153. Why the 21st Century is for Cities and Mayors with Sadiq Khan

Cities are where we will lose or win the climate change battle. Chapter 8 of the IPCC report on mitigation reported that more than half of the global population now lives in cities, and that proportion is expected to grow to about two-thirds by 2050. That is a lot of people. And that’s a lot of emissions. As of 2020, urban areas are the source of about 67-72% of emissions with about 100 of the highest emitting urban areas [currently] accounting for approximately 18% of the global carbon footprint.” But with problems like urban heat, growing disparities in income and access to food and healthcare, how are mayors uniquely empowered to adapt to everything a climate emergency brings with it? This week, we have the Mayor of London and Chair of C40, Sadiq Khan. He shares his personal journey with being diagnosed with Adult-Onset Asthma after breathing in too much pollution in London, and how educating the public and bringing people along with you in your leadership is the way forward to cleaner, greener cities. And this week a special sample of Environmental Music Prize finalist, Holy Holy with their song ‘Hello My Beautiful World’   Enjoy the show!   —   Christiana + Tom’s book ‘The Future We Choose’ is available now! Subscribe to our Climate Action Newsletter!   —   Mentioned links from the episode:   LEARN: CDP Cities, States and Regions Open Data Portal VOTE: Environmental Music Prize   —   Thanks to our guest this week, Sadiq Khan!   Sadiq Khan Mayor of London | Chair of C40 Cities Twitter | Instagram   Mayor of London Twitter | Instagram   C40 Cities Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube   —   Thank you to our musical guest this week, Holy Holy!   Holy Holy Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube   Time is running out to vote! Go to EnvironmentalMusicPrize.com to make sure your vote counts!   —   Keep up with Christiana Figueres online: Instagram | Twitter   Tom Rivett-Carnac: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn   Paul Dickinson: LinkedIn | Twitter   —   Follow @OutrageOptimism on social media and send us a message! Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn   Don't forget to hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss another episode of Outrage + Optimism!