October 16, 2020
Let us introduce you to our first PANEL DISCUSSION!
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF CITIES IN TRANSITIONING TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE BUILT ENVIRONMENT?
Now that you have met all of our keynote speakers, it is time to start introducing our panelists. Today we would like to share with you some details about Panel Discussion 1: What is the role of cities in transitioning towards sustainable built environment?
More than half of the world population is living in cities. According to UN Habitat, this share will very likely increase to 60% by 2030 and to 75% by 2050. Thus, cities will have to play a key role in the effort to fulfill the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) by 2030. Of course, the role of different cities will vary and and will very much depend on the contextual setup.
BEYOND 2020 Panel 1 will shed light on challenges, opportunities, as well as good practices in sustainable city transitions from very different parts of the world, by addressing the following questions:
– How to overcome the rational short-term silo thinking in a political framework that is often not aligned with sustainability principles?
– How to deal with trade-offs when pursuing sustainability agenda – creating jobs and increasing GDP, while working on climate mitigation/adaptation, resource efficiency and biodiversity? Are our value calculation models right?
– How can cities take their responsibility, although the major political decisions are often taken at a different governmental level? How to involve civil society and city inhabitants?
The speakers joining us for this discussion are:
Elizabeth Wangeci Chege – Vice Chairperson for World Green Building Council Africa Regional Network and Advisor to the Government of Kenya on for Climate Action.
Aleksi Jäntti – Deputy Mayor, City of Tempere (Finland), responsible for urban development, mobility and waste management .
WONG Kam-sing – Secretary for the Environment for the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Emmyly Bönfors – Deputy Mayor, City of Gothenburg and Chair of the Environmental and Climate Committee.
George Ferguson – Past President of Royal Institute of British Architects (2003-5) and first elected Mayor of Bristol (Independent 2012-16).
We are looking forward to critical reflections and lessons learnt with a focus on linkages to UN SDGs, good practices with a potential for regional and global up-scaling, and tangible action recommendations on the role of cities in transitioning to a sustainable built environment by 2030. Join us on 2nd November to listen and interact with these panelists!
We look forward to meeting you at BEYOND 2020 online conference.
/BEYOND 2020 Organising Committee
