Governments have been committing significant resources in support of climate science for the past 30 years, but rarely have these efforts focused specifically on the scale of local governments, where much of the action must take place. Innovate4Cities – a Global Climate Action Accelerator, endorsed by GCoM Co-Chairs Michael Bloomberg, United Nations Secretary General's Special Envoy for Climate Action, and European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovic – will define specific cities’ research and innovation needs, exploring ways to incorporate these priorities into national research agendas. It will focus on what cities have identified as the most critical areas to drive local climate action, including frontier-research on clean energy and low-carbon urban infrastructure, e.g. smart grids, access to affordable green energy, low carbon heating and cooling of buildings, e-mobility and integrated public transport systems, as well as adaptation responses such as resilient infrastructure and early warning systems.

If you work in one of those areas – be it for a city, in the academic sector or in private sector research & development – or if you have identified other innovation or data gaps and priorities, please be in touch with us!

How could the science and research community better partner with cities? What new insights do you wish you could know about your city? What would help your city build a better business case for large investment of low carbon or climate resilient technology? What types of policies need to be in place for a city to consider distributed power generation, smart grids, and other sustainable infrastructure solutions? What new insights could machine learning help derive for your city? What else do you think is important?These are just some of the questions we’d be thrilled to get your feedback on.

Innovate4Cities will only be successful if it truly meets cities’ needs and captures the knowledge and expertise of those who can help bridge the innovation gaps. Please contact us and share your ideas at ed_dec@globalcovenantofmayors.org.

A message from Katrin Stjernfeldt Jammeh, Mayor of Malmö, Sweden, host city of the 3rd Mission Innovation Ministerial and GCoM Mayors Summit:

“In Malmö  we have a strong belief in Making Sustainable Reality – using demonstration areas for testing in small scale, evaluating and then using what’s working in further areas.

By 2020, the City of Malmö will be climate neutral and by 2030 the whole municipality will run on 100% renewable energy. In order to meet the goals, innovative solutions and close cooperation with research and business are required.

Almost 2000 people, including policy makers, civil servants, public officials, residents of Malmö, etc., were engaged in the important work of creating The Malmö Commission. They were led by independent researchers without any political affiliations. 

We have a strong belief that cooperation together with research and innovation is the only way forward. It was an honour for the city of Malmö to host the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy and mayors from around the globe in Malmö City Hall.” Katrin Stjernfeldt Jammeh, Mayor of Malmö

The Edmonton Declaration

The Edmonton Declaration is a bold call-to-action from cities to the academic and technology communities to spur scientific and innovation solutions for addressing urban climate challenges. Will your city join us? Sign the Edmonton Declaration to show your support for increased collaboration that advances innovation for quicker and more ambitious local climate action.