Épisodes

  • Oh, Canada: Protecting our water, from deluge to drought

    Oh, Canada: Protecting our water, from deluge to drought
    Nov 3 2026
    Canada might seem like an endless source for freshwater - but like everything else on Earth, this plentiful resource is ultimately finite. While much of Canada has yet to experience water-related issues, poorly managed and failing infrastructure combined with disruptions to sources like groundwater and glaciers mean more and more Canadians are confronting these impacts every year.David speaks with returning guest on the show, VP of Restoration and Regeneration at WWF Canada Elizabeth Hendricks, about how rapid warming in Canada since the 1970s has created changes in our ecology that need to be solved by nature-based solutions, stronger environmental protections, and better monitoring. He also sits down with the out-going mayor of Waterloo, ON, Dorothy McCabe, about how diminishing aquifer levels in the region has forced the city to reconsider the rate at which its developing, and who bears the true burden of worsening water stress. Last but certainly not least, David discusses how Indigenous knowledge can be better utilized in resource management with researcher Jana Wale, who’s work sits at the intersection of Indigenous leadership, climate science, and public policy to help create a better world for all Canadians. Oh, Canada: Solutions for the Climate Crisis is supported by Elbows Up for Climate, The C40 Centre, and the University of Toronto Press. Featured guests:Merlin Blackwell, former Mayor of Clearwater, BCElizabeth Hendriks, Vice-President of Restoration and Regeneration at WWF CanadaDorothy McCabe, former Mayor of Waterloo, ONJana Wale, Gitxsan (Gitanmaax First Nation) & Cree-Métis climate research leader, policy advisor, and speaker, Clean50 2026 award winner, and Indigenous Research and Partnerships Lead at PICSLinks:Canada has 20 percent of the planet’s freshwater. But some worry there’s not enough to go around - Washington PostClimate impacts map - Elbows Up for Climate State of Clean Water and Sanitation Systems in Canada - Canadian Infrastructure Council Ending long-term drinking water advisories - Government of Canada A ripple effect: Clearwater eyes $3.5M bridge abutment repairs - Clearwater Times A sleeping giant: A massive layer of water under the ground is key to Waterloo’s Region future - Waterloo Region Record Canada’s Flagship Report on the State of Wildlife Reveals Persistent Declines in Monitored Wildlife Populations in Canada Over the last 50 years - WWF Canada Canada’s Changing Climate Report 2026 - Government of CanadaThis American city is building a network of waterfront parks to absorb floods - Global Center on AdaptationRipple Effects: The Four Biggest Threats to Coastal Ecosystems in Canada - WWF CanadaWater Act - Alberta Energy Regulator America’s Data Center Boom Puts New Pressure on Local Water Resources - NC State University The Startup Ecosystem of Kitchener Waterloo - StartupBlink City of Waterloo Energy Retrofit Roadmap - J.L. Richards Engineers, Architects, Planners‘The City of Waterloo believes in the country side line’ - Waterloo Region RecordGenetic study of sockeye salmon in B.C. river suggests 75% decline since 1913 - CBC Blockade - It’s about the land and who controls it - Canada Wild Productions Relationship Protocol advances First Nations climate solutions - PICSIf you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeriesCities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield.Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo.Our Associate Producer is Rachel Schneider.Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/
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    55 min
  • Oh, Canada: Impacts through Flames, Smoke, and Fire

