Supercool21 Maj 2025

Cities Have The Climate Ambition—Now Mayors Are Rewriting Global Finance to Match

Before becoming the youngest elected mayor in Quito’s history, Mauricio Rodas had already founded a political party, launched a think tank in Mexico City, and run for president.

In 1944, when the global financial system was designed, just 29% of the world lived in cities. Today, that number has nearly doubled to 56%. Cities now account for more than 70% of global emissions and 80% of energy consumption—yet most still can’t access the capital they need to fund climate solutions. The system, built at the tail end of World War II, wasn’t made for them.

Mauricio Rodas knows that firsthand. As mayor of Quito, he had to fight for national approval to fund the city’s subway. Now he’s working to change the rules. As co-lead of the SDSN Global Commission for Urban SDG Finance, he’s helping reshape the global financial architecture needed to unlock climate capital for cities.

Mauricio joins Supercool to discuss subways, politics, public luxury goods, institutional entrepreneurship, and the global effort to rewrite outdated financial rules so cities can rapidly deploy the next generation of climate solutions.

Supercool is collaborating with the Commission’s Secretariat, hosted at the University of Pennsylvania, to feature global mayors at the forefront of this movement.

Show Notes

Guest: Mauricio Rodas

Organization:
- Former Mayor of Quito, Ecuador
- Visiting Scholar, Penn Institute of Urban Research, University of Pennsylvania
- Co-Lead, SDSN Global Commission for Urban SDG Finance

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