareness education, land use regulation, property management and regularization, construction licensing, and control, protection of public interest areas, and land conflict management. It is, therefore, at the local level where efforts to combat climate change have the best chance of moving beyond rhetoric and making a tangible impact.Finally, if its administrative powers are not the proper way of conforming behaviors, there is the third dimension: cities are subject to rights in court. Taking Brazilian law as an example, the Constitution provides that the Federative Republic of Brasil is formed by the indissoluble union of the States, Municipalities, and the Federal District. The Brazilian Civil Code states that municipalities are legal entities under public law, and therefore, holders of rights and duties. They have the legitimacy to file not only tax enforcement actions but also actions for holding agents accountable for damage to the environment, historical and scenic assets, and urban planning in Court, for example.Just like private citizens, cities worldwide suffer from constraints of the rule of lawdeficit we mentioned in the previous section of this paper. This is why cities’ networks should strive to build systems of conflict resolution that have legitimacy, promptness, high expertise, lower costs, and high effectiveness. International arbitration chambers guarded by city networks might pave this way.City networks do a remarkable job of fostering clean air and construction policies, zero waste and net zero carbon emission standards, and allowing connections between members and investors to get these ambitions done. However, this precious structure created by city networks might be modeled in a way that 138 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsmight provide incentives to cities, companies, and other relevant agents to find self-composing solutions to climate controversies. If it is not possible, arbitration chambers for disaster compensations or investment controversies are a promising path for helping cities strengthen the rule of law toward climate adaptation.There are some reasons for this. Since the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, 172 country parties recognized arbitration as a mandatory decision to be adopted by national courts. Since it present an international arbitration standard for the parties, borders might no longer be a source of tension between sovereignty and effectiveness. Cities, companies, and investors should gather around those chambers to ensure legal certainty and effective jurisdiction, especially when cities suffer from damages or need to conform to policy implementation at a quicker pace, for example. Arbitration has some advantages over litigating in regular Courts. In a seminal paper by U.S. Judge Harry T. Edwards (1982), factors such as speed and expense are benefits for the arbitration procedure. It is positive to have arbitrators chosen by the parties, who might be prominent experts of the controversy’s subject, can lead the conflict with neutrality, and suit the procedure according to the specifics of the case.Arbitration is indeed a voluntary procedure, and parties should make an arbitration agreement for disputes arising from a previous legal relation or agree posteriorly, once the conflict is established, to submit it to arbitration. But as a policy, city networks may provide the chamber to their members, so that cities are able to incentivize or condition economic activity in their urban spaces to an arbitration agreement for conflicts arising from environmental damage or 139For a City Network Jurisdictioncompliance of investments on climate adaptation policies. Other levels of government or international suppliers can help in this incentive task since it afford safety for investments and constraints for violations.Arbitration in such cases would also be a solution to the Brazilian dilemma. If we consider it reasonable that cities do not have the legal capability of litigating in foreign jurisdictions, it would not be the case for cities to be part of arbitration since there are countries, including Brasil, where public administration and different levels of government are allowed to submit controversies to this procedure. It is the case of Brasil, Spain, Germany, and Australia, for example. An arbitration award issued by a prestigious chamber of a city network will ensure its enforceability in many more jurisdictions than if issued by a national one so that the content of the award might be executed in the most effective jurisdiction.Brasil has started to create a culture of municipal arbitration (Schmidt 2018), but there is an open issue: is not uncommon to say that municipalities in general might have precarious technical-legal and administrative capacity to create and issue, by themselves, the respective regulations and procedures (Falcão and Cochlar 2021). Expanding worldwide, city networks can supply such difficulty while providing the necessary structure to lead the arbitration and implement administrative support.This work is a provocation to incentivize more reflections about rules and procedures that can help cities achieve the best framework they can to attract investments to climate change adaptation and constraining or, if not possible, compensating promptly for environmental damage. This text is an initial step to stimulate more improvements to follow. 140 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and PoliticsFinal RemarksClimate change and the decline of the rule of law are two crises that mark the contemporary globalization dynamics. To say they are global crises, however, is misleading. While climate change affects the whole world, people everywhere in the world experience it differently in their daily lives. It can be slight as a soft temperature rise and it can be devastating like floods, rising seas, or landslides. The same goes for the rule of law. In the plain of discourse, we see democratic recession when we talk about the institutions’ inefficiencies, the invasion of Parliaments (as happened in the U.S. and Brasil), or the politicization of Supreme Courts. But people everywhere also experience it differently in their daily lives. It can be as minor as a delay to have access to a public service or devastating as not constraining a company to pollute and contaminate the place someone lives. Both crises reveal global-local tension. It is not uncommon to deliver extraordinary importance to world leaders’ summits on climate change as the key moments of deliberating for the necessary changes to address this crisis. It reflects what sociologist Roland Robertson (1995) considered an ordinary expression of globalization. According to Robertson, it normally polarizes global phenomena to micro-sociological events understood from a local perspective. It polarizes universalism to particularism. Global to local. Small communities to national and international governance.This perspective, especially concerning climate change, is a miscomprehension of globalization. Universal and particular must combine in order to generate proper responses to such challenges. The climate crisis is local and global at the same time. Local, because it affects people’s everyday activities by rising temperatures, often 141For a City Network Jurisdictionrequiring people to move from their houses due to rising floods or landslides. Global, because the impact of human activity on the environment generates effects that do not depend on borders.This is why it is proper to say that the climate crisis is a “glocal” crisis. In this global tension—which is rooted in old designs of governance that constrain city action—local administrations should act to find together new mechanisms of governance. This is also why city networks are so important. They are meant to provide goals, rules, and expertise that might foster cities’ environmental resilience. As stated by Guilherme Soares (2023, 49), they must assume their roles as components of world climate governance and regulation.The mechanisms of dispute solving are pivotal for fostering compliance towards an urban sustainable development from climate investments to environmental damage compensation. There are successful examples of institutional designs for such initiatives, such as the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) or the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Arbitration procedures. It is time to design one so that cities can, through strengthening the rule of law, ensure climate action will move forward.ReferencesBarroso, Luís Roberto. 2023a. “Os Trinta e Cinco Anos da Constituição de 1988: As Voltas Que o Mundo Dá.” In A Constituição da Democracia em Seus 35 Anos, edited by Luiz Edson Fachin, Luís Roberto Barroso, and Alvaro Ricardo de Souza Cruz. Editora Fórum.142 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and PoliticsBarroso, Luís Roberto. 2023b. “Mudançawhich helped gather and select authors and craft the book’s direction. Chief among them, Morocco’s Policy Center for the New South ensured our project would have international reach and representation. We are thankful to the leadership of Dr. Karim El Aynaoui, the intellectual rigor of Arkebe Oqubay, and the enthusiastic help and support of Akram Zaoui. The University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Urban Research, through Professor Eugénie Birch mobilizing, ensured this book would 14have scholarly pertinence. From Columbia University, dozens of friends and inspiring experts coalesced under the leadership of its Global Center in Rio, to which we are thankful to Thomas Trebat and Camila Pontual. The Inter-American Dialogue, through the energetic backing of Rebecca Bill Chavez on the relevance of the urban debate for world affairs, has offered this book and research agenda a path forward, a direction shared by the Atlantic Council, whose pioneering work in climate resilience and adaptation is a compass for this book’s mission.In a time of increasingly extreme challenges for cities and the world, we hope this book helps set the agenda for cities as solutions for the Sustainable Development Goals. The following pages are meant for both consultation and inspiration.15The Rio de Janeiro view from Favela do Vidigal inspired this book’s cover. Photo by Raquel Camargo Araujo, Rio G20 Committee.1616Conceptual FoundationsSection 1181.Integrating Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies in CitiesCandice HowarthThe Need to Integrate Climate Mitigation and Adaptation in Cities Efforts to manage and prepare for the climate crisis have historically been driven by climate mitigation (i.e. action to reduce man-made greenhouse gas emissions) primarily through renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable transportation, and land-use planning. Climate adaptation on the other hand (i.e. action aimed at preparing for and adapting to the impacts of climate change) involves adjusting systems, structures, and policies to cope with the impacts of climate change, such as rising sea levels, heatwaves, and floods. However, mitigation and adaptation strategies have generally been, and continue to be, developed and implemented separately, often in isolation (Reckien et al. 2018). This is problematic considering that mitigation targets are being missed (IPCC 2022) and global temperatures continue to increase as a result (Lindsay and Dallman 2024). This is especially true in cities, where mitigation has been prioritized over adaptation 20 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politics(Grafakos et al. 2021). This is not cost-effective, does not reflect the multidimensionality and complexity of adaptation and mitigation, and can lead to a range of challenges, maladaptation, and unintended consequences (Howarth and Robinson 2024).The climate is already changing, and integration of adaptation and mitigation in policy and practice is now urgently needed. Whilst the nature of adaptation and mitigation approaches is complex, explaining why these are often designed and implemented separately could provide opportunities for integrated approaches to climate action that address both simultaneously and maximize co-benefits (Jennings et al. 2020). For example, not adopting integrated approaches could contribute to a range of inefficiencies occurring alongside a lack of policy coherence such as rapid investment in solar or onshore wind, which could result in habitat disruption and reduce ecosystem resilience (Howarth and Robinson 2024). Addressing the two sides of the climate action “coin” simultaneously could help bridge knowledge gaps, limit inefficient, siloed work, enhance co-benefits of climate action, minimize unintended consequences, and ultimately enable climate-resilient economic growth.Urban areas, which house over half of the world’s population, are important components in global climate action particularly as they are responsible for 67–72% of global CO2 emissions (Lwasa et al. 2022), primarily due to transportation, buildings, industry, and energy use. They are also highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, with many located in coastal areas, floodplains, or regions prone to weather extremes. Integrating both climate mitigation and adaptation strategies within cities is a necessity and an opportunity for cities to become more liveable, sustainable, and resilient in the climate crisis.21Integrating Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies in CitiesKey Challenges in Integrating Adaptation and MitigationWhile climate mitigation and adaptation are usually treated and implemented separately, they are deeply interrelated and complementary. Nevertheless, a series of challenges affect the ability to design, implement, and monitor their integration within cities.Institutional SilosA range of institutional silos underpin the framing, conceptualization, design, and implementation of adaptation and mitigation approaches. For example, nationally, regionally, and within cities, distinct departments or teams often work on these issues separately, frequently, and with limited interaction, leading to fragmented efforts (Kissinger et al. 2021). Mitigation is regularly handled by energy and transportation departments while adaptation often falls under disaster risk reduction, environment, or planning departments, or in some cases is not incorporated into climate strategic plans. In the United Kingdom (UK), for example, following a wave of Climate Emergency Declarations in 2019–2020, it was found that only 11% of these declarations mentioned the term “climate adaptation” (Howarth et al. 2021). Their main focus was on mitigation with resulting Climate Action Plans rarely referencing the need to adapt to the impacts of climate change. This separation can result in missed opportunities for synergies and lead to conflicting policies (Dyson and Harvey-Scholes 2022). For example, efforts to promote urban densification (e.g. through initiatives such as 15-minute cities) as a mitigation strategy could increase vulnerability to climate hazards such as heat waves or flooding if adaptation measures are not incorporated into the planning process (Abdelfattah et al. 2022). In addition, institutional memory is recurrently short, with policy 22 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsofficials remaining in post for short periods of time and taking their knowledge and insights on potential integration with other policy areas with them (Bremer et al. 2021).Competing Priorities and FundingCities face a number of competing priorities, from housing, transportation, economic development, local pollution, and public health priorities, all while managing stretched resources and competing for limited funding (Betsill and Bulkeley 2007). Both climate mitigation and adaptation thus often struggle to compete with more immediate concerns particularly in areas of economic deprivation and where competition for funding is resource-intensive, highly competitive, and conducive to the prioritization of isolated single agendas. Where climate action plans may exist and where there are dedicated funds for climate mitigation (e.g. grants for renewable energy projects) or climate adaptation (e.g. flood defense systems, tree planting), these are rarely joined up or explicitly designed to facilitate integrated approaches (Grafakos et al. 2021). This can hinder and slow the design and implementation of solutions that address mitigation and adaptation simultaneously and can at times lead to unintended consequences, maladaptation, or mal-mitigation.Conflicting Timescales There have been and still are conflicting timescales in the implementation of climate action. Historically, mitigation has been prioritized over adaptation at the international level,Climática e Tribunais: Visões de um Juiz Sobre Litígios Climáticos.” COP 28, Climate Change and Courts: Judicial Perspectives on Climate Litigation, December 10.Bermudes, Sergio. 1995. Introdução ao Processo Civil. Forense, 22–23.Bingham, Tom. 2010. The Rule of Law. Penguin.Brasil. 1988. Constituição da República Federativa do Brasil de 1988. Article 30: I–VIII.Brasil. 1996. “Consequências Sociais da Globalização.” Presidency of the Republic, Library of the Presidency, Conference at Indian International Centre, New Delhi, India, January 27.Burger, Michael, and Maria Antonia Tigre. 2023. Global Climate Litigation Report: 2023 Status Review. Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia Law School & United Nations Environment Programme. https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/sabin_climate_change/202.Commission on Global Governance. 1995. 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Article 28: 2.India. Indian Constitution. Article 243W: a, i.International Energy Agency (IEA). 2024. Empowering Urban Energy Transitions: Smart Cities and Smart Grids. https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/00f7d520-d517-473d-b357-5adb43c4a57e/EmpoweringUrbanEnergyTransitions.pdf.Mello, Patricia Perrone Campos. 2023. “O Direito Humano ao Meio Ambiente na Visão do STF: O Papel da Corte no Enfrentamento da Crise Climática.” Revista da AGU 22 (4): 263. http://dx.doi.org/10.25109/2525-328X.v.22.n.04.2023.3408.NCEI. 2024. Global Climate Report. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). https://ncei.noaa.gov/.Porto, Antonio Jose Maristrello et al. 2016. “Reflexões Sobre a Dependência Mineral em Mariana.” In Depois da Lama: Mariana e as Consequências de um Desastre Construído, edited by Joaquim Falcão, Antonio José Maristrello Porto, and Paulo Augusto Franco. Letramento.Rawls, John. 1999. A Theory of Justice.Robertson, Roland. “Glocalization: Time-space and Homogeneity-heterogeneity.” In Global Modernities, edited by Featherstone, M., S. Lash, and R. Robertson. Sage Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446250563.Robinson, Mary. 2018. Climate Justice: Hope, Resilience, and the Fight for a Sustainable Future. Bloomsbury Publishing.https://valor.globo.com/eu-e/noticia/2021/08/06/joaquim-falcao-quem-e-o-dono-da-justica-no-brasil.ghtmlhttps://valor.globo.com/eu-e/noticia/2021/08/06/joaquim-falcao-quem-e-o-dono-da-justica-no-brasil.ghtmlhttps://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/00f7d520-d517-473d-b357-5adb43c4a57e/EmpoweringUrbanEnergyTransitions.pdfhttps://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/00f7d520-d517-473d-b357-5adb43c4a57e/EmpoweringUrbanEnergyTransitions.pdfhttps://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/00f7d520-d517-473d-b357-5adb43c4a57e/EmpoweringUrbanEnergyTransitions.pdfhttp://dx.doi.org/10.25109/2525-328X.v.22.n.04.2023.3408http://dx.doi.org/10.25109/2525-328X.v.22.n.04.2023.3408https://ncei.noaa.gov/https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446250563https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446250563144 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and PoliticsSchmidt, Gustavo. 2018. Arbitragem na Administração Pública. Juruá Editora.Setzer, Joana, and Catherine Higham. 2023. Global Trends in Climate Change Litigation: 2023 Snapshot. Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment and Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science. https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Global_trends_in_climate_change_litigation_2023_snapshot.pdf.Silva, Guilherme Rodrigues Soares da. 2023. Mudanças Climáticas e Governança Local em Redes: Uma Análise Empírica dos Municípios Brasileiros. Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV), December: 49. https://hdl.handle.net/10438/34944.U20 Ahmedabad. 2023. “U20 2023 Communiqué.” U20 Ahmedabad. https://www.urban20.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/2023-Final-U20-Communique.pdf.Unger, Roberto Mangabeira. 2008. “Projeto Amazônia – Esboço de uma Proposta.” Revista A Defesa Nacional 94 (811): 4–5.Vargas, Daniel. 2017. “Theories of Justice: Syllabus of a Seminary.” Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV).Whytock, Christopher, and Marcus S. Quintanilla. 2011. “The New Multipolarity in Transnational Litigation: Foreign Courts, Foreign Judgments, and Foreign Law.” Southwestern Journal of International Law 18: 38–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1874370.World Justice Project (WJP). 2023. Rule of Law Index 2023. WJP: 13.https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Global_trends_in_climate_change_litigation_2023_snapshot.pdfhttps://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Global_trends_in_climate_change_litigation_2023_snapshot.pdfhttps://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Global_trends_in_climate_change_litigation_2023_snapshot.pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/10438/34944https://hdl.handle.net/10438/34944https://www.urban20.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/2023-Final-U20-Communique.pdfhttps://www.urban20.