Overview

Climate change poses a severe threat to urban populations: cities are both major emitters and highly vulnerable to rising seas and extreme weather. Yet their proximity to communities uniquely positions them to tailor mitigation and adaptation measures. Coordination across federal, provincial/state, and municipal levels is difficult due to divergent priorities, overlapping jurisdictions, uneven capacities, and short political cycles.

Still, cities drive innovation—urban greening, flood defenses, carbon-neutral building codes, participatory decision-making—that can scale through intergovernmental learning. Financing remains the key constraint: despite post-COP29 pledges, too little funding reaches subnational actors. With stronger coordination and funding, cities can spearhead effective climate action across the federation.

Meet The Speakers