COP29 Panel: “Accelerating Urban and Rural Transformation: Introducing the City Challenge” – UN Climate Change Global Innovation Hub, COP29 Dialogues, Blue Zone

During COP29, the UN Climate Change Global Innovation Hub (UNCC-GIH) launched the City Challenge in collaboration with the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), XPRIZE, the Global Covenant of Mayors, the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), and the Global Enabling Sustainability Initiative (GeSI). Open to both cities and rural areas, the City Challenge will span a 10-year period, offering a groundbreaking $1 billion USD prize for achieving a reduction of 1 gigaton of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

SDSN Global Climate Hub, supported by AE4RIA, is proud to be among the launching partners of this landmark initiative, designed to engage, mobilize, and empower cities to tackle their most pressing sustainability challenges.

As highlighted by Prof. Phoebe Koundouri during her speech, the SDSN GCH and AE4RIA will lead the Investment and Financing Pathways of the initiative. With over 30 years of research and innovation in this field and relevant experience collaborating with more than 150 cities and regions across Europe, they are well-positioned to provide strong leadership in this transformative effort. Some of our key projects focused on sustainable cities include: Horizon Europe | Pathways2Resilience: Co-developing pathways towards climate-resilient regions in Europe; Horizon 2020 | ARSINOE_EU: Climate-resilient regions through systemic solutions and innovations; and Horizon 2020 | Climate Impetus: A dynamic information management approach for the implementation of climate-resilient adaptation packages in European regions.

During the session, Massamba Thioye, Project Executive at the UNFCCC Global Innovation Hub, introduced and presented the main objectives of the challenge, while Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, President of UN SDSN, honored the event with his presence and delivered a keynote speech during the launch. A panel discussion followed with the partners of the initiative.

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