Sustainable Smart Cities and a Nature-Positive Economy
Inputs from GoNaturePositive! at "Future of Climate Summit, Volume 2: Back-to-back with the UN Climate Week”. Organised by PDIE with partners, New York, September 20, 2024. By IKED, 16/10/24
Under the theme of "Sustainable Smart Cities", the Summit elaborated on factors increasing the transformative potential of urban areas to address global challenges and foster a sustainable future. A call to action highlighted the need for changing narratives capable of igniting “can do” and inspiring future generations.
Sustainable Smart Cities Panel
On this panel, Ingrid Andersson (IKED), elaborated the potential for urban regeneration through nature-based solutions leveraged through citizen participation in co-creation.
In her internation, Ingrid highlighted the EU's Green Deal, which allocates €1.2 billion for action research projects focused on climate, mobility, and energy, coupled with the EU-funded Horizon NBS research and innovation projects in shaping new mandates and enabling vibrant experimentation at regional and community level throughout the EU.
Referencing concrete experiences on the ground, Ingrid stressed the scope for progress through testing and diffusion of actionable solutions. Introducing a newly initiated EU-funded Horizon project, “GoNaturePositive!” Ingrid pointed to the need of aligning the economy with a transition towards sound long-term management of nature’s mighty value flows. Key stakeholders, tech experts, finance professionals, NGOs, and scientists, need to come together and align interests in driving such alignment. She further invited cooperation on upcoming work that will seek out operational approaches for achieving synergies between drivers of transformational change, spanning policies, business and finance, technology, and social factors.
Other contributions in these panels pointed to the widening digital divide between the global North and South, emphasizing the need for equitable access to technology and infrastructure. Potential avenues for mobilising artificial intelligence (AI) for fostering sustainable communities and supporting development efforts, including in urban areas, were elaborated.
“To create liveable cities, we must transform our narratives into actionable stories that inspire change for future generations."
Ingrid Andersson
The Sustainable Smart Cities panel discussion provided valuable insights into the multifaceted challenges and opportunities facing urban areas in the pursuit of sustainability. The panelists emphasized the importance of collaboration, innovation, and actionable solutions to create resilient and equitable cities. As urban populations continue to grow, the need for sustainable practices and policies becomes increasingly urgent.
Sustainable Smart Cities Panel
The discussions highlighted the potential for cities to lead the way in addressing global challenges and fostering a better future for all.
Other sessions at the Summit, which IKED contributed to, addressed the scope for new technologies to ease the bottlenecks of the energy transition and also innovative vehicles realising Impact Investment. The latter additionally elaborated on the need of strengthened North-South collaboration to mobilise the potential of new technologies for enhanced citizen participation in support of a Nature Positive Economy.
