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Covenant of Mayors & ClimateView

Manon Morel Wed, 03 June 2020

"How can cities achieve true climate impact" was the title of the webinar hosted by Covenant of Mayors together with ClimateView on June 3rd, 2020.

The online seminar gathered more than 100 cities from the Covenant of Mayors network.

Today, most cities rely heavily on emissions data to answer such questions. But emissions data comes with several inherent flaws: it is difficult to collect, it comes with a significant time lag, and often lacks precision. Therefore, emissions data has a limited use if we want to know the impact of our policies, or the overall speed of our climate transition.

In this webinar organized in collaboration with ClimateView from Sweden, we hear from experts and cities experience on how the approach of transition targets can support Covenant signatories in achieving higher climate impact, including through their SEAPs and SECAPs.

We hear from ClimateView on why bold goals require bold targets. Furthermore, it is explained why taking the carbon causal chain perspective can support local decision-makers in quantifying and measuring the shifts needed across sectors on their territory. It is also highlighted why it is critical to distinguish targets from actions.

We also hear about their method of transition targets, which breaks down overarching climate goals into tangible and measurable targets. The approach unlocks valuable data on the actual performance of cities and regions’ climate transition, and provides insights that are actionable in the local context. A detailed insight is given into how transition targets can be used in practice through the ClimateView tool, with the example of public transportation.

We then hear from the representatives of the Covenant signatories of Uppsala and Umea, who share their experience in using ClimateView and its Transition Targets at the city level, and how it has shaped their internal decision-making processes and their relations with stakeholders and citizens.

Takeaways: How can cities achieve true climate impact?

Recording of the webinar