    Oh, Canada: Impacts through Flames, Smoke, and Fire
    Oct 20 2026
    As catastrophic wildfires intensify across Canada - destroying homes, blanketing the country in smoke, forcing evacuations, and driving major economic losses - we ask in this episode what it will take to live with fire in a warming world. David sits down with returning guest to the podcast, fire ecologist and professor Jen Baron, to hear how decades of suppression and the disruption of Indigenous cultural burning helped create today’s more severe, fast-moving fires. We also hear from Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland as he recounts the 2024 wildfire that destroyed 374 structures (including his own home!) despite strong preparation and makes the plea for disaster-ready, low-carbon housing and faster clean-energy transition to save other communities from the same destruction. David also speaks with Métis leader for the province of Alberta, Gabrielle Blatz, as she urges governments to include Indigenous knowledge and Métis women in emergency planning, and Clearwater Mayor Merlin Blackwell to hear how the residents of his own small town continue to fight for mitigation projects in the face of destructive pipeline expansions. Oh, Canada: Solutions for the Climate Crisis is supported by Elbows Up for Climate, The C40 Centre, and the University of Toronto Press. Featured guests:Dr Jen Baron,  Assistant Professor of Fire Ecology at the University of British Columbia Okanagan in the Center for Wildfire CoexistenceRichard Ireland, Mayor of Jasper, ABGabrielle Blatz, Otipemisiwak Métis Government's Provincial Secretary of Women, Gender Equity & InclusionMerlin Blackwell, Mayor of Clearwater, BCLinks:The Government of Canada provides an update regarding the 2026 wildfire season – August update - Public Safety CanadaCentre for Wildfire CoexistenceIndigenous Heritage in Kelowna - Tourism Kelowna Attribution of the Influence of Human‐Induced Climate Change on an Extreme Fire Season - National Library of Medicine America's Fires: A Historical Context for Policy and Practice - The University of North Carolina Press Blending Indigenous and western science: Quantifying cultural burning impacts in Karuk Aboriginal Territory - The Ecological Society of America, Volume 34, Issue 4What do you mean, ‘megafire’? - Forest Service, U.S. Department of AgricultureHow wildfire smoke travels from Ontario to New York City — and turns distant city skies orange - CBC News How Canada helped in past U.S. wildfires as Ford says some are ‘chirping’ - Global News Timeline of the Jasper Wildfire - Parks Canada History of Jasper - Municipality of Jasper Year Two Progress Report - Jasper Recovery Coordination Centre Mayor of Jasper loses home in devastating mountain park wildfires: ‘I see memories of life taken’ - Global News Lessons from the Jasper wildfire: build disaster-ready, energy-secure homes - The Hill TimesSecretary Spotlight: Gabrielle Blatz - Otipemisiwak Metis Government Green Municipal FundMa ma tâ wan sakâw Healing Forest - Porject ForestSeason 1 | Episode 1 | Good Fire Podcast - Indigenous Leadership InitiativeClearwater adopts new wildfire resiliency plan - Clearwater Times FireSmart CanadaWhy the Lytton fire of 2021 won’t be forgotten, the community is trying to move forward - CBC News Wells Gray Community ForestClearwater Financial Plan - District of ClearwaterIf you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeriesCities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield.Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo.Our Associate Producer is Rachel Schneider.Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/
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    1 h et 3 min
  • Oh, Canada: How did we get here?

    Oh, Canada: How did we get here?
    Oct 6 2026
    Canada is having a moment: our reputation and soft power are growing. In the face of unexpected tariffs, a deepening housing crisis, and skyrocketing cost of living, Canadians are asking who we really are, what we want to stand for…and what lies ahead. There is great opportunity to be had, but also great risk in the road ahead. Canada needs energy independence and geopolitical protection - but Mark Carney’s federal government seems to be choosing a path of further baking in fossil fuels, rather than forging a progressive path that assures a safe future for all. Cities - and the people who call this country home - are asking for a different way forward. The science is clear, and it’s telling us we need to make big changes. But we know that science alone is not enough to turn the tide of the climate crisis. We need to figure out how to tell better, more community centered stories around the impacts happening on the frontlines, in our own backyards…and we need elected leadership across the country to listen, learn, and act in the best interests of Canadians.In the first episode of this special 6-part miniseries, we hear about the science, data, and politics that brought Canada to this crucial moment - and while we unravel the complicated history of how we got here, we also begin to look forward to the solutions we need to protect the people and places in this land we call Canada.Oh, Canada: Solutions for the Climate Crisis is supported by Elbows Up for Climate, The C40 Centre, and the University of Toronto Press. Featured guests:Ian Mauro, Executive Director of the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS)Amber Bennet, Executive Director of Re.ClimateSteven Guilbeault, former Minister of the EnvironmentLinks:Canada Day Poll: Canadians are more proud even as anxiety about the future persists - Abacus DataClimate Atlas of Canada - Prairie Climate CenterPacific Climate Impacts ConsortiumUNEP: World set to cross 1.5°C global warming, but can still limit, adapt to and return from higher temperatures - UN Environment Programme What is the Paris agreement and why does 1.5C matter? - BBC Government of Canada releases Adapting to the Impacts of Climate Change in Canada - Environment and Climate Change Canada Indigenous Knowledge Studies - Indigenous & Community Engagement (ICE) British Columbia Assembly of First Nations Union of British Columbia Indian ChiefsBritish Columbia First Nations Climate Strategy and Action Plan Relationship Protocol advances First Nations climate solutions - PICSRelationship Protocol Between First Nations Leadership Council And The Pacific Institute For Climate Solutions - PICSFirst Nations Leadership CouncilRadical Act of Hope - Podcast Chief Frank Brown joins PICS as next Indigenous Climate Fellow - UVic News Come Hell or High Water - CBCEthical Oil - The Narwhal Alberta Narrative ProjectsCanadians (Still) Care About Climate Change - Re.ClimateUK politicians think public opposition to climate policy is far greater than it is, study finds - University of Cambridge Research Americans and policymakers underestimate endorsement for the most popular climate solution narrative, combining personal and political action - NatureCanadians Want to Become a Renewable Energy Superpower - Re.Climate Canadians' climate change concerns rebound amid wildfire season - CBC article The inconvenient clarity of Steven Guilbeault - Canada’s National Observer When Steven Guilbeault climbed the CN Tower for a climate protest - CBCJurisdiction, duties and authorities - Environment and Climate Change Canada Key facts about Canada’s competitiveness for foreign direct investment - Government of CanadaRadical or pragmatist? Either way, Steven Guilbeault has his work cut out - CBC Rachel Notley helped strike a grand bargain on oil and the climate. Can Trudeau save it? - CBC(Almost) everybody in Canada wants a pipeline. Nobody wants to pay for it - The Narwhal Alberta’s Fossil Fuel Fixation Is Dimming Renewables’ Bright Future - The TyeeAlberta gets its way in deal with Ottawa - Canada’s National ObserverThe Man Who Wants to Break Up Canada - Maclean’s Mark Carney named United Nations Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance - Bank of EnglandThe largest public transit investment in Canadian history - Office of the Prime Minster of CanadaGuilbeault says Canada 'backsliding' on climate action as he resigns as MP - CBC Communities impacted by climate map - Elbows Up for ClimateIf you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeriesCities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/Writing and executive ...
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    1 h et 3 min
  • TRAILER: Oh, Canada: Solutions for the Climate Crisis