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/2023-Final-U20-Communique.pdfhttp://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1874370145146146Global Paths to ImpactSection 21481.How the Cidade Maravilhosa Became More Marvelous, Lessons for the G20Eugénie L. BirchAs the G20 heads of state gather in Rio de Janeiro, these high-level visitors and their entourages will likely marvel at the city’s natural beauty, travel on its varied transport systems, enjoy its cultural assets–including the luminous Museum of Tomorrow–, and maybe even sneak a peek at samba school dancers preparing for Carnaval. They will probably remember Rio as the host of the 2016 Summer Olympics. And they will see a great city that lives up to its name, “Cidade Maravilhosa.” But will they ask, “How did Rio become so great?” Will they realize that its greatness results from the nation’s enabling conscious and intentional leadership having access to funding to meet the challenges and seizing the opportunities that make cities great—a phenomenon that also makes their parent nations great?Will they make the connection from last year’s G20 declaration, One Earth, One Family, One Future which called for “enhanced mobilization of finances and efficient use of existing resources to 150 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsmake the cities of tomorrow inclusive, resilient and sustainable” and, in a word, great? (India 2023, 18). They can refer to the OECD report, Financing Cities of Tomorrow (2023), for guidance, but they might be better served by studying the city before them: Rio, it has much to tell them.Great cities become great by design. Great cities are the work of heroic leaders who drive transformative projects and find ways to pay for them. Great cities are dynamic. Great cities are reinvented. The world knows how, when, and why some cities have become great over time because they have biographers. David Pinkney identified key qualities in Napoleon III and theRebuilding of Paris (1958) as did Jan Morris in Venice (1960); Carl Schorske in Fin-de-Siecle Vienna: Politics and Culture (1980); Robert Hughes in Barcelona (1992); Geert Mak in Amsterdam (1995); Peter Ackroyd in London (2000); Simon Sebag Montefiore in Jerusalem (2011); and, most recently, Luke Stegemann in Madrid (2024).In fact, some cities command multiple biographers. Take New York, for example. Its reinvention story started with American historian Robert Albion’s The Rise of the New York Port 1815–1860 (1939) and has gone forward to economist Edward Glaeser’s Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier and Happier (2012). He observed: “being headed for the trash heap of history in the 1970s,” the Big Apple’s entrepreneurial mayors not only enhanced the advantages of the city’s density, transportation efficiencies, and education but also made living in the city “fun.”Rio de Janeiro joins the list of multiple biographers. To name a few: Norma Evenson’s Two Brazilian Capitals (1973) focused on design; Beatriz Jaguaribe’s Rio de Janeiro: Urban Life Through 151How the Cidade Maravilhosa Became More Marvelous, Lessons for the G20the Eyes of the City (2014) offered a sociologist’s view; Daryle Williams, Amy Chazkel and Paulo Knauss’s Rio de Janeiro Reader: History, Culture, Politics (2016) captured the city’s 450-year history; while Luis Cesar de Queiroz Ribeiro’s Urban Transformations in Rio de Janeiro (2017) and Janice Perlman’s sequence, The Myth of Marginality: Urban Poverty and Politics in Rio de Janeiro (1980) and Favela: Decades of Living on the Edge (2010), shared the story at different geographic scales—from the metro to the neighborhood.However, missing from Rio’s list is an updated tale of the city’s reinvention. Such a story takes Rio from the 1960s to the present, emphasizing how it serves as an example for other places in the rapidly urbanizing world. It shows how Rio has had its share of shocks: the loss of status as the country’s political capital in 1960 and subsequent economic and environmental difficulties (e.g. bankruptcy in 1988, drug-oriented crime, unrest and hyper-inflation in the 1990s, landslides, and floods in 2010, 2011, and others). Yet, in the past decades, it has become a new, 21st-century Rio, significantly reinvented, not perfect, but great.This chapter begins to tell the story. It starts by outlining how the city absorbed massive population growth. It then provides a cameo of some transformative projects that enhanced its assets and addressed perceived liabilities. In a parallel effort, it explores Rio’s becoming an in-demand global center. The next topic illustrates the innovative governmental and municipal financing capacities used to support Rio’s greatness. Finally, it ends with three lessons for those who want to make their cities great.152 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and PoliticsAbsorbing Three Million Residents in Two GenerationsFew cities can successfully absorb massive population growth as has Rio. Between 1960 and 2020, some 3.4 million people moved into the city, with the population peaking at 6.7 million in 2022 (see Table 1).Population Change Rio City and Metropolitan AreaYear Rio City Change Change (%)Rio MetroMetro GrowthChange (%)Rio City % of Metro1960 3,281,908 NA NA NA NA1970 4,251,918 970,010 30% NA NA NA NA1980 5,090,723 838,805 20% 8,783,870 3,693,147 NA NA1990 5,487,346 396,623 8% 9,697,487 4,210,141 14% 58%2000 5,857,904 370,558 7% 11,306,768 5,448,864 29% 57%2010 6,320,446 462,542 8% 12,378,884 6,058,438 11% 52%2020 6,747,815 427,369 7% 13,458,075 6,710,260 11% 51%2022 6,211,223 (536,592) -8% 13,634,274 7,423,051 11% 50%Table 1. Population Change Rio City and Metropolitan Area Source: IBGE.Over time, Rio has maintained a central position in its rapidly growing metro—more than 13 million in 2022. Of note is the half million population loss between 2020 and 2022, likely attributed to the suburban-like growth of the metropolitan area along with economic advances in surrounding cities in the state (see Figure 1).153How the Cidade Maravilhosa Became More Marvelous, Lessons for the G20Figure 1. Comparative Growth Rates Rio City and Rio Metro 1980–2022�Source: IBGE.Rio’s growth occurred as Brasil was rapidly urbanizing: the country went from 46 percent to 66 percent urban between 1960 and 1980 and continued this trajectory, moving to 80 percent urban in 2000, and by 2020 some 87 percent of its population lived in cities. In 1960, São Paulo and Rio had populations of 3+ million—in subsequent years, both continued to grow along with other Brazilian cities. Some 65 percent of Rio’s growth came from internal migration, not a natural increase (see Table 2).-10%-5%0%5%10%15%20%25%30%35%1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2022Rio City % Change Rio Metro % Change154 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and PoliticsGrowth of Brasil’s Ten Most Populous Cities 1960–20201960 1980 2000 2020São Paulo 3,781,446 8,943,226 10,434,252 12,325,232Metro 22mRio de Janeiro 3,281,908 5,090,723 5,857,904 6,747,815Metro 13mBrasília 1,176,908 2,051,146 3,055,149Metro 4.6mSalvador 649,453 1,007,195 2,440,828 2,886,698Metro 3.9mFortaleza 514,818 1,308,919 2,141,402 2,686,612Metro 4mBelo Horizonte 693,328 1,780,839 2,238,526 2,521,564Metro 5mManaus 622,723 922,477 1,347,590 2,219,580Metro 2.7mCuritiba 356,830 1,025,079 1,586,848 1,948,626Metro 2.6Recife 788,336 1,203,899 1,422,905 1,653,461Metro 4mGoiânia 148,000 707,000 1,085,199 1,536,097Metro 2.5Table 2. Growth of Brasil’s Ten Most Populous Cities 1960–2020 Source: IBGE.Brasil’s national development policies focusing on industrialization stimulated Rio’s (and other cities’) rural-to-urban migration. However, Rio was unprepared for the newcomers who then settled in informal settlements–or, as they are called in Rio, favelas–with numbers so high that many failed to find employment in the formal economy (Pino 1997). While some favelas in Rio predate the 1960s growth spurt (e.g., Providencia [1898] and Rocinha [1933]), most did not. As they came, they occupied the interstitial areas of the hilly city. By 1970, Rio would have an estimated 500 favelas; in 155How the Cidade Maravilhosa Became More Marvelous, Lessons for the G201980, more than 600; and today, about 1,000 (CatComm n.d.). Rio’s favela population grew more rapidly than the overall one. For example, between 1980 and 1990, the number of favela residents increased 41 percent, and the city increased 8 percent. From 1990–2000, favelas grew 24 percent while the overall rate was 7 percent (O’Hare and Barke 2002).Non-favela growth occurred along and immediately behind the city’s extensive waterfront. Over time, densification accompanied the population increases in every neighborhood, likely heightened by city investments in infrastructure (e.g., the metro starting in the 1970s) and open space amenities (e.g., Flamengo Park and Copacabana). Intense real estate development yielded high-rise apartments to accommodate the city’s middle- and upper-income residents, while self-help construction would transform fragile wooden shacks into more substantial brick and cinder block lodging in the favelas.Rio’s surge in population growth took place against a background of Brasil’s dramatic political and economic turmoil as the country pursued various development policies. Between 1950 and 1964, Brasil had eight presidents, with only two (Juscelino Kubitschek [1956–61] and João Goulart [1961–64]) serving more than two years. A military coup in 1964 led to years of martial rule, ending in 1985. Runaway inflation, rising from 30.5% in 1960 to 79.9% in 1963 and 92.1% in 1964, contributed to the instability, a situation that would prevail to the early 1970s and re-occur from 1985–1994.As the country swung from democracy to authoritarianism and back to democracy, Rio also experienced major changes beyond population growth.A major shock for Rio occurred in 1960 when President Kubitschek 156 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsrelocated the capital to Brasília. Rio then became its own state, Guanabara. This 564 square mile area existed for 15 years, overseen by three governors: Carlos Lacerda (1960–1965), Francisco Negrão de Lima (1965–1971), and Antônio de Pádua Chagas Freitas (1971–1975) who collectively pursued development policies focused on modernization. They attempted to provide basic infrastructure (the metro, sewer, and water) but could barely keep up with the population growth. They sought to eradicate favelas by moving the population to state-built housing settlements on the periphery of the city–but this strategy was politically unpopular and ultimately unsuccessful (Benmergui 2022).After losing the capital status, Rio went into decline while its sister city, São Paulo, overtook it demographically. In 1950, the two cities had nearly equal numbers of residents (2.3 million in Rio and 2.1 million in São Paulo). In 1960, São Paulo grew a bit faster, surpassing Rio by only half a million people. However, between 1960 and 1970, São Paulo’s 55 percent growth rate yielded 5.9 million people while Rio, struggling to reinvent itself, experienced a lower growth rate (30 percent) that resulted in a 4.3 million population.From the mid-1970s through the 1980s, Rio was the beneficiary of important administrative restructuring. In 1975, the military government–with the agreement of the two states’ governors–dissolved Guanabara and the neighboring Rio de Janeiro State. It reconstituted a new Rio de Janeiro State (area of 17,000 square miles), designating Rio de Janeiro as its capital with a mayor appointed by the state governor. In the following years, the 21-year military government gradually transitioned to democratic rule and, in 1982, provided for the popular election of mayors. It relinquished power in 1985. By 1988, the country had a new constitution, 157How the Cidade Maravilhosa Became More Marvelous, Lessons for the G20establishing it as a federal republic. Notably, the constitution’s strong decentralization provisions delineated state and municipal powers.For cities, it specified the mayoral election process and term, city council size, and such competencies as the ability to levy taxes, regulate urban land and its development, and provide key services including mass transportation, elementary education, and health services. It mandated that large cities (more than 20,000 population) develop and regularly revise master plans (plano diretor) that had the force of law regarding land use. Rio complied with this directive. Of note, its 1993 master plan explicitly expressed a growth strategy focused on sports and culture (Silvestre 2012).Transforming Rio through Major Projects: A Cameo From 1960 to the present, Rio has been under a constant state of reinvention, overseen by leaders who intentionally focused on enhancing the city’s assets and addressing its liabilities. Most importantly, Rio’s leaders engaged in the conscious positioning of the city as a global center and found inventive ways to do it. While they viewed sports as critically important to this effort, they also encouraged other means—based on culture, multilateralism, and commerce (business and industry in association with academia)—to bring attention to the city.Enhancing Assets With its natural beauty, location, and climate, natural features and monuments have defined Rio’s role as Latin America’s most popular tourist attraction. For decades the city’s leadership has 158 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsworked to protect and enhance its major assets: the beaches (e.g. Copacabana, Ipanema, and later Barra da Tijuca); open spaces (e.g. landfill-constructed Flamengo Park [1965]; and Sugar Loaf Mountain, reached by cable car [renewed in 2009]); and well-conserved monuments (e.g. Corcovado’s nearly 100-year-old Christ the Redeemer, located within the city’s 15 square miles of Tijuca National Park with its renowned 54 acres Botanical Garden [1808]).Copacabana, for instance, offers an example of how Rio’s city and state leaders have consciously magnified its tourist attractions (Hoogendoorn et al. 2021). A few low-scale buildings and village streets bordered the beach at the turn of the 20th century, no seaside boulevard existed, and access from the center was limited. In the late 19th century, the city opened the Túnel Velho (1892) and Túnel Novo (1906) that linked to the historic center, leading real estate investors to develop the newly attractive sites as streetcar, later buses and, still later, metro operators extended lines from the center. As part of a larger beautification effort of Francisco Pereira Passos (mayor from 1902–1906), a pioneer in promoting Rio as a global center, the city added the first version of the Avenida Atlântica (1906) in front of the famous Copacabana Palace (opened 1923).Copacabana Beach, in the late 1950s and 1960s, was 55 meters wide and was now bordered by high-rise apartments (height restricted through a 1937 zoning ordinance). A congested Avenida Atlântica ran along the side, and with some 3.5 million cubic feet of sand added between 1970 and 1972, the beach spanned 90 meters, and the Avenida Atlântica became a parkway bordered by the memorable Copacabana Promenade (1970). Designed by landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx, the promenade featured an artistic version of the Portuguese traditional calçada, a paving design first used 159How the Cidade Maravilhosa Became More Marvelous, Lessons for the G20in Rossio Square in central Lisbon and in the earlier versions of the Avenida Atlântica in Rio. As part of this project, the city built another tunnel above Túnel Velho, increasing access to Copacabana, and thus stimulating real estate development—the area’s population peaked at 200,000 (Godfrey 2012).Other than maintenance and regulation of public events, the city did little to the beach between the 1970s and the late 1980s. In 1990, however, the city promulgated a program, called Rio-Orla, to monetize, beautify and order the waterfront. Rio had a reason to undertake this effort because it had declared bankruptcy in 1988 (Simons 1988). The fortuitous approval of the nation’s 1988 Constitution offered a rescue as it gave cities new powers including jurisdiction over public space. Rio’s mayor seized the opportunity through the Orla Rio program, ordering the removal of unlicensed vendors and replacing them with regulated concessions. Within two years, Rio replaced 525 ragtag beachfront vendors, requiring the concessionaires to provide permanent kiosks supplied with water, electricity, telephone, and sewer located within a restricted area that left room for a bike path without “invading” the beach (Souza 2016).A few years later, the Olympics planners chose Copacabana as the site for a temporary beach volleyball stadium. With its spectacular view of the sea, observers remarked, “As sporting communions go it takes some beating—sun, sea, sand, and beach volleyball on Brasil’s Copacabana in an open-air, 12,000-seater arena just meters from the waves crashing onto Rio de Janeiro’s golden shore,” said one as another declared: “Beach volleyball typically boasts one of the most scenic venues at each Olympics, especially Sydney and London—and Rio might contend for the best ever” (McGowan 2016; Ackerman 2016).160 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and PoliticsCopacabana was also featured in Rio’s efforts to deal with sanitation and storm sewers. Along with the 1970s beach refurbishment, the city constructed a large (5.5 m tall, 5 m wide) interceptor tunnel under the widenedAvenida Atlântica to capture runoff from the surrounding hilly areas as part of a 9 km long sewer system to discharge at an ocean outfall in neighboring Ipanema beach. Yet, with ongoing population growth, managing sewers was challenging in the subsequent years. After the merger of Guanabara and Rio de Janeiro state, water and sewer service became the responsibility of a newly created Rio de Janeiro State Water and Sewage Company (CEDAE), an entity that struggled for decades to meet the demand for clean drinking water and sewer treatment. In fact, during the 2016 Olympics, Copacabana, the site for the triathlon and open water swimming, was subject to numerous news reports about its pollution and unsafe competition. Overall, Rio was unable to meet an Olympic pledge to provide water and sanitation services to 80 percent of the city’s population by 2016. By 2021, strapped for cash and unable to perform its functions, CEDAE auctioned sewer concessions to private sector entities based in Singapore and Canada, and some of the proceeds flowed to Rio’s municipal budget (Biller 2021; World Bank 2022).To reinforce the necessity of enhancing other assets, Rio’s leaders worked with the state and federal governments to secure a highly sought-after world heritage site designation from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The nation’s Institute of the National Historical and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN) initiated the nomination in 2009, within two years, the mayor submitted the key supporting documents, including the Master Plan for the Sustainable Urban Development of the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro (City of Rio de Janeiro 2011). 161How the Cidade Maravilhosa Became More Marvelous, Lessons for the G20The plan outlined management plans for the area containing the natural features (7,300 hectares) and a large buffer zone (8,600 hectares)—some 13 percent of the city’s land area. The buffer zone included several densely settled neighborhoods having almost half a million residents (IPHAN 2014). By 2016, the multi-year process was successful. This recognition would support the city’s tourist attractions and solidify the public stewardship of natural areas in the face of development pressures from the real estate sector.In recent decades, mayors Cesar Maia (1993–1997; 2001–2009), Luiz Paulo Conde (1997–2001), and Eduardo Paes (2009–2013; 2013–2017; 2021–2024) focused on another set of assets, the city’s cultural amenities. They followed along the lines of earlier government leaders who had built the Municipal Theater (1909), National Library (1910), National Museum of Fine Arts (1938), and Museum of Modern Art (1955). In 2003, Maia commissioned the construction of the Cidade das Artes, a performing arts center in the fast-growing Barra da Tijuca neighborhood. Despite having a troubled history related to funding, it subsequently opened in 2013 as the largest modern concert hall in Latin America. With the samba placed on UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage in 2005 and flourishing in Rio’s Carnaval, both Maia and Paes would invest in supportive facilities: Maia funded the Cidade do Samba (2006) home to several schools, and Paes funded the expansion of the Sambódromo (2012), a nearly half-mile parade ground accommodating 90,000 spectators.After a failed attempt to attract a branch of New York City’s Guggenheim Museum to Rio in 2005, Maia and later Paes remained committed to the use of culture in their quest to reinvent the city. The result was the addition of two architecturally dazzling 162 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsmuseums to the city’s inventory. The first, the Rio Museum of Art (2013), featured the adaptive reuse of three buildings (a former port inspector’s headquarters [Dom João VI Palace from 1910], a former central bus station, and a police hospital from the 1940s). The second, the Museum of Tomorrow (2015), illustrated sustainable design through its use of solar energy and other devices. A recent evaluation of the museums concluded that they were successful in attracting local and tourist audiences and, in fact, the Museum of Tomorrow had become an “icon … being a symbol of Rio de Janeiro and object of countless shared images of the city… [and] is aligned with the process of city branding, which implies selling the image of the city as ‘a good destination’ for investment and tourism, generating symbolic and economic gains” (Corrêa et al. 2022).The two new museums anchored the city’s 1,200+ acre Porto Maravilha urban redevelopment of the city’s port and its surrounds, an area long contemplated for revitalization (World Bank 2020). Developable land being limited, Rio’s once thriving port was rendered obsolete by technological advances in shipping accelerated high vacancy rates. Inadequate infrastructure and isolation from the waterfront by a two-mile elevated highway, the Perimetral (1950–78), were barriers to any spontaneous private sector investment. Rio’s winning the Olympic bid in 2009 gave impetus to the project, with the city placing the communications center there.1Some 28,000 people lived in the port area that the city believed could accommodate 300,000 if redeveloped according to its $ 2.8 billion regeneration plan. PORAM, the plan, envisioned a special mixed-use community that combined existing and new residences, 1. The role of convenings in the city’s reinvention will be discussed in a later section as will the innovative financing scheme employed for the project.163How the Cidade Maravilhosa Became More Marvelous, Lessons for the G20traditional and new-age businesses, and local and global arts and culture. Of note, in addition to building the new museums and making land available for modern office buildings, the city actively protected local character. For example, upon hearing of the eviction of more than 50 artists from a derelict factory they had transformed into studios, Mayor Paes expropriated the building, putting it under city ownership and retaining its function (Clarke 2012). A key piece of PORAM was the massive reconfiguration of the area’s infrastructure, including dismantling the Perimetral and replacing it with a 17-mile light rail, a two-mile promenade for bikes and pedestrians, and five miles of tunnels as well as water and sanitation infrastructure, electricity, gas, telecommunications, and public lighting (World Bank 2020).Addressing Perceived LiabilitiesWhile Rio engaged with such new projects as the Porto Maravilha, it also began to address what might be called a perceived liability, its massive number of favelas within but isolated in the city due to their lack of basic public services (water, sanitation, police, and fire protection), existence without legal tenure, and dependence on informal employment. The proliferation of favelas during Rio’s explosive growth and beyond had yielded to a city with some 23 percent of its population living in these areas in the late 20th century.In the 1960s, as the favela populations “invaded” public and private land, the city and state embarked on forcible eviction, clearance, and relocation strategies. Between 1960 and 1973, the government removed some 175,000 people living in favelas (Bruma 2016), resettling them in newly laid out districts at the edge of the city. The City of God (“Cidade de Deus” or CDD), made world-famous due 164 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsto an award-winning film based on it, is an example. Developed on a 175-acre site for some 3,000+ homes in 1965, the designers plotted a gridded street pattern with five-acre blocks accommodating 144 dwellings. Over the years, newcomers occupied vacant areas at the CDD’s periphery, and public services, especially policing, declined, resulting in the proliferation of drug-related crime and violence, making the “ideal” settlementnotorious for its failure.The city’s approach to favelas changed dramatically in the succeeding decades. Funded by some $ 600 million over thirteen years by loans from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and city funds, Rio embarked on the first phase of the Favela-Bairro project (1994–2000) in 88 favelas, installing infrastructure (water, sewer, lighting), advancing public services (health, garbage collection, and education) and building recreational spaces while incorporating significant resident participation in all operations (IDB 1999; Cabral 2014).In the second phase (2000-2008), the city focused on 70 favelas, continuing the infrastructure work and adding employment training for youth and adults, slope protection, and reforestation (Libertun de Duren and Rivas 2020). All observers viewed this upgrading program as successful in the near term (Gewertz 2000). However, a later evaluation reported deterioration in the services, leading to queries about whether the program’s expense ($ 4,000/per household) yielded sufficient benefits (Libertun de Duren and Rivas 2021). Others held that reasons for the decline could be found in population growth (between 2000–2010 favela population increased 24 percent while the city grew 3.4 percent), lack of maintenance on the part of the city and residents, and vandalism and crime, not program deficiencies (Libertun de Duren and Rivas 2020).165How the Cidade Maravilhosa Became More Marvelous, Lessons for the G20The city initiated a third upgrading program with IDB in 2010, renamed the Popular Settlement Urbanization Program which continued along the same lines as the Favela-Bairro project—$ 300 million divided between the IDB loan and city revenues. Its 2020 closing assessment reported that 9,000 households received title to their land through the program (IDB 2020).In 2008, the state joined the city in addressing favela issues, focusing on crime. In preparation for the 2016 Olympics, it initiated a policing program called UPP (“Programa de Unidade Pacificadora”), covering 196 favelas inhabited by some 700,000 people (Azzi 2020). Under the program, labeled “proximity policing,” high-security police forces first cleared a favela of drug gangs then a second force followed to establish permanent stations. Between 2008 and 2016, the program, although controversial, resulted in a 27 percent reduction in homicides as well as decreases in thefts (Azzi 2020).When updating the city’s master plan in 2023, Rio introduced two new elements: dedicating a chapter to favelas and including a section on community land trusts (CLT), a provision that allows a non-profit organization to own, develop, and manage land for affordable housing and associated services, keeping title in perpetuity (Papamanousakis and Fidalgo 2024). The innovative CLT concept requires complicated approval processes and, as yet, has not been tested.Rio as an In-Demand Global CenterWhile many observers point to Rio’s hosting of the FIFA World Cup (2014) and Olympics (2016) as the turning points that made the city a global center so important that it would be the natural host 166 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsfor the G20, they are mistaken. Clearly, accommodating two major sports events was critically successful in demonstrating the city’s capacities, but Rio built this accomplishment on a strong earlier record of holding multiple and varied visitor-attracting events in addition to sports.Among them were UN-based international meetings, religious pilgrimages, massive rock concerts, Carnaval, and emerging new economy convenings as listed in Table 3.Rio Hosts Global EventsYear Date Event # Of People1950 June 24–July 16 FIFA World Cup 200,000 spectators1990 April 20–21 Paul McCartney* 180,000 attendees1992 June 3–14 Earth Summit 25,000–30,000 attendees2007 July 13–29 Pan Am Games 90,000 attendees at the opening, and 5,600 athletes2010 March 22–26 World Urban Forum 15,000 attendees2011 July 15–24 Military Games 4,900 athletes2012 February 7 Sambódromo renewed**2012 June 13–22 Rio+20 45,000 attendees2013 July 23–28 World Youth Day 3 million visitors2014 June 12–July 13 FIFA World Cup 32 teams and 1 million visitors2016 August 5–21 Summer Olympics Games 11,000 athletes and 7.5 million visitors2024 April 15–18 Web Summit*** 35,0002024 September 13–22 Rock in Rio**** 700,0002024 November 18–19 G20Table 3. Rio Hosts Global Events Source: Author. *Representative of several massive concerts. ** Emblematic of public space dedicated to the annual four-day festival. *** An example of the many trade events that showcase the city’s new economies; Web Summit 2023 in Rio was the first one held in Latin America. **** Rock in Rio has occurred every two years since its founding in 1985 (with a hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic). 167How the Cidade Maravilhosa Became More Marvelous, Lessons for the G20Perhaps Rio’s hosting of the FIFA World Cup in 1950 was the inspiration for the city’s late 20th-century reinvention policy focusing on sports. For Brasil, the event represented more than sponsoring a competition. The country that had joined the Allies in World War Two was ready to claim a more important position in global affairs. Thus, the 1950 World Cup would serve as a platform for not only being the first match since 1938 but also being a means for the country to be perceived as an important world leader (Merlo 2015). Accordingly, the state built the world’s largest stadium, the Maracanã, accommodating 200,000 spectators.2In the early 1990s, Rio’s leaders seriously considered bidding for the Olympics. They studied how Barcelona had used the 1992 Olympics to reinvent their city and formed a multilevel bid committee that hoped to emulate the Spanish experience. However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) thought otherwise, turning down Rio’s two bids in 1995–96 and again in 2003–2004. Not to be defeated, Rio set about showing the IOC that it was up to the job by securing the Pan American Games for 2007.They used the Pan American Games to demonstrate Rio’s facilities and capacity to handle large events—the games brought 5,600 athletes from 42 countries to compete in 38 sports. Rio sized the sports facilities built for the 2007 games according to Olympic standards. When submitting what would be a successful bid in 2009, the city promised to use the Olympics to transform key infrastructure and public facilities as Barcelona had. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva attended the decisive IOC meeting, guaranteeing national financial support—some $ 17 billion for transportation improvements. The 2. Over the years, the Maracanã would attract all sorts of crowds: it rang with the voices of Frank Sinatra, Paul McCartney, Tina Turner, Madonna, Sting and others, Pelé would kick his 1,000 goal and over time the pope would celebrate three masses there.168 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsstate also chipped in several million dollars as the city outlined its plans to improve several existing facilities as well as build new ones and provide transportation for the anticipated crowds (Silvestre 2012). In 2011, to demonstrate progress, Rio hosted the Military Games accommodating nearly 5,000 competitors who came from 108 countries to participate in 20 sports.As the recently released Legacy of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games: Economic Impacts (Da Mata and Sampaio 2024) reported, the city fulfilled many of its promises to the IOC. The improvements included the Porto Maravilha regeneration project described earlier. They also encompassed major investments in transportation (e.g. Metro line 4, BRT expansion and greening, roads and tunnels), water (e.g. Seropédica Waste Treatment Center, environmental recovery of Guanabara Bay, Jacarepaguá Basin, and Lagoon Complex), and in athletic facilities, living arrangements,and associated cultural and educational legacy projects (e.g. Olympic Park and Village, the Sambódromo). Rio welcomed some 7.5 million people to the city itself while many more witnessed the events via television—some 2.5 billion people watched the opening ceremony (IOC 2017), a phenomenon that reinforced the city’s reputation around the world.Beyond the Olympics, Rio hosted other visitor-attracting events to reinforce its claim to be an in-demand global center. The UN-sponsored 1992 Earth Summit and the 2012 Rio+20, which set the scene for today’s global climate change campaigns, are examples. At the 1992 conference, some 25,000 civil society advocates assembled in forums in central Rio locales like Flamengo Park while the officials met farther away in Riocentro, the city’s convention center built in 1977 and renovated for the 2016 Olympics. Twenty years later, Rio+20 had become a megaconference. The 190 official 169How the Cidade Maravilhosa Became More Marvelous, Lessons for the G20delegates still met in Riocentro, but 45–50,000 civil society attendees participated in the People’s Summit, the Business Action for Sustainable Development Conference, 4,000 side events (only 500 at Riocentro) and/or marched through Rio’s downtown streets in one of 23 demonstrations (Ivanova 2013).Other events in the roster before and after the Olympics include UN Habitat’s Fifth World Urban Forum (2010) which brought 15,000 urbanists to meet in re-conditioned warehouses in the port district; the World Youth Day in 2013 that attracted 320,000 young Catholics to the city and culminated in a mass celebrated by Pope Francis on Copacabana Beach before an estimated three million attendees (Ottaro 2013). And in the popular music world, Rio has been the home of Rock in Rio, a four-day concert spree held biennially since 1985. The September 2024 edition attracted 700,000 attendees. Further, the famed four-day Carnaval that plays out throughout the city attracted some two million spectators and participants in 2024, and trade shows like the Web Summit whose organizers picked Rio as a “tech-hot” city joining Hong Kong, Dublin, Doha, and Toronto, assembled 35,000 attendees for its meeting in April 2024.Not to be forgotten on the account of Rio’s being a global center is its participation in the business side of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), the world’s 7th largest economy in 2024. While São Paulo dominates as a general business center, Rio nevertheless plays a critical role by serving as headquarters for some of the country’s highest-value companies. Vale ($ 90 billion in assets, a multinational mining conglomerate) and Petrobras ($ 202 billion in revenues, an energy business) are headquartered in the city (along with Shell, Chevron, and Total). Rio is also the headquarters of Grupo Global, Latin America’s largest media company. Of note, the 170 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsheadquarters function of the mining interests has grown recently due to Brasil’s huge supply of critical minerals (lithium, nickel, graphite, manganese, copper, and niobium) needed for the energy transition (Vásquez 2024).Finally, Rio’s leaders have created specialized educational and industrial districts that have supported the city’s reinvention. Home to nine top public and private universities, the 69,000-student body Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), whose main campus is on the landfilled Ilha do Fundão (1948–51), is an example of the type of the high performing research institution with associated technology parks found in the world’s global centers. Further, Rio’s research centers account for 17 percent of the country’s scientific output (World Bank 2022, 5).Rio has concentrated on an important industry in the Santa Cruz industrial district. This is the home of the Ternium steel company (founded in 2010, formerly the ThyssenKrupp Companhia Siderúrgica do Atlântico [TKCSA]) that produces five million tons of steel plate annually. It employs 8,000 people and has its own combined heat-to-energy power plant and its own deep-water port. While it has had a troubled environmental history, in March 2024, its Luxembourg owners announced the inauguration of a small year-long industrial symbiosis project in partnership with the Danish Kalundborg Symbiosis, Rio’s Greenova Hub, and Aedin, the industrial districts business association (CREA 2024; Aedin 2024). The area is so important that it merited a campaign visit by current mayor Eduardo Paes in August 2024. An important aspect in this account of Rio’s positioning is how it plays into Brasil’s historic and ongoing quest for recognition as a global leader. Brasil has long sought representation in the world’s 171How the Cidade Maravilhosa Became More Marvelous, Lessons for the G20formal organizations—the United Nations (UN), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and World Bank, but these efforts have not come to fruition. However, Brasil has gained traction in informal organizations—the BRICS and G20, as indicated by its leading role in the BRICs, assuming the BRICS presidency in 2025 and hosting the G20 in 2024 (Stuenkel 2022). This success in the informal areas has secured other leadership positions for Brasil, including hosting the Clean Energy Ministerial (October 2024) and COP30 (2025). When Rio grabs the world’s attention through its various convenings, it heightens Brasil’s global reputation.Innovative Governance and FinanceLeading the reinvention of a city of more than six million demands vision, responsive governance, efficient management, and sophisticated financial expertise. Brasil’s 1988 Constitution provided the enabling environment that, in the 1990s through the first decades of the 2000s, allowed Rio’s talented leaders, especially its nimble mayors, to employ and enhance municipal planning and budgetary power. They have been able to engage multilevel government support and work with civil society and private sector partnerships at home and around the globe to target, execute, and operate critical investments in the country’s and the city’s challenging economic and political environment.Three interrelated illustrations of the city’s agility in connecting policy, programs, and finance effectively underline the leaders’ intentional reinvention of Rio, living up to its name as the Cidade Maravilhosa. They are financing the Porto Maravilha regeneration project (2009 to present), creating the Operations Center (2010 172 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsto present), and implementing the climate action plan (2021 to present). They encompass activities related to hosting the first South American Olympics (2016) and to those taking place in the post-Olympic/post-COVID-19 period (2021). In little more than a decade, the city transferred its attention from accommodating 7.5 million athletes and tourists to dealing with epidemic-caused financial stress and climate change. These efforts, built on the important but fragmented work of previous decades described earlier in this chapter, have enabled Mayor Eduardo Paes to make the marvelous city more marvelous through dexterity, acumen, and imagination.Financing the Porto Maravilha Regeneration ProjectTo implement the Porto Maravilha regeneration project, the city developed administrative structures and innovative financial instruments. It created an Urban Consortium Operation (UCO) establishing development rights (or Certificates of Additional Construction [CEPACs]) whose proceeds had to be used for regeneration. The city also established the Companhia de Desenvolvimento Urbana da Região do Porto do Rio de Janeiro (CDURP)—recently renamed Companhia Carioca de Parcerias e Investimentos (CCPar)—a special purpose vehicle, responsible for overseeing the CEPACs sales and engaging in public-private partnerships (PPP) for the executionof projects. Between 2011 and 2013 CDURP raised nearly $ 2 billion through the CEPACs auctions (World Bank 2020; Silvestre 2022), a sum that allowed the city to complete 85 percent of its planned infrastructure investments by 2016 (World Bank 2020). And, in less than a decade, developers who purchased the CEPACs had built some 2,089,963 square feet 173How the Cidade Maravilhosa Became More Marvelous, Lessons for the G20of Class A office buildings. CCPar also auctioned off a derelict gas storage site to Flamengo, one of the football clubs of the city, for a new stadium to be developed by 2029. Moreover, plans were in the works to market a section of the area as “Maravalley” (a play on the US’s Silicon Valley) intended to attract the tech industry as well as provide space for an undergraduate degree program offered by Rio’s highly regarded Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA) (SiiLA News 2023; Rial 2024).As the regeneration program pursued its goal of connecting the port and downtown, the city instituted Reviver Centro, a tax relief and development rights program to encourage residential development in the center. Not only does the program provide multi-year exemptions from several real estate taxes, but it also permits developers who convert or build residential to construct the same amount for market housing or 150 percent of the total for social housing in other designated areas of the city. Due to the various incentives, private developers are finding the center and Porto Maravilha region attractive. Valor, Rio’s business journal, reported that three important firms, AVO, Cury, and Encamp expected to build 10,200 new units in the next two years.Creating the Operations CenterIn April 2010, Rio faced a huge storm that dropped 11 inches of rain in 24 hours wreaking havoc in the city: massive landslides killing 250 and displacing 10,000 displaced people; disabled transportation infrastructure; a collapsed emergency response system; and millions of reals (BRL) in damages. Rio’s mayor, Eduardo Paes, was mad and frustrated at the management breakdown. However, at that time, Rio was a participant in IBM’s Smarter Cities Challenge with its 174 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicshalf million dollars of digital improvement consulting work. The city had already created a chief digital officer position and was poised to have a workshop on additional recommendations when the storm broke (Singer 2012; Freitas and Nogueira 2021). Paes immediately called on IBM to help address the city’s management and communications problems. He asked them to develop some sort of multipurpose center—one that could not only have an early warning system but also coordinate the city’s responses to large events, incidents, emergencies, and crises.Taking up the challenge, IBM oversaw the creation of the Operations Center, assembling CISCO, Samsung, and local providers on a platform that integrated incoming data (such as phone, text, radio, and email) on flooding and traffic and dispersed the information to the responsible units of the 30 participating city agencies. COR ( as in “Centro de Operações da Prefeitura do Rio de Janeiro”) opened in December 2010—eight months after the landslide disaster—equipped with a system to predict storms, the capacity to manage large events (e.g. Carnaval with more than 450 samba parades and 350 sites whose routes could be scheduled and mapped with security and clean-up programmed) or respond to a wide variety of crises (e.g. dealing with a collapsed building or managing COVID-19 policies needing services from the fire, police, health and/or transportation agencies).The results were measurable: within the first year, it developed the capacity to predict heavy rains 48 hours in advance, and traffic incidents fell 30 percent, illustrating a mayoral management style placing the city a leader in global innovation recognized by Rio’s receiving the Smart Cities Award in 2013 (EBRD 2021). Over time, Rio changed partners including moving to NASA, the US space 175How the Cidade Maravilhosa Became More Marvelous, Lessons for the G20agency for storm prediction, Google’s WAZE for traffic, and social media for citizen warnings. Costing $ 14 million ($ 20 million in 2024), the COR received worldwide press attention, drawing visits from some 10,000 city managers between 2011–2016, eager to replicate it. In 2023, building on its success, the city supported COR expansion, increasing the size of the situation room and resources for its resilience (COR 2022). Implementing the Climate Action Plan Rio is vulnerable to the full range of difficulties caused by global warming: sea level rise, flooding, extreme heat, drought, and landslides, as well as such associated problems as disease and displacement. The city has suffered particularly in the realm of heavy rain-caused landslides that have caused hundreds of deaths and massive displacement of favela households over time.Memorable tragedies occurring in 1966 and 1967, 1988, 1996, 2010, and 2019, led municipal officials first to address a given disaster and later to stimulate the comprehensive mitigation and adaptation policies that have placed the city as a leader in innovative climate action around the world (Benmergui and Gonçalves 2019; C40 2015).From the 1960s to 2000, the city engaged in preventive infrastructure investment through the Geotechnical Institute (founded in 1966) to undertake shoring up projects in hilly favela neighborhoods (Barbosa and Coates 2021). However, the 2010 landslide that stimulated COR’s creation would push Mayor Eduardo Paes to engage more broadly with climate change. Some link his dedicated leadership to this topic to his vision to make Rio a global center while others see it as part of the broader management reforms he 176 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicscarried out upon taking office, ones that resulted in tripling the municipal budget or his engagement with other global city mayors from C40 (which he chaired from 2013–2016) that made him a spokesperson for climate change agendas (Mendes 2022).Regardless of the motivation, Paes sustained a strong climate action program during his mayoralties (2008–2016) and (2020–2024). In the first eight years, he developed the foundation for the city’s climate strategy through a series of laws, plans, and programs. They included the 2011 passage of Municipal Law 5248, mandating the city inventory its greenhouse gas emissions every four years; a series of three-year strategic plans (2009–2011, 2011–2013, 2013–2016) with detailed measures and indicators related to climate change subject to triennial evaluation and report of percent of targets reached; revision of the city’s master plan (2011); work with the World Bank on Rio’s Low Carbon Development Program (2012) to certify that Rio’s GHG remission measurements conform to the world standards (2013); collaboration with the University of Rio de Janeiro on a study, “Technical Assessment and Support of the Development of a Climate Adaptation Plan for the City of Rio de Janeiro (2013), that led to the Climate Adaptation Strategy for the City of Rio de Janeiro (2016); acceptance into the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities program (2014); and subsequent publication of Rio Resilient (2015), the first resilience plan in Latin America, overseeing the launch of the C40 City Climate Finance Facility (2015) at the Local Leaders Summit hosted on the sidelines of COP21 Paris and fostering the Plan for Vision Rio 500 (2016). Alongside these efforts, he aligned many of the Olympic programs with a climate agenda, especially the infrastructure investments in transportation.177How the Cidade Maravilhosa Became More Marvelous, Lessons for the G20Returning to office in 2021, Paes issued the city’s Plan for Sustainable Development and ClimateAction of the City of Rio de Janeiro, a detailed 500+ page roadmap that specifies investment in special projects related to energy, transportation, reforestation, mapping them along sustainability corridors that illustrate the location and types of programs. Among the initiatives Paes supported was working with the World Bank, the city secured loans amounting to $ 270,000 million for fiscal reform programs to enhance the city’s creditworthiness and for accelerating the transition to low-carbon, climate-resilient and inclusive urban development (e.g., BRT enhancement, cycling network, and low emission district). In addition, it secured funding from the C40 City Finance Facility and a PPP to develop the city’s first large solar farm to be built over a sanitary landfill, initiated another PPP to procure green energy for the city’s municipal buildings by 2026, passed Local Law 7907 to stimulate a carbon market incentivized by local tax deductions for companies, and launched an AI/drone mechanized reforestation effort (City of Rio de Janeiro 2021). ConclusionThe dynamism that fuels making a city great is complicated, often disruptive, and challenging to those experiencing the fast-moving and dramatic public and private decision-making that accompanies it. Varied views about the correctness of approaches, allocation of resources, and uses of urban space in a democratic society play out in political arenas marked by debates or confrontations and disputed assessments of the benefits of a given policy or program but ending in consensus, innovation, and re-invention. High short-term costs may lead to significant long-term gains in terms of urban 178 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsrevival. Again, leadership is key—having the ability to make hard decisions, communicate them effectively to the city’s stakeholders, and execute them efficiently is fundamental. This is the story of Rio. It provides important lessons for other cities, especially those experiencing explosive demographic growth and/or political and economic turmoil. Some summarized lessons to reflect upon:• Lesson 1. A city must invest in its assets and address its liabilities. Rio enhanced its natural assets, as the Copacabana case illustrates, while it also worked to improve the living conditions of the favelas. The job is not yet complete, but it has begun and is ongoing. It successfully pursued a UNESCO World Heritage designation to justify preserving and protecting its natural assets and their surroundings. When failing to secure a branch of an internationally famous museum, it built two of its own that are not only dazzling anchors but turned a liability—a derelict neighborhood—into a future asset, and also, through their sustainable designs, exemplify its claim to leadership in climate action.• Lesson 2. A city must know who it is and wants to be. Its leaders need to set it on a course to achieve those ends. When Rio lost its status as the nation’s capital, it reeled and went into decline, but after a time, it was able to take on a new role—becoming a global center—and capturing a range of important convening. While the Pan American Games and Olympics were central to hosting international meetings like the two UN environmental conferences and UN-Habitat World Urban Forum, serving as headquarters of large natural resources and communications industries, attracting 179How the Cidade Maravilhosa Became More Marvelous, Lessons for the G20assembles like the Catholic Youth, the Web Summit, and Rock in Rio music festival underlined its importance as THE place for important convenings. Moreover, as a climate-vulnerable city, it has used this unique situation to become a world leader in climate change responses to be visited or emulated.• Lesson 3. A city must be nimble and steadfast in plotting its future, taking advantage of available resources, adopting reforms when necessary, welcoming technology, using innovative finance wherever possible, and pursuing a clear vision patiently. In the first two decades of the 21st century, Rio exhibited these qualities as explained in the examples of the Porto Maravilha project, the creation of the Operations Center, and the pursuit of climate action plans.• Lesson 4. A city needs strong and savvy leaders. People who have the imagination, knowledge, experience, and communication skills to advance and share a vision to make a city great. People who develop and execute a plan and more detailed road maps to achieve it. People who inspire constituents, from voters to members of the state and national government, to support the work. People who build the management capacity and assemble financial resources to support the necessary efforts. People who represent the city on the world stage. Rio has had such leaders over time. 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Simons, Marlise. 1988. “As Its Problems Mount, Rio Declares Bankruptcy.” The New York Times, September 18.Souza, Felipe Santos. 2016. “Um Passo Para a Civilidade:where the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 23Integrating Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies in Cities(UNFCCC) had a strong focus on mitigation when it was established (Hall and Persson 2018), as the need to adapt to the impacts of climate change was not as prominent. Currently, short-term planning versus long-term impacts can further exacerbate challenges to integrating adaptation and mitigation as city priorities often span different pressing agendas, typically operate on short-term timelines, driven by electoral cycles and immediate needs, whereas climate change is a long-term challenge, usually perceived as distant in time and geography. Mitigation and adaptation efforts must both account for decades of future impacts and societal behaviors and shifts, but cities generally lack the long-term vision and political will to commit to strategies that do not lead to immediate benefits. Furthermore, while the science of climate change is accepted and fairly well understood, the actual and perceived uncertainties surrounding the precise impacts of climate change can make it difficult to incorporate adaptation plans, especially in cities with limited resources and technical capacity (Schneider and Kuntz-Duriseti 2002). Opportunities for Integrating Climate Adaptation and MitigationCo-Benefits of Integrating Climate Adaptation and MitigationIntegrating climate adaptation and mitigation in cities can offer co-benefits that enhance urban resilience, environmental sustainability, and social equity (Jennings et al. 2020). Climate adaptation measures, such as green infrastructure, permeable surfaces, and flood management systems, reduce the risks posed by extreme weather such as flooding, drought, and heat waves, which 24 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsare likely to affect cities under a changing climate (Hoegh-Guldberg et al. 2018). Simultaneously, these measures contribute to climate mitigation by sequestering carbon, reducing urban heat islands, and improving energy efficiency. In the context of heat preparedness and adaptation, for example, green roofs and urban forests can absorb carbon dioxide whilst also cooling buildings, thus reducing energy demand for air conditioning (Howarth et al. 2024).There are also multiple health benefits of integrating adaptation and mitigation (Spencer et al. 2017). Energy-efficient buildings, sustainable transport, and renewable energy sources are central to mitigation, lowering pollution, improving air quality, and creating more comfortable living environments. The adoption of active transportation, such as cycling and walking, reduces greenhouse gas emissions while improving public health and lowering the risk of heat-related illnesses. These integrated strategies also bring wider economic benefits by creating more jobs in green industries alongside supporting reduced energy use and healthcare costs (Klein et al. 2005).Supporting Green Growth and the Just TransitionA city that integrates mitigation and adaptation action can facilitate a shift towards a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy that is socially inclusive and equitable and does not leave any vulnerable workers, communities, and industries behind that are dependent on fossil fuels (McCaulley and Heffron 2018). Climate mitigation and the transition to cleaner energy sources provide significant potential for widespread job creation in renewable energy, green construction, and sustainable agriculture. However, this shift can only be successful if it avoids job losses that can disproportionately 25Integrating Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies in Citiesaffect certain workers and communities, such as those reliant on fossil fuel-related jobs. Similarly, climate adaptation is essential for social equity and protecting vulnerable communities, which are often the hardest hit by climate impacts but the least responsible for emissions that are causing the climate crisis. Incorporating climate resilience into urban planning, infrastructure design, and economic systems enables continued growth and development helping to ensure that cities can adapt to and prepare for the impacts of climate change. Additionally, a focus on improving social equity by prioritizing vulnerable communities in adaptation planning ensures that disadvantaged populations benefit from improved infrastructure and are better protected against climate-related risks.Supporting Cities to Prepare for Climate HazardsThe integration of climate mitigation and adaptation strategies is vital for preparing cities and communities for the increased frequency and severity of climate hazards such as heatwaves, flooding, and droughts that the world will face under a changing climate (IPCC 2022). These events require coordinated action that not only reduces greenhouse gas emissions but also builds resilience against its unavoidable impacts. Heatwaves are becoming more frequent and intense due to climate change, posing significant risks to public health, infrastructure, and the economy (Howarth et al. 2024). They have been known as an “invisible risk” making their severity challenging to convey and often leading to countless avoidable heat-related deaths (Howarth et al. 2023). The integration of mitigation and adaptation is crucial in addressing this threat particularly as some of the micro-scale solutions (e.g. increased use of air conditioning) to keep people cool can lead to rising greenhouse 26 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsgas emissions and local ambient temperatures. By transitioning to low-carbon economies, embracing energy efficiency, promoting renewable energy, and decreasing reliance on fossil fuels cities the likelihood of future heat waves becoming more extreme and the Urban Heat Island effect can be reduced. Heat adaptation strategies in cities can focus more on behavioral and nature-based solutions by investing in green infrastructure, such as parks, green roofs, and urban forests, to reduce the urban heat island effect, absorb heat, and provide shade. Retrofitting buildings with better insulation and ventilation, alongside the promotion of passive cooling techniques, can further help reduce indoor temperatures without over-reliance on air conditioning.Preparing for and managing flooding events, also made worse by climate change, is similarly problematic for cities, particularly those exposed to this hazard. Whether from rising sea levels, heavier rainfall, or more frequent storms, coastal and inland flooding are predicted to increase. Integrating mitigation and adaptation efforts can help cities manage these risks more effectively, while they can reduce their share of greenhouse gas emissions by implementing greener transportation and energy systems. Green infrastructure, including permeable pavements and rain gardens, avoiding paved over driveways simultaneously helps manage stormwater and facilitates carbon sequestration. The low-lying city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, for example, faces significant risks from rising sea levels and flooding. To address this challenge, the city has implemented the Rotterdam Climate Initiative, which integrates flood protection with sustainable urban development and energy efficiency measures, through its “water plazas” that act as public spaces during dry periods and temporary water storage during heavy rainfall, helping to mitigate flood risks. 27Integrating Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies in CitiesReflections on How to Integrate Climate Adaptation and Mitigation in CitiesIntegrating at Different ScalesCity action on climate change sits within an ecosystem of climate action at and across different scales: international, national, regional, and local. Each level of governance plays a unique role in ensuring synergies and alignment between climateO Projeto Rio Orla (1990-1992).” Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Pesquisa e Planejamento Urbano e Regional, Trabalho de Conclusão de Especialização.Stegemann, Luke. 2024. Madrid: A New Biography. Yale University Press.Stuenkel, Oliver. 2022. “How Brazil Embraced Informal Organizations.” International Politics. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41311-022-00385-w.Vásquez, Patricia. 2024. “Brazil’s Critical Minerals and the Global Clean Energy Revolution.” Wilson Center, October 2. https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/brazils-critical-minerals-and-global-clean-energy-revolution.Williams, Daryle, Amy Chazkel, and Paulo Knauss. 2016. The Rio de Janeiro Reader: History, Culture, Politics. Duke University Press. https://doi.org/10.1215/9780822375067.Williamson, Theresa. 2017. “Rio’s Favelas, The Power of Informal Urbanism.” In Perspecta 50: Urban Divides, edited by M. McAllister and M. Sabbagh. MIT Press.https://doi.org/10.1080/13563475.2021.1971952https://doi.org/10.1080/13563475.2021.1971952https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/04/business/ibm-takes-smarter-cities-concept-to-rio-de-janeiro.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/04/business/ibm-takes-smarter-cities-concept-to-rio-de-janeiro.htmlhttps://doi.org/10.1057/s41311-022-00385-whttps://doi.org/10.1057/s41311-022-00385-whttps://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/brazils-critical-minerals-and-global-clean-energy-revolutionhttps://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/brazils-critical-minerals-and-global-clean-energy-revolutionhttps://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/brazils-critical-minerals-and-global-clean-energy-revolutionhttps://doi.org/10.1215/9780822375067189How the Cidade Maravilhosa Became More Marvelous, Lessons for the G20World Bank. 2023. Rio de Janeiro Fiscal Management and Sustainable Development Policy Loan. World Bank Group, PGD432. http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099102623093019360/pdf/BOSIB01f474bee0860859d07a2efa3a4a87.pdf.http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099102623093019360/pdf/BOSIB01f474bee0860859d07a2efa3a4a87.pdfhttp://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099102623093019360/pdf/BOSIB01f474bee0860859d07a2efa3a4a87.pdfhttp://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099102623093019360/pdf/BOSIB01f474bee0860859d07a2efa3a4a87.pdf1902.Enlightened City Leadership: A New Model for a Sustainable Urban FutureH.E. Fahd Al-RasheedIn the 21st century, cities are at a critical juncture. They drive 80% of global Gross domestic product (GDP)1 and significantly affect our quality of life. Yet, they face immense challenges, from climate change and rapid urbanization to social inequality and technological disruption. As existing cities expand and new ones emerge, the need for strategic, skilled leadership becomes increasingly urgent.Despite these challenges, there is a glaring gap in the formal training of city leaders. Many mayors and city administrators have not had access to the multidisciplinary education required to manage the complexities of modern urban environments effectively. This paper addresses the need for specialized city leadership programs to equip current and future leaders with the necessary skills to 1. See more at: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/urbandevelopment/overview. Accessed on October 8th, 2024.https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/urbandevelopment/overview192 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsnavigate the challenges cities face and ensure a sustainable future for urban populations.Cities Are ConsequentialCities are at the heart of human prosperity and progress. As the primary drivers of economic growth, they contribute 80% of the global GDP, making them the most vital engines of our global economy. However, this prosperity comes at a cost, with cities also responsible for 70% of global emissions (IPCC 2022). For individuals, cities impact every aspect of life. They are where we live, work, raise our families, and build our wealth. In fact, choosing a city to call home is one of the most significant investments we make, shaping our personal and financial futures.Yet, as we navigate the remaining decades of the 21st century, cities face unprecedented challenges. The global population is rapidly increasing, and the need to manage our cities effectively has never been more important. To sustain economic growth, enhance the quality of life, and protect the environment, we must confront these challenges head-on.Challenges of the 21st CenturyAs our global population continues to rise, cities around the world will encounter a set of formidable challenges that demand urgent attention and strategic management. Addressing these issues is essential for the long-term prosperity and sustainability of urban areas. Among the most pressing challenges are:193Enlightened City Leadership: A New Model for a Sustainable Urban FutureClimate Action in Cities: Urban areas are responsible for 70% of global CO2 equivalent emissions, making them key battlegrounds for climate mitigation efforts (IPCC 2022). With increasing incidences of extreme weather events, cities must develop and implement robust climate strategies to protect their infrastructure, economies, and residents. This includes transitioning to sustainable energy sources, improving building efficiency, and creating green spaces to absorb carbon emissions.Air Quality and Public Health: Poor air quality is a pervasive issue, with 41% of cities worldwide experiencing pollution levels more than seven times higher than recommended by the World Health Organization (Breathe Cities 2024). The impact on health is staggering—air pollution was responsible for 8.1 million deaths in 2021 alone (Health Effects Institute 2024). Beyond the human cost, air pollution leads to around 1.2 billion lost workdays annually, potentially rising to 3.8 billion days by 2060. The economic toll is immense, with the World Bank estimating health damages associated with air pollution at $ 8.1 trillion, equivalent to 6.1% of global GDP (World Bank 2022).Social Inequality and Poverty: Cities are the primary venues for wealth creation and social mobility. However, they are also marked by significant inequalities in access to housing, healthcare, education, and employment. An estimated 1.1 billion people currently live in slum-like conditions, a number projected to rise to 3.1 billion within the next 30 years (UN 2023). Addressing this disparity is central to creating inclusive urban environments where all residents can thrive.The Unknown Impact of Emerging Technologies: The rapid advancement of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous vehicles, and digital infrastructure will profoundly 194 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicstransform cities. However, the full extent of this transformation is uncertain. Urban leaders must proactively understand these technologies to leverage opportunities while mitigating disruptions. Failure to do so could widen social disparities and create governance challenges.Urban Decline and Resilience: While some cities will continue to grow, others face the threat of decline. The Envisaging the Future of Cities: World Cities Report (UN-Habitat 2022) states that nearly half the cities in the developed world are shrinking. Another study found that in the United States alone, nearly half of the 30,000 cities could experience population decreases of 12–23% by 2100 (Sutradhar, Spearing and Derrible 2024). Cities decline for many reasons, including industrial restructuring, demographic changes, competitive dynamics, political issues, and numerous city-specific issues. Yet irrespective of the reason, declining populations reduce cities’ ability to generate income, provide essential services, and maintain quality of life, often leading to a cycle of increased poverty and crime. Resilience in the face of these shifts is essential, requiring cities topivot their economic models and policies to adapt to changing circumstances.The Need for New Cities: By 2050, 68% of the global population is expected to live in urban areas, necessitating the development of new cities and the expansion of existing ones (UN-Habitat 2022). How we build these new cities will have a profound impact on humanity’s well-being. Proper planning and management are critical to ensure that these new cities are sustainable, inclusive, and resilient.In confronting these challenges, cities’ futures depend on the quality of their leadership. Enlightened, skilled, and strategic urban governance is no longer optional; it is imperative.195Enlightened City Leadership: A New Model for a Sustainable Urban FutureWhy Managing Cities Is DifficultManaging cities is a complex and multifaceted endeavor. Cities are not just clusters of infrastructure and services; they are dynamic ecosystems that must accommodate various social, economic, and environmental needs. This complexity is compounded by the rapid pace of change in urban environments and technology. Here are the key reasons why managing cities effectively is so challenging:Cities as Complex Organisms: Cities are the most intricate creations of humanity. They serve as marketplaces, cultural hubs, and centers for social mobility while also acting as drivers of economic growth and sustainability efforts. Managing such a diverse range of functions requires an understanding of various interconnected systems—from transportation and utilities to housing, healthcare, and education.Cross-Sector Knowledge Requirements: Effective city leadership demands a comprehensive understanding of various sectors and issues. Urban administrators must be well-versed in urban economics, infrastructure, energy, public safety, community engagement, and more.The Need for Systems-Based Thinking: City management requires system-based thinking to understand how different components of urban life interact. A decision about housing policy, for example, affects not only real estate markets but also social equity, public transportation, and environmental sustainability. City leaders must, therefore, adopt holistic approaches that consider both the immediate and long-term impacts of their policies.Inertia: Inertia is a significant challenge in city leadership, often 196 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsstemming from complex bureaucracy, financial constraints, and risk aversion. Cities have multi-layered governance structures, creating slow decision-making processes and difficulty in coordinating new initiatives. Short-term political cycles further limit long-term planning, while financial limitations and the high costs of overhauling legacy infrastructure deter action. Additionally, resistance from stakeholders, regulatory barriers, and risk-averse attitudes make transformative change difficult. Overcoming inertia requires strategic, patient leadership capable of navigating diverse interests, building consensus, and balancing immediate needs with long-term vision.The Need for Enlightened City LeadershipGiven the complexity of managing modern cities, it is clear that we require a new appreciation of city leadership—one that extends beyond traditional political or corporate frameworks. “Enlightened City Leadership” embodies a unique combination of technical knowledge, strategic thinking, and a deep commitment to the well-being of citizens. But what exactly does this entail?Defining Enlightened City Leadership: Enlightened city leadership is characterized by a deep understanding of urban dynamics, a commitment to serving the public good, and the ability to implement long-term, holistic strategies. Unlike conventional political roles, where leaders may focus on short-term wins, city leadership requires a vision that spans decades. It calls for an ability to anticipate and navigate future trends, including technological disruptions, economic shifts, and demographic changes.Beyond Political and Corporate Leadership: While city leaders 197Enlightened City Leadership: A New Model for a Sustainable Urban Futuremust have the negotiation skills of politicians, they also need the strategic mindset of large corporations’ Chief Executive Officers (CEOs). However, city leadership draws further. Unlike corporate executives, city administrators deal with public goods, social equity, and long-term public welfare. The consequences of their decisions—ranging from public health policies to climate action—directly impact millions of lives and have far-reaching effects on global sustainability.Required Technical Skillsets: City leaders need a broad awareness of various disciplines, including urban economics, infrastructure management, sustainability, public health, and digital transformation. They must understand the principles of smart infrastructure and environmental resilience while being conversant with legal and regulatory frameworks. For example, responding effectively to climate change requires knowledge of green building practices, renewable energy systems, and sustainable transport networks. City leaders must also navigate digital infrastructure and leverage technologies