Cities Climate Action Newsletter - November 2024

Welcome to the latest Cities Climate Action Newsletter from SmartCitiesWorld. 

Climate budgeting is emerging as a powerful tool for cities to drive climate action and accountability. Climate budgeting is a governance system that mainstreams climate commitments and considerations into decision making on policies, actions and budget. By integrating climate targets into the financial planning process, cities can ensure responsibility and transparency in delivering on their climate goals.

The city of London has been piloting this approach as part of a cohort of cities brought together by C40 Cities , as Enver Enver , the interim Chief Finance Officer of the Greater London Authority , shared during this year’s Cities Climate Action Summit: "Climate budgeting helps to show how committed London is to the net zero target. Politicians can make lots of promises, but if you don't put your money where your mouth is, it doesn't come true.”

Enver emphasised the crucial role of CFOs in leading climate strategies within city administrations. "By putting it into the budget process, it makes every budget holder responsible for their decisions." London's experience demonstrates how climate budgeting can empower finance teams, increase transparency, and accelerate climate action across city governments.

By starting small and iterating each year, London has been able to embed climate considerations into its mainstream budgeting. Enver advises other cities not to “let being perfect be the enemy of the good – just get started."

With support from networks like C40, cities can follow London's lead and leverage climate budgeting to drive tangible progress on their climate commitments. The benefits are evident: increased accountability, innovative financing, and a whole-of-government approach to addressing the climate crisis.

As always, if there’s something you’d like to tell us about in your own climate action work, please drop us a line!

Luke Antoniou , Senior editor, SmartCitiesWorld

Cities Climate Action Hot Topics

1. Canberra begins construction of battery energy storage system
2. UK local authority uses digital twin tech for net zero plans
3. Cop29: Urban climate resilience pledge and water declaration
4. How AI is helping to advance green technology
5. US Dot launches local climate action playbook
6. How to transition to zero-emissions bus operations
7. C40 Cities Finance Facility opens for applications
8. Majority of Brazilians support city climate action
9. Calgary expands tree canopy with $61m funding boost

OnDemand Recordings from Cities Climate Action Summit

1. Fireside chat: Getting to grips with climate budgeting in cities with Enver Enver at Greater London Authority and Andrea Fernandez at C40 Cities

2. OnDemand Panel discussion: Unlocking new sources of finance for urban climate action with Hazem Galal at PwC , Jessie Press-Williams at Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance (CCFLA) , Mauricio Rodas at Atlantic Council's Climate Resilience Center and Lin O'Grady at EBRD

3. OnDemand Panel discussion: The role of PPPs in lowering the barrier to private investment in urban climate action with Steve Turner at 3Ci , Francisco Martes Porto Macedo at Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance (CCFLA) , Lolita Jackson MBE FRSA at Sustainable Development Capital, LLP and Paul Wilson at SmartCitiesWorld

Want to get involved in our Cities Climate Action Campaign? Drop John O' Grady a line on johno@smartcitiesworld.net