    TRAILER: Oh, Canada: Solutions for the Climate Crisis
    Sep 29 2026

    Climate change can feel frightening and uncertain - so much so, in fact, that sometimes hope can feel like an act of denial. But hope isn’t denial: it’s a recognition that we still have choices.

    In our new Cities 1.5 limited miniseries, Oh, Canada: Solutions for the Climate Crisis, we’re speaking to Canadians from coast, to coast, to coast, who are turning those choices into action. Featuring voices from politics, academia, activism, and municipal leadership - including Leader of Canada’s NDP Avi Lewis, Otipemisiwak Métis Government's Provincial Secretary of Women, Gender Equity & Inclusion Gabrielle Blatz, former Minister of the Environment Steven Guilbeault, Executive Director of Re.Climate Amber Bennett, Executive Director of the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS) Ian Mauro, Assistant Professor of Fire Ecology at University of British Columbia Okanagan in the Center for Wildfire Coexistence Dr. Jen Baron, writer and public policy researcher Seth Klein, and mayors from Yellowknife, Waterloo, Clearwater, Jasper, and more - we’ll be exploring the science, politics, and communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis across Canada.

    Oh, Canada: Solutions for the Climate Crisis is supported by Elbows Up for Climate, The C40 Centre, and the University of Toronto Press. This 6-part deep dive into the climate crisis through the lens of Canadians fighting to write a different story debuts on October 6, 2026, so make sure you tune in - you won’t want to miss it.

    If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

    Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeries

    Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/

    Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield.

    Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo.

    Our Associate Producer is Rachel Schneider.

    Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

    Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

    Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/
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    2 min
  • Be Hope: Cities 1.5 presents a special preview of Oh, Canada - Solutions for the Climate Crisis

    Be Hope: Cities 1.5 presents a special preview of Oh, Canada - Solutions for the Climate Crisis
    Sep 22 2026
    What if there are reasons to hope for a more resilient climate future in your own backyard - right here in Canada? Well, that’s exactly the question we’re asking in our new miniseries, Oh, Canada: Solutions for the Climate Crisis. At Cities 1.5, we’re proud to join forces with voices around the world for the 2026 #BeHope Podcast Takeover. We’re coming together to prove that even in challenging times, hope remains a real force for progress - and we can all be part of it. This special preview features guests from our upcoming series speaking on what keeps them going in the mission to end climate breakdown.Oh, Canada: Solutions for the Climate Crisis is supported by Elbows Up for Climate, The C40 Centre, and the University of Toronto Press. This 6-part deep dive into the climate crisis through the lens of Canadians fighting to write a different story debuts on October 6, 2026, so make sure you tune in - you won’t want to miss it.Featured guests:Avi Lewis, Leader of Canada’s NDPAmber Bennet, Executive Director of Re.ClimateSteven Guilbeault, former Minister of the EnvironmentIan Mauro, Executive Director of the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS)Dr Jen Baron,  Assistant Professor of Fire Ecology at University of British Columbia Okanagan in the Center for Wildfire CoexistenceGabrielle Blatz, Otipemisiwak Métis Government's Provincial Secretary of Women, Gender Equity & InclusionRichard Ireland, Mayor of Jasper, ABBen Hendrickson, Mayor of Yellowknife, NWTDorothy McCabe, Mayor of Waterloo, ONMerlin Blackwell, Mayor of Clearwater, BCSeth Klein,  Author of A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency and “Seth Klein / Emergency Measures” on SubstackLinks:How Pakistan’s people-led solar boom is easing impact of Middle East energy crisis - The GuardianKey energy data for Pakistan - EmberElectrons In, Hydrocarbons Out: Pakistan’s Quest for Economic and Resource Efficiency - Renewables FirstAustralia’s renewables transition is well under way – but meeting its 2030 target will be ‘extremely challenging’ - The GuardianClean Energy Australia 2026 report - Clean Energy CouncilChina's renewable energy boom has its own challenges. Here's what we can learn - World Economic ForumYes, China has embraced renewables – but don’t call it a transition, expert says - The Harvard GazetteThe European Green Deal - official EU websiteEuropean Climate Law - official EU website2030 Emissions Reduction Plan: Clean Air, Strong Economy - Government of Canada websiteCanada's 2030 climate target far out of reach, according to federal data - CBC News‘No way’ Canada can meet its 2030 climate target, researchers say - The Toronto StarVingroup proposes scrapping LNG-powered plant plan for renewables amid Iran war, document shows - ReutersQuezon community, RE backers claim ‘victory’ against LNG - Business Mirror‘Science under attack’: Top climate scientist Kate Marvel explains why she resigned from NASA - Scientific AmericanKate Marvel websiteIf you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeriesCities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield.Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo.Our Associate Producer is Rachel Schneider.Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/
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    17 min
  • HOT TAKE: "A Captain never leaves his ship."