such as AI to enhance services, optimize operations, and engage citizens.Compassionate and Altruistic Leadership: Enlightened city leadership goes beyond technical proficiency. It requires compassion, empathy, and a genuine desire to improve the quality of life for all residents. City leaders must prioritize inclusive policies, recognizing that their decisions affect diverse populations, and must address inequalities in housing, healthcare, and access to public services.The Resulting Leadership Profile: When we amalgamate these technical skills, strategic thinking, and compassionate outlook, we form a new leadership profile—a city administrator who is not just a manager but a visionary steward of urban life. These leaders are 198 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsequipped to develop innovative policies, drive economic resilience, and ensure the long-term sustainability of their cities. To illustrate, consider this job description for an “Enlightened City Leader:”Job Title: Enlightened City LeaderLocation: Global (urban centers of varying sizes).Position Type: Full-Time (Elected or Appointed).About the Role: The Enlightened City Leader is at the forefront of urban transformation, serving as a visionary steward for the city’s future. This role requires a multifaceted approach to leadership, balancing economic growth, social equity, and environmental sustainability. As an enlightened leader, you will guide the city through the complexities of modern urban life, leveraging strategic planning, cross-sector knowledge, and compassionate governance to shape a thriving and inclusive urban environment.Key Responsibilities:Strategic Vision: Develop and implement a long-term vision for the city’s growth, balancing economic prosperity, sustainability, and quality of life for all residents.Urban Planning: Oversee the design, construction, and maintenance of city infrastructure, including transportation, housing, utilities, and public spaces, ensuring they meet the needs of current and future populations.199Enlightened City Leadership: A New Model for a Sustainable Urban FutureEconomic Resilience: Drive economic development initiatives, pivoting the city’s economic model in response to market shifts, technological advancements, and demographic changes.Climate Action: Implement robust strategies to address climate change, reduce carbon emissions, and promote sustainable practices across all city sectors.Cross-Sector Collaboration: Collaborate with various sectors, including public health, education, technology, and social services, to address complex urban challenges holistically.Smart Technology Integration:Embrace emerging technologies, such as AI and autonomous systems, to optimize city operations and enhance citizen engagement.Community Engagement: Act as a compassionate advocate for residents, ensuring their voices are heard in policy decisions and that services are accessible and equitable.Policy Development: Develop and enforce policies that address urban challenges, including air quality, public health, affordable housing, social inequality, and sustainable transportation.Stakeholder Management: Engage with government agencies, private sector partners, and academic institutions to drive collaborative initiatives that benefit the city’s growth and well-being.Crisis Management: Lead the city through crises, such as economic downturns, public health emergencies, and natural disasters, with foresight and effective communication.200 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and PoliticsKey Qualifications:Multidisciplinary Expertise: Proven knowledge in urban planning, public administration, infrastructure management, sustainability, digital transformation, and economic development.Strategic Thinker: Ability to develop and execute long-term plans that account for economic, environmental, and social factors.Leadership: Strong negotiation, decision-making, and team-building skills, with a track record of managing large-scale projects or organizations.Compassion and Altruism: Deep commitment to public service and improving the quality of life for all city residents.Innovative Mindset: Familiarity with smart city technologies, data analytics, and the latest trends in urban development.Public Engagement: Excellent communication skills, with experience in public outreach, stakeholder engagement, and community advocacy.The Current Training GapsAlthough many institutions offer training in disciplines such as urban planning, civil engineering, and public administration, there is a noticeable gap in providing multidisciplinary training for city leaders. Urban administration requires a blend of knowledge from 201Enlightened City Leadership: A New Model for a Sustainable Urban Futurevarious fields, yet most programs do not offer a comprehensive curriculum that adequately prepares city leaders to comprehend both the technical and socio-economic aspects of their roles. This lack of training hinders city leaders from effectively addressing the complex issues they encounter daily.Mayors, in particular, face an even steeper learning curve. Often appointed or elected without formal training in city administration, they are thrust into roles that demand immediate, informed decision-making. The parallel in the corporate world would be placing an executive in charge of a multi-billion-dollar company without a background in business management.Some progress has been made to address this gap. The Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, for example, has trained 314 incumbent mayors and over 540 senior city leaders from 33 countries since 2017 (Bloomberg Philanthropies 2024). Other universities have launched programs in urban affairs. But the gap is massive. A broader and more structured approach to city leadership education is essential to prepare the thousands of leaders required to manage the cities of today and tomorrow effectively.How Many Trained City Leaders Do We Need?The scale of urban challenges ahead underscores the urgent need for a new generation of well-trained city leaders and administrators. But how many professionals will we need to meet the demands of both existing and emerging cities globally?Managing New Cities: Today, there are around 700 cities globally with populations exceeding one million people. By 2080, that number is expected to rise to approximately 1,600 cities (Clarke 202 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politics2022). This suggests that nearly 900 new cities with populations of over one million will need to be built or significantly expanded over the coming decades. To effectively manage these 900 new cities, each will require a new administration. Let us build a city administration for each of these cities. Assuming each city requires a mayor every four years over the next 56 years, we need 14 mayors for each of these new cities. Furthermore, assuming each mayor will have 8 senior city administrators reporting to them with an average tenure of 8 years, the total number of senior city administrators we will need would be 56 administrators for each city over the period. Finally, assuming that each one of these city administrators will oversee three department heads, each with a tenure of 12 years, the total number of department heads required over the period would be 112 per city. When we sum up the three levels, the average number of leaders required per new city is 182 city leaders from now till 2080. This results in a demand for roughly 162,000 trained city administrators for the 900 new cities.Managing Existing Cities: The current 700 cities with populations exceeding one million already have on-the-job-trained leaders. So, assuming over the period from today to 2080 they will need only half of the leaders of a new city, the total per city would be 91 leaders and 63,700 leaders in total for the 700 cities over the period.Managing smaller cities: Beyond these large cities, there are ten thousand small urban areas with populations of above 50,000 residents. Due to both lower affordability and lower complexity, we will assume that we will only need 20% of the number of leaders required for the bigger new cities. As such, the total number of leaders per city required over the horizon is 36 per city, and 364,000 leaders in total till 2080.203Enlightened City Leadership: A New Model for a Sustainable Urban FutureThis implies that the total number of city leaders required from now till 2080 is roughly 590,000 leaders. And because we need 3-4 suitable candidates for each position, the actual number of potential leaders we will need to train will exceed two million. That is astounding.A lot of assumptions have been made here. And cities have different requirements, governance, and employment cycles, so the cities you know may be different. But the idea is to instigate a discussion on the direction, not on the specific quantum.Call to ActionCity leaders understand the magnitude of these challenges as they go about their daily work. It is our responsibility to ensure that current city administrations are equipped with the necessary skills to manage our cities effectively. More importantly, we must prepare the next generation of city leaders to confront the deluge of challenges that cities will continue to face, worldwide.The time for action is now. We must work collaboratively—city leaders, governments, the private sector, and academic institutions—to develop robust educational programs tailored to the complexities of city administration. Whether through the establishment of a formal “Master in City Administration” (MCA) or other training initiatives, the goal is clear: to create a pipeline of knowledgeable, strategic, and compassionate city leaders capable of navigating the future of urban life.The future of our cities depends on it.204 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and PoliticsReferencesBloomberg Philanthropies. 2024. “Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative Announces Eighth Class of Mayors to Receive Executive Education Training.” The Bloomberg Center for Cities, Harvard University, July 15.Breathe Cities. 2024. “Why We Do It.” https://breathecities.org/why-we-do-it/.Clarke, Greg. 2022. “The Century of Cities: 100 year trek to the city.” Connected Places Catapult Magazine 2.Health Effects Institute. 2024. State of Global Air Report. Health Effects Institute. https://www.stateofglobalair.org/sites/default/files/documents/2024-06/soga-2024-report_0.pdf.Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 2022. Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Working Group III contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGIII_FullReport.pdf.Sutradhar, Uttara, Lauryn Spearing, and Sybil Derrible. 2024. “Depopulation and Associated Challenges for US Cities by 2100.” Nature Cities 1: 51-61. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44284-023-00011-7.United Nations (UN). 2023. “SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.” UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. https://sdgs.un.org/sites/default/files/2023-07/2023_HLPF_Factsheet_SDG11_0.pdf.https://breathecities.org/why-we-do-it/https://breathecities.org/why-we-do-it/https://www.stateofglobalair.org/sites/default/files/documents/2024-06/soga-2024-report_0.pdfhttps://www.stateofglobalair.org/sites/default/files/documents/2024-06/soga-2024-report_0.pdfhttps://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGIII_FullReport.pdfhttps://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGIII_FullReport.pdfhttps://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGIII_FullReport.pdfhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s44284-023-00011-7https://sdgs.un.org/sites/default/files/2023-07/2023_HLPF_Factsheet_SDG11_0.pdfhttps://sdgs.un.org/sites/default/files/2023-07/2023_HLPF_Factsheet_SDG11_0.pdf205Enlightened City Leadership: A New Model for a Sustainable Urban FutureUnited Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat). 2022. Envisaging the Future of Cities. World Cities Report. https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/2022/06/wcr_2022.pdf.United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). 2024. World Population Dashboard. https://www.unfpa.org/pt/data/world-population-dashboard.World Bank. 2022. The Global Health Cost of PM 2.5 Air Pollution: A Case for Action Beyond 2021. International Development in Focus. World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36501.https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/2022/06/wcr_2022.pdfhttps://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/2022/06/wcr_2022.pdfhttps://www.unfpa.org/pt/data/world-population-dashboardhttps://www.unfpa.org/pt/data/world-population-dashboardhttp://hdl.handle.net/10986/365012063.Advancing the Urban Climate Finance Agenda: The Green Cities Guarantee Fund1Mauricio RodasThe Need for New Urban Finance MechanismsCities are at the forefront of addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges, including poverty, inequality, inadequate access to basic services, and climate change. As urban populations continue to grow—now comprising over half of the global population and projected to reach 70% by 2050 (UN 2018)—the role of cities in tackling these issues becomes even more critical, adding complexity to local governance and significantly increasing the financial demands on cities.However, cities face a global financial system rooted in the Bretton Woods framework, which was designed with a focus on nation-states and offers limited financial access to subnational 1. This article is based on The Green Cities Guarantee Fund: Unlocking Access to Urban Climate Finance (Birch, Campo and Rodas 2024).208 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsgovernments. This system, established in the 1940s, was created in a far less urbanized world. Today, the reality is vastly different, and this outdated structure is ill-suited to address the global challenges that are now concentrated in cities.A striking example of the dysfunction in the current system is that the majority of countries—56%—prohibit cities from borrowing. Only 44% of nations permit cities to access international finance, but even then, cities must meet stringent requirements (Press-Williams et al. 2024). In many countries, this involves obtaining a sovereign guarantee, which is frequently withheld due to political tensions between national and local governments. Additionally, many cities lack the technical expertise to develop viable, bankable projects. Other barriers, such as high interest rates, short loan terms, complex and lengthy approval processes, or outright credit denial, further hinder cities from accessing the finance needed to implement critical projects.Furthermore, according to the World Bank (2017), “recent estimates show that less than 20% of the largest 500 cities in developing countries are deemed creditworthy in their local context, severely constricting their capacity to finance investments in public infrastructure.” This challenge is compounded by the fact that future urbanization is projected to occur primarily in medium and small-sized cities across the Global South, where resources and institutional capacities are even more constrained.Cities account for over 70% of global CO2 emissions and, due to their demographic, economic, and environmental characteristics, are pivotal in the fight against climate change. Without cities playing an active and effective role in addressing the root causes of the climate crisis, countries will never meet their Nationally 209Advancing the Urban Climate Finance Agenda: The Green Cities Guarantee FundDetermined Contributions (NDCs) and the goals of the Paris Agreement. Although many mayors worldwide have embraced bold and ambitious climate agendas, the slow pace of funding for essential mitigation and adaptation projects—or worse, the complete lack of access to finance—has severely impeded progress. According to the 2024 State of Cities Climate Finance report by CCFLA (Press-Williams et al. 2024) an estimated US$ 4.3 trillion per year will be needed to transform urban infrastructure into a climate-resilient one, a figure that is unattainable for cities under the current financial system. This report estimates that annual urban climate finance amounts to only US$ 831 billion, while other assessments suggest that cities have received less than 10% of the US$ 1.9 trillion currently available for annual climate finance (Lütkehermöller 2023).Most funding for urban climate infrastructure projects in the Global South has come from Development Financial Institutions (DFIs), but this represents only a small fraction of the resources required given the scale of the climate crisis. Furthermore, the nation-led governance structure of traditional DFIs offers little incentive to depart from the status quo and direct the necessary resources to subnational governments.It is evident that the current system is no longer effective. Without reforms in the international financial architecture to provide alternative financing mechanisms for cities, they will continue to struggle to address climate change. Numerous stakeholders have called for a financial system that better aligns with urban needs, offering a range of innovative proposals. For instance, the 2020 Urban 20 Chairmanship introduced the pioneering concept of the “Global Urban Resilience Fund.” Another notable idea is the creation of a 210 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politics“Green Cities Development Bank,” proposed in 2019 by C40 Cities and others in the report “Financing a Sustainable Urban Future: Scoping a Green Cities Development Bank” (Alexander et al. 2019). In addition to other meaningful initiatives being pursued in this space, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Global Commission for Urban SDG Finance has been developing over the past year the concept of a cities-focused guarantee fund aimed at facilitating timely and affordable borrowing—a potential game-changer for unlocking finance for many cities and advancing the urban climate agenda.The SDSN Global Commission for Urban SDG FinanceIn Paris, on June 21, 2023, Mayor Anne Hidalgo of Paris, Mayor Eduardo Paes of Rio de Janeiro, and SDSN Founder and President Jeffrey Sachs officially launched the SDSN Global Commission for UrbanSDG Finance, where they serve as co-chairs. Today, the Commission includes over 80 members, comprising mayors, governors, climate and finance experts, leaders of city networks, practitioners, and scholars. Its members hold key positions in municipal and regional governments, international organizations, development finance institutions, investment firms, consulting companies, civil society organizations, and academic institutions. The Commission’s Secretariat is hosted by the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Urban Research, providing essential support to its mission.The Commission builds on the expertise and ongoing efforts of its members to advance innovative solutions and strategies aimed at enhancing urban SDG financing, with a particular emphasis on 211Advancing the Urban Climate Finance Agenda: The Green Cities Guarantee Fundaddressing climate change. Through collective collaboration, the members have formulated a series of actionable recommendations, including the proposal for the Green Cities Guarantee Fund (GCGF).In the report titled The Green Cities Guarantee Fund: Unlocking Access to Urban Climate Finance from the SDSN Global Commission for Urban SDG Finance, the Commission’s Secretariat offers a comprehensive analysis of the Green Cities Guarantee Fund concept. This analysis is based on an extensive literature review, assessments of guarantee fund annual reports, and numerous interviews with current and former mayors, climate finance experts from both the public and private sectors, guarantee fund specialists, national government officials, and professionals experienced in launching and incubating new development finance entities and funds.Key Challenges in Urban Climate FinanceCities in low- and middle-income countries face significant obstacles to securing affordable debt for development and climate-related projects. One primary issue is the global financial system’s country-focused structure, which channels most development finance through national governments rather than directly to cities. National governments control fund distribution, often without considering local priorities. While reforms to Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) are being discussed, city-specific financing needs have been mostly overlooked. Lenders and rating agencies also perceive cities as high-risk due to political instability, limited institutional capacity, and a lack of resources to carry out complex projects. As a result, cities that can access financing often face high interest rates and short loan terms, which can strain the 212 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsbudgets of local governments and increase the likelihood of default. However, the European Investment Bank (EIB) found evidence indicating that the actual risk of lending to cities is relatively low, which runs contrary to the commonly held viewpoint of investors (EIB 2023). A 2022 analysis comparing default rates of private and subnational borrowers, using pooled data from major DFIs revealed that from 1994 to 2022, subnational borrowers had a lower average default rate (2.2%) compared to private borrowers (3.6%). This means that subnational governments were more likely to repay their loans than private companies over this period. Yet cities continue to be underestimated by investors, banks, and ratings agencies. In countries where subnational borrowing is permitted, cities are often required to obtain sovereign guarantees for debt transactions. This provides lenders with assurance that the national government will step in and repay the debt in case of default. However, sovereign guarantees are an unreliable tool for cities to secure capital. Rigid fiscal frameworks make obtaining these guarantees a slow and bureaucratic process, causing significant delays for cities. Moreover, national governments may withhold or deny guarantees due to differing political priorities or a lack of understanding of municipal infrastructure needs. Credit Guarantees OverviewCredit guarantees have the potential to address some of the core financing challenges that cities face today. But first, what is a credit guarantee? Put simply, a credit guarantee is a “promise to pay” (GCF 2022). More specifically, a credit guarantee is a commitment by a guarantor to repay a debt on behalf of a borrower in the event 213Advancing the Urban Climate Finance Agenda: The Green Cities Guarantee Fundthat the borrower cannot fulfill its debt obligations.Guarantees provide an added layer of downside protection to lenders, encouraging investment in sectors and geographies that may traditionally be viewed as too risky. Guarantees generally enable borrowers to access debt on more affordable terms—as guaranteed transactions generally have lower interest rates and, in some cases, longer tenors. Guarantee funds are neither borrowers nor lenders. So, what role do they play in infrastructure transactions? Guarantee funds play the role of facilitator in infrastructure projects. By providing credit enhancement, guarantee funds facilitate investment in projects that may not otherwise reach financial close. Credit Guarantees within the Climate Finance LandscapeClimate finance involves a diverse array of investors from both the public and private sectors. Guarantees currently play a relatively insignificant role in the climate finance sector which is dominated by loans, equities, and grants. Public contributors include governments, national and multilateral development finance institutions, multilateral climate funds, state-owned enterprises, and state-owned financial institutions. On the private side, commercial banks, corporations, households, or individual investors play significant roles. Today, climate finance flows exceed US$ 1 trillion annually (Buchner et al. 2023).It is well known that there is not nearly enough public capital available to achieve the objectives set out