Accelerating Next-Generation City Climate Action: Findings from the 2024 Innovate4Cities Conference and Update to the Global Research and Action Agenda on Cities and Climate Change Science (GRAA)

GCoM, UN-Habitat, and Melbourne Centre for Cities launch flagship report, “Accelerating Next-Generation City Climate Action:  Findings from the 2024 Innovate4Cities Conference and Update to the Global Research and Action Agenda on Cities and Climate Change Science (GRAA)”

Following the 2024 Innovate4Cities Conference (I4C24) – co-hosted by the Global Covenant of Mayors and UN-Habitat in Montréal, Canada from 10-12 September 2024 – the report captures the catalytic findings, takeaways, and recommendations stemming from discussions with ~2,000 people across 226 sessions. Containing insights from urban practitioners, researchers, business leaders, and civil society, the report represents the latest milestone in the Innovate4Cities initiative towards accelerating city climate action.

DIrectly informed by I4C24, Accelerating Next-Generation City Climate Action introduces an updated Global Research and Action Agenda on Cities and Climate Change Science (GRAA): the foundational evidence base and home to the 160 knowledge gaps and 250+ action priorities that – if addressed – can accelerate urban action implementation at the speed and scale needed to meet Paris Agreement goals and the Sustainable Development Goals. 

The GRAA also serves as the homebase for informing the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Cities, identifying and collating peer-reviewed and grey literature to strengthen the science-policy-practice interface. 

Accelerating Next-Generation City Climate Action also sheds light on: 

• The Montréal Call to Action on Cities, Climate Research, and Governance, urging strengthened collaboration between local and national governments and subnational actors ahead of COP29. By bridging science, knowledge, and policy, this call to action seeks to empower cities to lead on climate by building capacity and scaling innovations that align with global climate goals.
• Insights from the AI x City Climate Action Hackathon — a highlight as part of a broader focus on digitalization at I4C24 – convening 14 teams from 12 countries to showcase innovation in AI-augmented climate adaptation planning at local level, providing insights on the present-day opportunities to infuse new models and methodologies into the city journey.
• The Climate Innovation Readiness Navigator for Cities and Local Governments, a novel methodology to help cities, local governments, and stakeholders assess and boost readiness for collaborative climate action. Developed with Arup, the CIRN aims to generate regional and country-level profiles of climate innovation readiness – and tackle the knowledge gaps and action priorities in the GRAA.

The GCoM alliance acknowledges the support of the Research and Innovation Technical Working Group,  I4C24 Advisory Committee, as well as the host city partners, conference sponsors, and knowledge partners who made I4C24 possible: