This episode features Alice Charles in conversation with Penny Abeywardena, Commissioner for International Affairs at the City of New York.

Cities of Tomorrow

3. Penny Abeywardena

We are living in an urban world. Today, 54% of the planet’s population live in cities. This number is constantly increasing, creating bigger and more serious environmental problems as the years go by. While cities are engines of the global economy, accounting for a majority of the GDP, they also produce 75% of CO2 emissions. If cities are to transition and meet the new urban agenda and the Paris agreement objectives, which aim to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change, then cities need to adapt to smart and sustainable solutions. In this podcast, Alice Charles, Lead, Cities, Infrastructure and Urban Services at the World Economic Forum, will explore some of these solutions with experts from the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Cities and Urbanization. We will discuss the tools that are needed and the policies that have to be implemented, for cities to become effective actors to help solve the world’s most pressing issues.

About

Cities of Tomorrow