in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which has drawn attention to the 214 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicstopic of expanding private investment in climate solutions (UN 2023). Research by the Blended Finance Task Force (BFTF) highlighted that credit guarantees are both highly effective at mobilizing private capital for climate projects and underutilized by development finance institutions, such as the World Bank. Their findings showed that MDBs currently mobilize just 30 cents of private investment for every dollar of loans allocated to climate projects—a capital mobilization ratio of 0.3 (Neunuebel et al. 2021). By contrast, between 2012 and 2018, climate-focused guarantees provided by MDBs had a capital mobilization ratio of 1.5, which is 5 times higher than that of loans. By expanding the share of guarantees within their climate portfolios, MDBs may be able to dramatically expand the amount of private investment they crowd in for climate projects. Recently, climate-oriented guarantee funds have emerged to address environmental challenges. GuarantCo, founded in 2005 in partnership with the UK Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), has issued US$ 1.9 billion in guarantees for sustainable infrastructure in Africa and Asia.2 The Green Guarantee Company (GGC), launched in 2024, is a US$ 1 billion fund, and the first emerging markets climate-focused guarantor with backing from the Green Climate Fund and several governments. Furthermore, there’s evidence that credit guarantees may be able to stimulate the growth of municipal debt markets. In the United States, credit guarantees/insurance were highly correlated to the growth of what is today a US$ 4.1 trillion market (GlobeNewswire 2023). In the developing world, no country has a municipal debt market near the size or sophistication of the United States. However, 2. See more at: https://guarantco.com/.https://guarantco.com/215Advancingthe Urban Climate Finance Agenda: The Green Cities Guarantee Fundseveral countries across Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia, have growing subnational debt markets that have not reached their full potential (Smoke 2019). Introducing cities-focused guarantee funds to these countries could directly support the growth of subnational debt markets, enabling more cities to access finance for critical infrastructure. There are important city-focused guarantee initiatives now in the early stages of implementation. The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is launching its Guarantee Facility for Sustainable Cities, with a strategic focus on Africa and Southeast Asia, while the French Development Agency (AFD) has established Cityriz, a guarantor for local governments in Africa. Both facilities are in the process of deploying their first guarantees. The Green Cities Guarantee Fund aims to complement these and other significant efforts in addressing the financial challenges cities face across various regions of the world.The Green Cities Guarantee Fund and its PotentialThe proposed Green Cities Guarantee Fund (GCGF) seeks to address some of the key urban financing challenges. The GCGF would act as an intermediary between lenders and cities, incentivizing lenders to provide loans to cities that may lack a history of creditworthiness. For cities, these guarantees could improve their credit ratings, reduce borrowing costs, extend loan and bond terms, and broaden access to investors. This Fund would be flexible in its mandate and designed to support a range of green projects through various debt instruments available to cities, associated entities, and the private sector.216 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and PoliticsThe potential of the GCGF is significant. It could boost local debt markets, increase municipal participation in global capital markets, foster public-private partnerships, and attract private investment in urban infrastructure. The GCGF could support diverse markets and investors, strengthening the urban climate finance sector in general.Similarly, the GCGF can demonstrate the viability of local banks lending to cities on a commercial basis. In some emerging markets, domestic commercial lending to local governments is already common, as local banks recognize the potential in financing cities. However, in most countries, commercial banks either perceive cities as too risky or cities are restricted from accessing commercial capital altogether.The GCGF could also help cities tap global bond markets, which are largely dominated by hard currency transactions. These transactions, while protective for lenders, pose risks for cities that generate revenue in local currencies, exposing them to exchange rate fluctuations. The GCGF could mitigate these risks by structuring guarantees in partnership with platforms that help hedge currency risk and assisting cities in accessing grants to cover hedging fees. The ability to borrow in local currency is crucial for mayors in many countries, particularly in developing nations. The GCGF would have the flexibility to support operations in either hard or local currency, tailored to the specific context of each project. GuarantCo’s successful implementation of local currency guarantees across Africa and Asia illustrates the viability of this model.In addition, the GCGF could help cities navigate Green, Social, and Sustainable (GSS) bond issuances. With GSS bonds becoming a US$ 1 trillion market, dominated by the US, Europe, and China, 217Advancing the Urban Climate Finance Agenda: The Green Cities Guarantee Fundthere is significant opportunity for cities in emerging markets to participate. However, municipal issuance remains rare, comprising less than 1% of the market in 2023 (World Bank 2024). The GCGF could help cities overcome barriers to issuing GSS bonds by offering support in structuring deals, ensuring compliance, and managing reporting requirements.Some cities have developed essential urban infrastructure through publicly owned utility companies or Special Purpose Vehicles—SPVs. This approach is particularly beneficial for cities that are legally unable to borrow or struggle to obtain the sovereign guarantees required to access financing. For instance, in 2017, the French Development Agency (AFD) provided a US$70 million loan to Quito’s Water and Sanitation Municipal Company for a key water supply and sustainable treatment project that serves over 500,000 residents. The company’s strong financial standing allowed it to secure this financing without the need for a sovereign guarantee—the first time this has occurred in Ecuador—since the legal requirement for such a guarantee only applies to credit operations conducted directly by the city. The GCGF could play a key role in supporting similar initiatives by mitigating risks for investments in projects developed by utilities or SPVs, solidifying these models as effective solutions for expanding climate-resilient urban infrastructure.The funding supports critical infrastructure projects, including the Chalpi Grande-Papallacta project, which aims to capture 2.2 cubic meters per second of water from the Chalpi Grande River and its tributaries. This will secure Quito’s water supply until 2040, benefiting over 500,000 residents. The loan also finances the expansion of the Paluguillo Water Treatment Plant and the construction of the Paluguillo-Parroquias Orientales Transmission 218 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and PoliticsLine to deliver treated water to parishes in eastern Quito. A notable aspect of the project is the installation of a 7.6 MW hydropower plant, designed to optimize water resource management and contribute to the project’s overall financingOne way to provide subnational governments with access to capital is through public-private partnerships (PPPs), where subnational governments are shareholders in a company or project. Private sector ownership and involvement in municipal infrastructure projects can generate greater investor confidence. In countries with underdeveloped subnational debt markets, municipal PPPs could be a key channel through which cities can access greater capital for mitigation and adaptation infrastructure. The GCGF could provide credit guarantees for green, municipal PPPs, and also provide technical assistance to cities structuring PPPs. Besides supporting municipal debt and public-private partnerships, the GCGF can also provide guarantees for private sector-led urban infrastructure projects, such as water systems, energy, waste collection, and public transit, among others. In many countries, private companies can secure the right to develop projects through concessions awarded by municipalities to design, build, and operate public infrastructure. The GCGF could support these companies in raising funds through domestic or international capital markets. A notable example of such a private sector guarantee is GuarantCo’s US$ 25 million guarantee for the Lagos Free Zone in Nigeria.3 This enabled a US$ 65.5 million bond issuance, facilitating the development of the country’s largest port-based economic zone, which has attracted US$ 2.5 billion in private investment to the Lagos metropolitan area. 3. See more at: https://guarantco.com/our-portfolio/lagos-free-zone-company/.https://guarantco.com/our-portfolio/lagos-free-zone-company/219Advancing the Urban Climate Finance Agenda: The Green Cities Guarantee FundNext Steps: Operationalizing the Green Cities Guarantee FundThe first step in moving the GCGF from a concept to an operating fund is defining its structure and governance framework, capitalization model, and hosting institution. Crafting a robust and sustainable business model is also key. As a hybrid entity combining insurance and development finance functions, the GCGF’s goal isto be self-sustaining, drawing revenue from guarantee premiums and returns on its assets. The next phase will focus on conducting comprehensive technical studies to refine these critical elements.In this context, the Commission Secretariat conducted preliminary analyses of regions, countries, and sectors to guide a market study for the Green Cities Guarantee Fund (GCGF). The analysis considered urbanization rates, infrastructure gaps, subnational funding, and enabling environments. It also examined the availability of public development assets and the geographic distribution of existing guarantee funds, noting that Latin America holds just 4% of the world’s guarantee funds. Based on this research, the Secretariat has identified Latin America and the Caribbean as a high-potential region for the Fund’s initial pilot phase, with plans to expand globally in the future.The Secretariat also briefly reviewed the specific types of urban infrastructure projects of interest to the GCGF. They are public transport, energy, water and sanitation, local public infrastructure, waste treatment and disposal, nature-based solutions, and climate disaster risk management. Moving forward, the market study needs to develop performance and risk profiles for these sectors. It should also identify the public or private entities that are responsible for them in each selected country, as national governments can take very different approaches to infrastructure financing and 220 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsdevelopment (Almeida et al. 2022).In addition to backing up infrastructure projects, the GCGF could also offer flexibility in supporting institutional financing aimed at strengthening municipal governance, enhancing planning and procurement processes, and building operational capacities for the implementation of climate initiatives. A prime example of the type of operations that could be guaranteed by the GCGF is the AFD’s US$ 120 million credit to the city of Barranquilla in 2020. This financing supported the implementation of the City’s Development Plan, focusing on sustainability, climate adaptation, biodiversity conservation, and social inclusion. Notably, this marked AFD’s first local currency operation in Latin America, underscoring the potential impact of such initiatives on urban development in the region. One major question that investors, bankers, lawyers, and other stakeholders who may be unfamiliar with the urban climate finance space ask is—do cities want this? To further build a case for the GCGF, the Commission Secretariat will seek to establish a pipeline of cities that are actively raising green financing and receptive to working with the GCGF. This stage will involve engaging with city leaders who want to develop climate mitigation and adaptation infrastructure in their cities. This process is expected to unveil the strong enthusiasm from city leaders throughout the developing world who are ready and willing to take bold climate action and seek innovative finance mechanisms to do so. Additionally, partnering with a wide range of organizations will be instrumental to the successful launch and operations of the GCGF. The GCGF is a unique vehicle in that it combines elements of municipality, climate, and development finance. Cities, national 221Advancing the Urban Climate Finance Agenda: The Green Cities Guarantee Fundgovernments, civil society organizations, development finance institutions, climate funds, investment banks, ratings agencies, institutional investors, urban finance consultants, law firms, and more will collectively form a network of partners with the GCGF. Momentum for the Creation of the Green Cities Guarantee FundGlobal efforts to increase climate finance for cities have gained significant momentum. In 2023, the UAE COP Presidency and Bloomberg Philanthropies hosted at COP 28 the Local Climate Action Summit, the first event of its kind, focusing on local-level climate finance and energy transition. The creation of the Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnership (CHAMP) initiative, endorsed by over 70 nations, aims to integrate subnational governments into the development of the next Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), potentially expanding cities’ access to climate finance.Some DFIs are also playing a significant role. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD) Green Cities program has mobilized more than US$ 5 billion in investments across 50 cities, while the City Climate Finance Gap Fund, managed by the World Bank and European Investment Bank, has provided technical assistance to 183 cities in 67 countries since its launch in 2020.4 CAF, the Development Bank for Latin America and the Caribbean, has made significant strides in expanding its support for subnational governments. In recent years, CAF pledged 4. To know more about the ERBD Green Cities program, see it here: https://ebrdgreencities.com/green-cities/about/. For the EU Guarantee program, see the InvestEU Green Cities Framework: https://investeu.europa.eu/investeu-operations-0/investeu-operations-list/investeu-green-cities-framework_en. And, finally, for the Green Climate Fund financing, see more at: https://www.citygapfund.org/.https://ebrdgreencities.com/green-cities/about/https://ebrdgreencities.com/green-cities/about/https://ebrdgreencities.com/green-cities/about/https://investeu.europa.eu/investeu-operations-0/investeu-operations-list/investeu-green-cities-framework_enhttps://investeu.europa.eu/investeu-operations-0/investeu-operations-list/investeu-green-cities-framework_enhttps://www.citygapfund.org/222 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsa substantial portion of its capital towards lending to subnational entities, such as municipal governments and local projects, through innovative financial mechanisms, some of which do not require a sovereign guarantee (CAF 2022).Relevant international players, such as the OECD and UN-Habitat, offer critical data and policy support, helping cities navigate climate finance. City networks like C40, ICLEI, GCoM, and the Resilience Cities Network are at the forefront of pushing for more financing for urban climate projects.The proposed GCGF, along with other city guarantee mechanisms currently being established, represents a timely and strategic initiative. This effort has the potential to significantly enhance financial flows toward the development of climate-resilient urban infrastructure. The GCGF does not aim to be a universal solution to urban financing challenges. Its impact will not extend to every city, nor will it support every project. A guarantee, by nature, cannot transform a poorly designed project into a successful one; only projects with solid foundations are eligible. However, the GCGF holds the potential to substantially enhance the urban climate finance landscape, emerging as one of several critical tools needed to address the growing demand for sustainable urban infrastructure solutions.The GCGF is designed to address the green financing needs of cities across diverse geographies and regulatory frameworks. In countries where cities are legally permitted to borrow without the need for a sovereign guarantee, the GCGF can help local governments access debt more affordably. In countries that require sovereign guarantees 223Advancing the Urban Climate Finance Agenda: The Green Cities Guarantee Fundfor subnational borrowing, or where cities are legally unable to borrow directly, the GCGF can facilitate urban infrastructure development by channeling capital to municipal utility companies, Special Purpose Vehicles, and the private sector.In nations where sovereign guarantees are optional, the GCGF may serve as an alternative mechanism. In cases where cities and municipal public entities are completely prohibited from accessing capitalmarkets, the GCGF shifts focus to supporting the private sector in securing finance for critical mitigation and adaptation infrastructure projects. This adaptability would enable the GCGF to benefit a large number of cities by customizing its approach based on local regulatory environments. Its focus in urban finance allows the GCGF to deliver innovative subnational financing solutions tailored to different needs and challenges in countries.The GCGF is envisioned as an entity specialized in addressing the distinct dynamics of cities, including the political cycles and administrative timelines of municipalities, which often differ significantly from those of national governments. Urban projects also come with their own set of complexities, making tailored financial solutions essential. By specializing in urban challenges, the GCGF can serve as a pivotal mechanism to meet the growing financial needs of cities and respond effectively to the increasing pressures faced by urban areas. This specialization positions the GCGF as a relevant player in advancing urban development in a meaningful and targeted manner.The time for action is now. Cities can no longer afford to fall short of their climate ambitions due to the constraints of an outdated financial system. To meet the urgency of the climate crisis, we must seize the current momentum in urban climate finance and 224 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsdevelop innovative financial tools. These tools will empower cities to become pivotal leaders in the global fight against climate change, enabling them to implement bold and impactful strategies that are crucial for the planet’s future.ReferencesAlexander, James, Darius Nassiry, Sam Barnard, et al. 2019. Financing the Sustainable Urban Future. 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Green, Social, Sustainability, and https://www.wri.org/insights/mdb-climate-finance-joint-report-2020https://www.wri.org/insights/mdb-climate-finance-joint-report-2020https://citiesclimatefinance.org/publications/2024-state-of-cities-climate-finance/https://citiesclimatefinance.org/publications/2024-state-of-cities-climate-finance/https://www.adb.org/publications/improvingsubnational-government-development-finance-emerging-developing-economieshttps://www.adb.org/publications/improvingsubnational-government-development-finance-emerging-developing-economieshttps://www.adb.org/publications/improvingsubnational-government-development-finance-emerging-developing-economieshttps://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/population/2018-revision-of-world-urbanization-prospects.htmlhttps://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/population/2018-revision-of-world-urbanization-prospects.htmlhttps://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/population/2018-revision-of-world-urbanization-prospects.htmlhttps://press.un.org/en/2023/dsgsm1839.doc.htmhttps://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/urbandevelopment/brief/city-creditworthiness-initiativehttps://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/urbandevelopment/brief/city-creditworthiness-initiative227Advancing the Urban Climate Finance Agenda: The Green Cities Guarantee FundSustainability-Linked (GSSS) Bonds. Quarterly Newsletter: Issue N. 6. Market Update, January. https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/dc1d70af2c45cb377ed3ee12b27399d4-0340012024/original/GSSS-Quarterly-Newsletter-Issue-No-6.pdf.https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/dc1d70af2c45cb377ed3ee12b27399d4-0340012024/original/GSSS-Quarterly-Newsletter-Issue-No-6.pdfhttps://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/dc1d70af2c45cb377ed3ee12b27399d4-0340012024/original/GSSS-Quarterly-Newsletter-Issue-No-6.pdfhttps://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/dc1d70af2c45cb377ed3ee12b27399d4-0340012024/original/GSSS-Quarterly-Newsletter-Issue-No-6.pdf2284.Climate Change Perceptions in the Urban Global South and Its ImplicationsYoon Jae Ro, Seungho Lee and Munsu KangClimate change presents one of the most pressing challenges for urban areas in the Global South nowadays, with profound implications for their inhabitants across multiple dimensions. The rapid urbanization occurring in the Global South intensifies these impacts, creating a unique context where climate change and urbanization intersect. Against this backdrop, understanding how urban residents in the Global South perceive climate change becomes increasingly important, as their perceptions offer critical insights into the multi-domain challenges of climate change.Densely populated cities in the Global South contribute significantly to global CO2 emissions. They also serve as hot spots of vulnerability to climate change, given the scarcity of essential resources, resilient infrastructure, housing, and economic opportunities. Rural-to-urban and cross-border migration adds another layer of complexity 230 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsto their sustainable mitigation and adaptation efforts. All in all, these dynamics position urban populations in the Global South at the forefront of global efforts to combat climate change (Hunt and Watkiss 2011; Okaka et al. 2018).In this chapter, we focus on the perceptions of climate change among urban residents in eight major countries across the Global South. Specifically, we begin by offering an overview of the extent to which individuals are concerned about climate change and their beliefs regarding its origins. We then provide a picture of how individuals perceive the potential impacts of climate change on key aspects of their daily lives, including health, employment opportunities, family planning, and outmigration intentions. Special emphasis is placed on understanding how a set of climate-related factors influence their intentions to migrate out of urban areas. Despite the significant challenges posed by climate change in urban areas of the Global South, relatively less scholarly attention has been paid to urban dwellers’ perceptions of climate change consequences directly relevant to everyday urban lives in the Global South context and the underlying factors driving their perceptions.The study of public perceptions of climate change has recently gained significant traction. Numerous studies have explored climate change perception based on primary surveys at the individual level, investigating to what extent individuals are knowledgeable about climate change (Whitmarsh 2011; Bliuc et al. 2015; Lee et al. 2015; Okaka et al. 2018; Asai et al. 2022; Dechezleprêtre et al. 2022; Barreira et al. 2023), how they assess its threats and consequences (Lee et al. 2015; Alam et al. 2017; Okaka et al. 2018; Bollettino et al. 2020; Asai 2022; Barreira et al. 2023), and what they perceive as preferred responses of governments or the international community 231Climate Change Perceptions in the Urban Global South and Its Implicationsto climate change in terms of mitigation and adaptation (Asai et al. 2022; Dechezleprêtre et al. 2022; Barreira et al. 2023; Dabla-Norris et al. 2023).While these studies offer valuable insights through within-country analysis in both Global North (Whitmarsh et al. 2011; Bliuc et al. 2015; Barreira et al. 2023) and Global South contexts (Alam et al. 2017; Okaka et al. 2018; Bollettino et al. 2020), as well as cross-country comparisons (Lee et al. 2015; Asai et al. 2022; Dabla-Norris et al. 2023), notably less research has been conducted on cross-country analysis of climate change perceptions in countries in the Global South, and even more scarcely on comparing urban citizens’ perceptions of climate change across these countries.We seek to fill this research gap by exploring how urban dwellers in the Global South perceive climate change consequences across several critical domains. While some studies have specifically addressed urban perceptions of climate change in both Global North and South contexts (Madureira et al. 2018; Okaka et al. 2018), few have focused on how urban residents in the Global South perceive the potential impacts of climate change on their daily lives. The areas of our focus—health, family planning, and outmigration decisions—are among the most important aspects of their everyday experiences. Understanding how urban citizens perceive climate change’s potential effects on these domains is therefore essential for effective policymaking and urban planning. Such insights can inform the development of city-level climate mitigation and adaptation strategies tailored to meet the needs and concerns of urban populations.Among the various domains affected by climate change, health consequences have received substantial attention. Previous studies 232 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicshave documented how climate change affects human health through direct and indirect mechanisms (Costello et al. 2009; Maibach et al. 2015; Watts et al. 2015). While research shows growing public concern about climate-related health risks in urban areas (Watts et al. 2015), only a few studies investigate the extent to which individuals attribute health problems to climate change within selected countries (Akerlof et al. 2010; Maibach et al. 2015; Casson et al. 2023).There is also a growing body of literature examining the impact of climate change and the economic restructuring associated with climate change mitigation and adaptation (Martinez-Fernandez 2010; ILO 2018).However, relatively little scholarly attention has been devoted to understanding how individuals associate climate change with their job security, despite the theoretical expectation that climate change and related economic shifts could exacerbate job insecurity. Bui et al. (2024) is one of the few works that links climate change to perceptions of job insecurity among individuals in Australia. However, research on how urban residents in the Global South perceive the ways in which climate change is reshaping their employment opportunities remains scarce, highlighting a significant gap in the literature.There is also evidence that people are increasingly connecting climate change concerns to their reproductive intentions (Schneider-Mayerson & Leong 2020) and actual reproductive choices (Ghimire and Mohai 2006). However, empirical evidence about the relationship between concerns about climate change and individual fertility intentions and choices remains scarce. Only a limited number of studies (Arnocky et al. 2012; De Rose and Testa 2015; Schneider-Mayerson and Leong 2020) investigate perceptions about climate impacts that children will experience or 233Climate Change Perceptions in the Urban Global South and Its Implicationsconcerns about the carbon footprint of procreation, mainly within the context of developed countries.The final area of focus in this chapter examines the relationship between climate change and migration decisions, encompassing both the choice to migrate and the willingness to accept migrants from other regions. As urban residents in the Global South become increasingly vulnerable to the compounded effects of climate-induced events, dense populations, inadequate infrastructure, and migration flows, it has become crucial to examine whether climate change has emerged as a significant factor influencing their intentions to migrate out of these areas. While climate-induced migration intentions and behaviors destined for urban areas are extensively documented in the Global North and South contexts (Thiede et al. 2016; Sedova and Kalkuhl 2020; Clement et al. 2021; McLean and Brahim 2023), research on how urban dwellers in the Global South associate climate change with their intentions to out-migrate remains limited.By investigating urban inhabitants’ perceptions of potential climate change impacts across interconnected domains—health, employment opportunities, family planning, and outmigration—and their associations with general perceptions of climate change and climate-related experiences, this chapter provides a comprehensive framework for understanding how climate change permeates various aspects of urban lives in the Global South.Perceptions of Climate Change and Its Daily Life ImpactsAs climate change intensifies, urban residents in developing countries face heightened vulnerability. Rapid urbanization has led 234 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsto densely populated cities with inadequate infrastructure to manage environmental challenges. As a result, climate change increasingly influences daily life, impacting health, jobs, residence, and family planning decisions. We now delve into how urban dwellers in major cities in eight countries across Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and South Asia perceive climate change and how they anticipate its effects on their lives. The results, gathered from our survey conducted in early 2024, paint a picture of rising concern and a growing recognition of climate change’s pervasive impact on everyday existence.1The survey details are described in Ro et al. (2024). It explores the factors influencing variations in urban residents’ attitudes toward climate change. Conducted online between January and February 2024 in both English and local languages, the survey sampled residents aged 18 and older, gathering responses from 3,243 individuals, with a minimum of 400 participants per country. The internationally comparable results allow for comprehensive regional and country-specific analyses, offering valuable insights into the perceptions of urban residents in developing countries regarding climate change.Table 1 presents key findings that highlight the levels of concern and beliefs regarding the causes and impacts of climate change. Across the eight countries surveyed, an overwhelming majority of respondents expressed concern about the future of the planet due to climate change. People are worried about the abstract, global 1. The survey details are described in Ro et al. (2024). It explores the factors influencing variations in urban residents’ attitudes toward climate change. Conducted online between January and February 2024 in both English and local languages, the survey sampled residents aged 18 and older, gathering responses from 3,243 individuals, with a minimum of 400 participants per country. The internationally comparable results allow for comprehensive regional and country-specific analyses, offering valuable insights into the perceptions of urban residents in developing countries regarding climate change.235Climate Change Perceptions in the Urban Global South and Its Implicationsconsequences, and how these changes will directly affect them, their families, and their livelihoods.CountryIndonesia Vietnam Bangladesh India Colombia Peru Kenya Morocco% who express concern about global climate change86% 74% 78% 81% 81% 75% 81% 80%% who think climate change is caused by human activity97% 95% 98% 98% 92% 92% 98% 89%% who believe urban communities face greater challenges81% 69% 62% 75% 35% 43% 51% 40%Climate Change Threat 49% 46% 37% 39% 20% 19% 30% 44%Health 69% 68% 72% 76% 72% 68% 74% 69%Job 45% 50% 56% 48% 51% 49% 57% 42%Income 40% 47% 52% 48% 43% 46% 56% 40%Moving 21% 28% 24% 38% 22% 19% 21% 20%Family Plan 30% 32% 35% 44% 23% 22% 33% 21%Table 1. Climate Change Risk Concerns and Perceptions of Daily Life Impacts.22. Note: To calculate percentages, we converted the original 5-point scale responses into a binary format. For the question “How concerned are you about global climate change?” responses of 4 (“Worried”) and 5 (“Extremely Worried’) are considered as expressing concern. Similarly, binary responses were used for the questions: “Do you believe that human activity is a significant cause of climate change?” and “Which type of community—urban or rural—faces greater challenges in terms of livability due to the effects of climate change?” Respondents are also categorized based on their answers to the question: “What is the greatest threat to your country in the next five years?” Responses are grouped into six categories: climate change, humanitarian issues, unemployment, conflict, infectious diseases, and high inflation. The percentage of respondents who identified climate change as the greatest threat was calculated. In addition, responses to five key questions, each originally rated on a 5-point scale (Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Neither Agree nor Disagree, Agree, Strongly Agree), were dichotomized. Responses of “Agree” and “Strongly Agree” are calculated as a percentage of those in agreement: 1. To what extent do you believe climate change will negatively impact your health? 2. How much do you think climate change will affect your job over the next five years? 3. To what extent do you expect climate change to negatively influence your income in the next five years? 4. Have you considered relocating due to concerns about climate change? 5. Have you thought about altering your family plans because of climate change concerns?236 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and PoliticsOne of the core questions posed in our survey asked: How concerned are you about global climate change? The responses, which ranged from “not worried at all” to “extremely worried,” revealed a deep-seated anxiety, with a significant portion of the populationadaptation and climate mitigation efforts, but coordination across all scales is similarly crucial for addressing both the causes and impacts of climate change efficiently (Landauer et al. 2019).Internationally, frameworks such as the Paris Agreement provide important platforms and mechanisms for countries to demonstrate their commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions while enhancing resilience and preparedness for climate impacts and promoting sustainable and equitable transitions. Exploring this at the national level, governments develop climate policies that, if well-constructed, focus on achieving national mitigation and adaptation targets. Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement require countries to outline actions that reduce emissions and build resilience, and this often translates to national plans. Of the NDCs recorded by September 2023, 94% of parties provided quantified mitigation targets and 81% provided an adaptation component (an increase compared to the previous reporting period) (UNFCCC 2023). Few targets and plans explicitly look at adaptation and mitigation simultaneously. The UK, for example, has a national Net Zero Strategy with the aim to reach net zero by 2050 and its 2023 Net Zero Growth Plan sets out existing strategies, focusing on the scale-up and deployment of technologies 28 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsfor decarbonizing homes, power, industry, and transport. The UK also has a distinct Climate Change Risk Assessment, produced every five years, with a government response in the form of a National Adaptation Programme. However, these policies and programmes are developed independently of each other with little consideration for identifying synergies between adaptation and mitigation targets.Regionally, at the European Union level, countries can implement mitigation and adaptation by coordinating resource management and infrastructure planning across municipalities. Climate change and the impacts of climate change do not discriminate geographically, and emissions from all countries contribute to the climate crisis with the impacts felt across geographies, timescales, and spatial scales, regardless of where emissions originated. Regions within and across countries often manage shared resources like rivers or forests, making them key players in managing climate risks. Cross-border collaborations, such as those across European Union—e.g. the EU’s 2030 climate target to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, the EU’s 2040 climate targets aiming to reduce the EU’s net greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2040 relative to 1990, the EU’s 2050 long-term climate strategy to be climate-neutral by 2050 with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, and the EU Adaptation Strategy which outlines how the EU can adapt to the impacts of climate change and become climate resilient by 2050—ensure that regions align their mitigation and adaptation efforts to achieve larger sustainability goals.Locally, cities and communities are seen to have the most tangible integration of mitigation and adaptation. It is also where there is a fuller understanding of how such efforts can be implemented to align with the needs and resources of the local context (Russell 29Integrating Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies in Citiesand Christie 2021). Local governments design policies for energy-efficient buildings, sustainable transportation, and green infrastructure that sequester carbon (mitigation) while reducing urban heat and flood risks (adaptation). Engaging communities in these processes ensures that climate action is tailored to local needs and challenges, and this has been particularly evident and successful through the use of citizen assemblies and juries to engage with citizens as well as via climate commissions which play an important convening role in designing and supporting local climate action (Howarth et al. 2021; 2023).Role of Governance, Finance and PoliticsThe successful integration of climate mitigation and adaptation strategies is critically dependent on governance, finance, and politics within cities (Bulkeley et al. 2011). These three factors shape decision-making, assign and allocate resources, and implement policy needed to address climate change effectively within the boundaries of the urban environment. Generally speaking, governance structures provide the frameworks to support and deliver coordinated action, finance enables the necessary investments and flows of money to support this action, and political will drives the ambition required to design, implement, and ramp up meaningful change. Together, these factors can determine the success of climate strategies at a macro level and their alignment and integration within and across adaptation and mitigation agendas, ensuring that cities can reduce their emissions while adapting and building resilience to the inevitable impacts of climate change.Cities do not operate in isolation. Climate action relies on multilevel governance, as discussed above, where national and local authorities 30 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicswork together to align policies. National governments create broad frameworks such as emission targets, while local governments implement practical solutions such as green infrastructure and flood defenses, this is then further enforced within cities, at times independent of (often slow) progress beyond city boundaries. Cross-sectoral coordination ensures collaboration across key sectors such as energy, transportation, and health, addressing both climate mitigation (e.g., reducing emissions through electric vehicles) and adaptation (e.g., heat-resilient infrastructure), but this generally occurs in isolation with missed opportunities to join up these cross-sectoral collaborations and make the most of co-benefits of climate action. Within this process, stakeholder engagement is crucial, involving communities, businesses, and civil society to ensure that climate policies are inclusive, equitable, and widely supported, particularly for vulnerable groups, enhancing the effectiveness of climate initiatives (Sprengel and Busch. 2011). This has been particularly successful through the model of climate commissions, established in the UK and initially launched in the cities of Leeds, Belfast, and Edinburgh, often occurring at a city level, and whose aim is to translate national climate targets to the local level through such a collaborative process (Howarth et al. 2023).Finance plays a key role in integrating climate mitigation and adaptation efforts by ensuring adequate resources and flows of finance for climate action, especially in developing countries (Dikau and Volz 2021). International mechanisms such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF) support projects that promote renewable energy, energy efficiency, and climate-resilient infrastructure. Blended finance, combining public and private investments, helps to scale up climate efforts by de-risking private ventures into green technologies. Additionally, budgeting for climate resilience is vital, 31Integrating Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies in Citiesas governments must plan for both mitigation and adaptation by allocating resources for low-carbon infrastructure and disaster risk reduction, ensuring long-term sustainability and reducing vulnerability to climate impacts.Leadership, public opinion, and international diplomacy are important components of politics and significantly impact the integration of climate mitigation and adaptation in urban areas. For example, strong political will is crucial for setting ambitious climate targets and embedding climate resilience into long-term plans, as seen in cities like Copenhagen and New York. Public opinion pressures governments to prioritizerating themselves as either “worried” or “extremely worried.” In Indonesia, for instance, 86% of respondents expressed this level of concern, while a similarly high proportion was found in India, Colombia, and Kenya, with 81% of respondents feeling the same way. Urban residents, it seems, are acutely aware that climate change is not a distant, future problem—it is something that has already begun to shape their environment.Another notable survey aspect was the widespread belief that human activity is a significant cause of climate change. Despite differences in education and socio-economic status, a remarkable 97% or more of respondents in countries like Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, and Kenya agreed that human actions—such as industrial pollution, deforestation, and overconsumption of resources—are driving the planet’s ecological instability. This level of consensus highlights how ingrained the concept of anthropogenic climate change has become in the global consciousness, even in developing countries. It reflects a growing awareness that the actions of humanity have led to the crisis, and perhaps more importantly, it hints at the potential for public support for measures aimed at reducing carbon emissions and protecting the environment.Opinions were more divided when asked whether urban or rural areas face greater challenges due to climate change. Some respondents saw rural areas—often dependent on agriculture and more vulnerable to climate shocks like droughts and floods—as the most affected. Yet, a considerable number of urban dwellers pointed 237Climate Change Perceptions in the Urban Global South and Its Implicationsto the unique challenges that cities face: overcrowding, pollution, heat waves, and deteriorating infrastructure. In cities like Jakarta and Mumbai, the population density makes adapting to climate change particularly difficult, with a staggering 81% of Indonesians and 75% of Indians believing that urban areas are more challenged than their rural counterparts. This perception is likely influenced by the lived realities of city life. Urban residents often experience the effects of climate change in concentrated, acute ways, from frequent water shortages to heightened health risks due to pollution and heat.While climate change is often framed as a global problem, the survey revealed how it is perceived as a very local threat. When asked about the greatest threat to their country over the next five years, many respondents identified climate change, placing it above other pressing concerns such as unemployment, inflation, and conflict. In countries like Indonesia and Morocco, nearly half of the population (49% and 44%, respectively) saw climate change as the most significant challenge facing their nation. This indicates that, for many urban dwellers, climate change is not just an environmental issue—it is a social and economic one, likely to influence everything from food security to job opportunities.Beyond abstract concerns, the survey also examined how urban residents perceive the direct impacts of climate change on their daily lives. Five key questions were posed to capture this, asking to what extent respondents believed climate change would affect their health, jobs, income, migration decisions, and family planning.Health was consistently identified as an area of vulnerability. In India and Bangladesh, for example, over 70% of respondents anticipated that climate change would negatively impact their health. These fears are not unfounded; rising temperatures, poor air quality, and 238 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsthe increased spread of diseases are all linked to climate change.Jobs and incomes were also areas of concern. In Kenya and Bangladesh, more than half of the respondents expected climate change to affect their employment opportunities in the next five years. Urban workers, particularly those in informal sectors or agriculture-dependent industries, feared that climate-related risks could threaten their livelihoods. Similar worries were shared across Vietnam, India, Peru, and Colombia, where climate-related disruptions to key industries like agriculture and tourism are becoming more frequent.Perhaps most striking were the findings related to migration and family planning. A significant number of urban residents have begun to reconsider their future plans in light of climate change. In India, for instance, 38% of respondents admitted that they had considered relocating due to climate-related concerns, while in Bangladesh and Vietnam, nearly a third of respondents expressed similar sentiments. Family planning decisions were also influenced, particularly in Southeast Asia, where environmental instability prompted many to reassess their choices. Notably, 44% of Indians and 35% of Bangladeshis had reconsidered family planning due to concerns about future climate conditions.Climate Concerns as a Driver of Migration DecisionsAs urban residents increasingly recognize the tangible impacts of climate change on their daily lives, these concerns begin to influence critical decisions—whether to migrate, adapt, or support policy measures aimed at climate change mitigation and adaptation. The survey findings in the following chapter explore how these concerns 239Climate Change Perceptions in the Urban Global South and Its Implicationstranslate into migration decisions. Results from Table 2 reveal a clear pattern, with many of these factors showing a positive correlation with a higher likelihood of migration driven by climate concerns.CountryIndonesia Vietnam Bangladesh India Colombia Peru Kenya MoroccoWorried 0.12 0.10 0.06 0.07 0.06 0.12 0.06 0.05Human Activity -0.08 0.19 0.02 0.26 0.13 0.01 0.10 0.10Urban more challenged -0.02 0.07 -0.01 0.15 0.09 0.05 0.02 0.12Climate Change Threat 0.00 0.11 -0.02 0.07 0.11 0.10 -0.04 -0.02Health 0.10 0.14 0.10 0.12 0.11 0.08 0.09 0.07Job 0.15 0.16 0.11 0.20 0.11 0.08 0.05 0.09Income 0.14 0.16 0.10 0.19 0.10 0.08 0.07 0.09Family Plan 0.18 0.22 0.16 0.20 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.16Drought -0.04 0.14 0.01 0.22 0.03 0.12 0.04 0.05Flood 0.10 0.11 -0.01 0.16 0.02 0.06 0.05 0.12Sea level 0.07 0.10 -0.01 0.20 0.07 0.05 0.06 -0.01Landslide 0.04 0.13 0.02 0.19 0.02 0.02 0.10 0.04Wildfire 0.08 0.15 0.11 0.22 0.06 0.07 0.11 -0.00Heatwave -0.02 -0.00 0.01 -0.02 -0.01 -0.08 0.03 -0.00Storms 0.04 0.03 -0.01 0.03 0.05 0.10 0.14 0.09Table 2. Correlation Between Climate-related Factors and Migration Decisions.33. Note: Each number represents the regression coefficient of a factor influencing migration decisions. We interpret this as a correlation between the two variables.240 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and PoliticsIndividuals who express deep concern about climate change and its impacts are more inclined to view migration as a potential solution. For example, respondents from Indonesia, Vietnam, and Peru who were particularly worried about climate change were more likely to consider relocation. Similarly, those who perceive climate change as a significant threat to their country—especially in Colombia and Vietnam—tend to lean toward migration. While many believe human activity is the root cause of climate change, this belief alone did not correlate as strongly with migration decisions as other factors.Urban residents who see cities as more vulnerable than rural areas are also more likely to consider moving, as seen in India, Colombia, and Morocco. In these countries, urban centers face frequent environmental challenges, such as heatwaves, water shortages, and pollution, making it increasingly difficult for residents to adapt to life in the city under the mounting pressure of climate change.Health risks and economic instability emerge as powerful drivers of migration as well. Across all countries surveyed, those who believe climate change will harmclimate action, especially when it aligns with voter interests and social justice. International cooperation, through agreements like the Paris Agreement, fosters collaboration, technology sharing, and financial support, particularly for developing countries. Political dynamics, therefore, shape the success and scope of global climate efforts.Role of the IPCC and UNFCCC in Integrating Climate Adaptation and Mitigation in CitiesThe Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) play crucial roles in integrating climate adaptation and mitigation in cities (Wamsler et al. 2020). The IPCC synthesizes the most up-to-date scientific evidence on climate change and can thus highlight the importance of combining adaptation and mitigation (Hermansen et al. 2023). Indeed, the IPCC’s three working groups have been known to work together producing IPCC outputs to ensure that integration happens. The IPCC’s assessments guide cities in adopting science-based solutions, 32 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicshelping local governments understand how adaptation measures, like green infrastructure, can reduce emissions while protecting against climate impacts. IPCC reports offer valuable insights for urban policymakers, emphasizing the co-benefits of integrated strategies, such as improving air quality, enhancing public health, and fostering urban resilience.The UNFCCC, on the other hand, focuses on the international governance of climate action. Frameworks like the Paris Agreement promote global cooperation, encouraging cities to develop adaptation and mitigation plans aligned with national climate commitments. The UNFCCC facilitates climate finance through mechanisms such as the GCF, enabling cities to access resources for implementing sustainable urban projects. The two organizations underscore the need for cities to simultaneously tackle climate risks and reduce emissions, fostering a unified global approach. Together, the IPCC’s science-based guidance and the UNFCCC’s policy frameworks create the foundation for cities to integrate climate adaptation and mitigation, promoting long-term sustainability and resilience.ConclusionIntegrating climate mitigation and adaptation strategies is crucial for the future of cities, but it is not without its challenges. Efforts to manage climate change in cities often focus on mitigation efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions separately from efforts seeking to adapt to the impacts of climate change, which can lead to inefficiencies. Yet, integrating both approaches can create co-benefits and reduce emissions while enhancing resilience to climate impacts. Cities that embrace and align mitigation and adaptation 33Integrating Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies in Citiesagendas could reduce their emissions by raising their resilience to climate hazards and improving the quality of life of their residents, thus, strengthening a range of co-benefits across society. Mitigation efforts tackle the root causes of climate change, aiming to reduce the future severity of these hazards, while adaptation ensures that communities are equipped to handle the impacts that are already occurring. As the impacts of climate change become more pronounced, the need for integrated urban climate strategies will continue to grow. By developing green infrastructure, promoting energy-efficient technologies, designing climate-resilient urban areas, and learning from across sectors, cities can simultaneously reduce emissions and enhance their ability to cope with the increasingly harsh effects of climate change. However, it is not a straightforward process. There are several challenges to integrating climate mitigation and adaptation in cities, including institutional silos—where different departments handle mitigation and adaptation separately, missing opportunities for synergies—and competing priorities (e.g. housing, economic development, and limited funding) that makes it difficult to implement integrated strategies. Moreover, cities often operate on short-term political cycles and deal with a lack of coordinated funding or policy frameworks, while climate challenges require long-term planning. Overcoming these barriers is crucial for making cities more sustainable and climate-resilient, ensuring they can address both mitigation and adaptation needs effectively.While these and other challenges exist, the benefits of an integrated approach are clear. Integrating climate adaptation and mitigation in cities brings numerous co-benefits, enhancing resilience, environmental sustainability, and social equity. By fostering 34 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicssynergies between adaptation and mitigation strategies, cities can appropriately address the multidimensional impacts of climate change while optimizing resource allocation and efficiency. 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Island Press.Spencer, Benjamin, James Lawler, Craig Lowe, et al. 2017. “Case Studies in Co-Benefits Approaches to Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation.” Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 60 (4): 647–67. https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2016.1194399.Sprengel, Dorothee C., and Timo Busch. 2011. “Stakeholder Engagement and Environmental Strategy: The Case of Climate Change.” Business Strategy and the Environment 20 (6): 351–64. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.684.United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). 2023. Nationally Determined Contributions Under the Paris Agreement: Synthesis Report by the Secretariat. UN Climate Change Conference — United Arab Emirates Nov/Dec 2023, FCCC/PA/CMA/2023/12. https://unfccc.int/documents/632334.Wamsler, Christine, Niko Schäpke, Cornelia Fraude, et al. 2020. “Enabling New Mindsets and Transformative Skills for Negotiating and Activating Climate Action: Lessons from UNFCCC Conferences of the Parties.” Environmental Science & Policy 112: 227–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2020.05.005.https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/24/13817https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/24/13817https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2016.1194399https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.684https://unfccc.int/documents/632334https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2020.05.005402.Sustainable and Productive Cities and Urban Sustainable Development: A Developing Countries PerspectiveArkebe OqubayThe article discusses the role of sustainable and productive cities as drivers of global transformation. Cities, as the heart of human civilizations, not only propel economic development and serve as technological and innovation hubs but also inspire hope and optimism for the future. They contribute over 80 percent of the global economy and nearly 100 percent to all scientific and technological breakthroughs. Rapid urbanization has been a primary force in the demographic shift that impacts global transformation. With their unparalleled resilience and innovation ability, cities are also at the forefront of significant global challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change, finding sustainable solutions. Cities are not just essential to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Climate Agreement, endorsed by all United Nations member countries, but are the subject and primary actors in implementing 42 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and Politicsit. By recognizing the importance of making “cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable” (Goal 11), the 2030 Agenda underscores the importance and impact of cities in shaping the future.However, in shaping global transformation, cities face significant challenges in releasing their full potential, including financial, governance, and political constraints. A G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro led by Brasil could be instrumental in promoting city transformation and urban sustainable development as essential components of the development agenda, empowering cities to take charge of their transformation. The objectives of the paper are: (1) to present urbanization and urban transformation as a framework; (2) to explain why and how cities should strive to be not only productive but also sustainable to promote their national development strategies, to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the net zero agenda; (3) to further discuss the dynamics of city transformation with a focus on Addis Ababa’s transformation as a case study; and (4) to learn from city leadership experiences. The article will explore critical questions: What specific strategies can cities implement to become productive and sustainable cities? What examples of successful city transformation and leadership experiences can be learned from? Given the urbanization wave, population growth, and the lagging structural transformation, these questions have significant implications for cities in emerging and developing economies or the Global South.This article is enriched by the author’s over three decades of experience in development policymaking and transformation, including serving as the former mayor of Addis Ababa and former minister of urban development. This unique perspective, 43Sustainable and Productive Cities and Urban Sustainable Development: A Developing Countries Perspectivecombined with extensive scholarly and research work drawing from development economics, urban development, and international political economy, provides a comprehensive understanding of the issues at hand. The paper is structured into four sections covering the above mentioned themes, supplemented by an introduction and conclusion. The author’s unique perspective is a critical element that makes this paper a valuable resource for understanding urban transformation.Urbanization Pattern and Urban Transformation Economic history tells us that demographic shifts and technological advances are the two drivers of economic development. Technological advances have accelerated since the first industrial revolution in England (1850s–1950s), followed by the second and third industrial revolutions (1850s–1950s) and the ongoing fourth industrial revolution, which is characterized by green and digital transformation (which was activated after the 1950s).1 The acceleration of technological advancement and innovation was propelled by population pressure. This section highlights that cities are engines of economic growth and innovation; accelerated urbanization in the twenty-first century is expected to shape developing and emerging economies; the demographic shift—shifts in population growth and median age in developing countries accompanied by aging and population decline in advanced economies. Cities have the primary role in sustainable structuring transformation.1. Fossil fuels powered the first, second, and third industrial revolutions. The fourth industrial revolution is transitioning from fossil fuels, driven by digital and green technology breakthroughs.44 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and PoliticsDemographic ShiftsBetween 1900 and 2000, the world population increased from 1.6 billion to over 6 billion, a nearly four-fold increase in the 20th century. In this century, it is projected to hit almost 10 billion by 2050, peaking by the end of the century. Asia and Africa are the main drivers of population growth in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. By 2000, Asia accounted for 60 percent of the world population, while Africa is expected to be the primary driver in the 21st century. Various factors, including fertility rate, public health and life expectancy, migration, and global scale events, influence the demographic shift. In addition, shifts in the age structure accompanied demographic shifts, although uneven across various regions.Advanced economies faced an aging population while developing countries enjoyed the increase in younger populations, with Africa enjoying 20 years in contrast to Asia’s 34 years and advanced economies 45 years. Asia garnered a demographic dividend in the second half of the twentieth century, when the working-age population grew faster than the dependent population, leading to increased economic productivity (UN DESA 2024). Africa will pass through this process in the twenty-first century. Africa’s population will increase from 1.4 billion in 2025 to 2.5 billion by 2050, with significant implications for economic development—an increase from 1.4 billion to 2.5 billion in 2050, with a projected additional 800 million people joining the workforce with a considerable impact on job creation, the potential to emerge as hubs of productive capacity, and contributing to market growth (Best 2001; UNCTAD 2019).45Sustainable and Productive Cities and Urban Sustainable Development: A Developing Countries PerspectiveFigure 1. World population by regions (1950–2050, millions). Source: Greening of African Economic Development from UN DESA data.Rapid Urbanization However, from a demographic and technological development perspective, rapid urbanization and the accompanying urban transformation are fundamental drivers of global change. In 1900, the urbanization level was below 15 percent, doubling to 30 percent by 1950 and reaching nearly 58 percent in 2025. It is projected that roughly 70 percent will live in urban areas by 2050, peaking at 90 percent by 2100, witnessing a fundamental shift in human history. The pace of economic development and industrialization, population growth and age structure, technological advances, and rural-to-urban migration have influenced the rate of urbanization. 1000090008000700060005000400030002000100001950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050Africa Asia Europe Lat. America and the Carib. N. America Oceania46 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and PoliticsHowever, the level of urbanization characterizes significant unevenness among different regions. For instance, over four-fifths of people in the Americas and Europe will live in cities by 2025, while it will only reach 55 percent in Asia. Africa will be the least urbanized, reaching 45 percent. Variousfactors account for the variations in urbanization levels that reflect the accompanying economic growth and transformation.Since 1960, African cities have transformed in size, urban structure, and economic contributions. In 1960, cities in the newly independent African countries accounted for 20 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and 15 percent lived in cities. By 2000, cities’ contribution to the national economy had increased to nearly 60 percent. By 2050, African cities’ contribution is projected to grow to 85 percent of Africa’s GDP. In 1960, only three cities had a population between 1 and 5 million; by 2020, the number had increased to 68. In the same period, the total number of cities with a population over 300,000 increased from 19 to 235 and is projected to grow to 366 in 2035, of which five are mega-cities over 10 million and 19 are metropolitan cities with 5–10 million population.47Sustainable and Productive Cities and Urban Sustainable Development: A Developing Countries PerspectiveFigure 2. Urban settlements in Africa (1960, 1980, 2000, 2020, 2035). Source: Greening of African Economic Development from UN DESA data.Agglomeration Economies and Innovation SpilloversThe historical perspective of the role of cities in economic growth captured by Paul Bairoch (1988) in Cities and Economic Development: From the Down of History to the Present highlights cities as catalysts of economic development; the Industrial Revolution as the turning point emphasizing the interconnectedness between industrialization, urbanization and role of cities; and the diverse nature of cities and the economic disparity of cities as a permanent feature.2 Jane Jacob’s pioneering works, The Economy of Cities (1969) and Cities and the Wealth of 2. See more: Von Thünen (1863); Hoover (1948); Le Corbusier (1929), Lefebvre (1996); Mumford (1972); Castells (1991); Henderson (1974, 2003); Glaeser (2011).1401201008060402001960300 09 71 1 362375975489251993128121151833 351980 2000 2020 203510 million or more 5 to 10 million500,000 to 1 million 300,000 to 500,000Number of settlements1 to 5 million48 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and PoliticsNations (1984), emphasize cities where the new is created and the notion of a “productive city” and innovation hub as premier drivers of economic development, “cities are settlements where much new is added to older work and this new work multiplies and diversifies a city’s division of labor; that cities develop because of this process, not because of events outside of themselves; that cities invent and reinvent rural economic life; that developing new work is different from merely repeating and expanding efficiently the production of already existing goods and services” (1969, 122). Moreover, Jacobs underscores the interconnection and synergy between industrialization and urbanization and puts cities at the heart of structural transformation. Jacobs adds: “A country’s basic wealth is its productive capacity, created by the practical opportunities people have to add new work” (1969, 77, author’s emphasis).Agglomeration economies are a key feature that enables cities to play a central role as they foster positive externalities and spillover, namely, localization economies, associated with external economies of scale generated by the concentration of firms in the same industries in the same vicinity (Marshall 1920). This process functions through the advantages brought by the pool of skilled labor, the availability of intermediate inputs and services, and the knowledge and technological spillovers, referred to as the Marshallian Trinity. Moreover, Ohlin’s urbanization economies generate external economies of scale across various industries and sectors in relatively large cities and urban centres (Ohlin 1933). Multiple channels of agglomeration are revealed through a combination of an organic process and policy-driven through multiple typologies of industrial hubs—industrial parks, special economic zones, and technology hubs, among the many variations influenced by the nature of sectors and national context as 49Sustainable and Productive Cities and Urban Sustainable Development: A Developing Countries Perspectivecomprehensively presented in Oqubay and Lin (2020) The Oxford Handbook of Industrial Hubs and Economic Development.3From a development economics perspective, industrialization and exports are vital for sustained structural transformation because of the special properties of manufacturing, the strategic benefits of exports, and the increasing role of technological innovations. Exports play a strategic role as a source of international learning, relaxing constraints on balance-of-payments and maximizing increasing return to scale (Passineti 1982, 1993; Thirlwall 2013). Manufacturing is an engine of growth and structural change because of: (a) strong causal relations between the growth of manufacturing output and the growth of GDP; (b) between the growth of manufacturing output and the growth of productivity; and (c) between the rates at which manufacturing expands and the growth of productivity outside the manufacturing sector (Thirlwall 2013; Kaldor 1967). From a Schumpeterian evolutionary perspective, technological change is the driver of industrial capitalism that emphasizes the vital role of innovation and production capability and the activation of “creative destruction” that pulls the rise of new industries and new economies (Schumpeter 1934). Historical evidence suggests that industrial policy and productive transformation are vital in economic catch-up and structural transformation.4 However, the landscape of industrial policies is evolving with time, involving the increasing importance of environmental sustainability, the blurred boundaries among sectors, the rise of the high-value services sector, and the industrialization of agriculture.53. See also Krugman (1993); Porter (1998); Saxenian (1996). 4. See more: Oqubay (2015); Cramer, Sender, and Oqubay (2020); Oqubay, Cramer, Chang, and Kozul-Wright (2020).5. See more: Lee (2019); Kuznets (1966); Ocampo, Rada, Taylor (2009); Mazzucato (2013); UNCTAD (2016); Oqubay and Ohno (2019).50 Urban Sustainable Development: Governance, Finance and PoliticsClimate Change and Green Transition As homes to the majority of humanity and the associated production and consumption, and as engines of economic development, cities are responsible for about 70–75 percent of global urban greenhouse emissions, powered by the dominant fossil fuel energy sources. Out of the 25–30 billion metric tons of CO2 generated annually, industrial activities in cities account for 20–25 percent, transport, buildings, and built-up areas for about 35–40 percent, mobility for about 20-25 percent, and waste management for the remaining 3–5 percent. From the perspective of environmental sustainability and sustaining economic growth, the appropriate response should not be to degrowth, as some prominent advocates advocate, but to find a sustainable approach to growth and economic development. This is because economic development is the only pathway to ending poverty and improving people’s living standards in the developing world. The foundation of this perspective is that green growth or green transformation should be based on building industrial capacities and developing green technologies to create a carbon-neutral economy and make progress to net zero emissions.6The significant drivers of green growth and transformation are the increasing pressure for national security—energy security and resource scarcity and the brake on economic catch-up; increasing pollution in urban centres and its impact on public health and public pressure; and the recognition that the world is in the mid of Green Industrial Revolution powered by digital