    HOT TAKE: "A Captain never leaves his ship."
    Aug 20 2026
    When the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, local leaders found themselves thrust onto the frontlines of both military defense and environmental catastrophe. Coupled with untold amounts of human suffering, the war has inflicted deep environmental scars - from the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam to the corrosion of municipal water pipes - which many Ukrainian officials refer to as "ecocide." Yet, amidst daily bombardment, energy blackouts, and severed water supplies, city leaders and residents are demonstrating what true urban resilience looks like on the ground.In this special bonus episode, we hear from a mayor who refused to abandon his city when it was encircled in the early days of the war; a man who led the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv through eight months of near-daily missile attacks. Despite ongoing attacks,the city is using decentralisation, solar-powered infrastructure, microgrids, and real-time data analysis to keep critical municipal services running during wartime. These strategies keeping cities resilient against military aggression also offer vital lessons for surviving climate impacts globally, as well as forming the bedrock of plans to rebuild in a way that benefits people and planet, when the violence finally stops. Featured guest:Oleksandyr Senkevych, Mayor of MykolaivIf listeners would like to further support Ukraine, the Cities 1.5 team encourages you to follow this link: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/57852?v2=trueMedia: https://www.itv.com/news/2022-03-08/ukrainians-will-fight-until-last-person-is-left-and-ammunition-runs-outLinks:For the Russians to cut off Ukraine's access to the sea, they must go through Mykolaiv. 'People are ready to fight until the last ammo,' said its mayor - Business InsiderReport on the Human Rights Situation in Ukraine, 1 December 2024 – 31 May 2025 - Ukraine OHCHRA Preliminary Environmental Risk Assessment of the Kakhovka Dam Flooding - Pax for PeaceUkraine: Rebuilding Mykolaiv's water supply - Danish Refugee CouncilFirst Person: Ukrainian ‘city of heroes’ plans post-invasion future - UN NewsBBS investigation: the Russians blew up the water pipeline to Mykolaiv on purpose. They are not allowing repair crews - Babel UkraineWater for Mykolaiv - Nova UkraineDecentralized Energy: A Pathway Toward Local Security and Ukraine’s Green Recovery - Heinrich Böll StiftungA Calibrated Crime. Mykolaiv government building missile strike - Truth HoundsIf you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeriesCities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield.Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo.Our Associate Producer is Rachel Schneider.Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/
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    21 min
  • HOT TAKE: Urban Legends - Sorting City Climate Facts from Fiction

    HOT TAKE: Urban Legends - Sorting City Climate Facts from Fiction
    Aug 6 2026

    As the climate crisis accelerates, our information ecosystem has become a critical battleground. Coordinated climate disinformation - driven by fossil fuel interests - is increasingly targeting cities and urban leaders to stall transformative policy and manufacture public doubt.

    In this special Hot Takes episode recorded on the ground at London Climate Action Week, host David Miller examines how cities are actively defending information integrity and reclaiming the narrative. We look at why proactive storytelling and pre-bunking are far more powerful than traditional fact-checking, how mayors serve as vital trusted messengers in noisy digital spaces, and the stark reality of how disinformation threatens life and resilience on the frontlines of Ukraine. We will also be exploring how the C40 Centre itself incubated the recently launched City Climate Facts that aims to support cities in fighting disinformation, and cleaning up our urban information ecosystem.

    Featured guests:

    Adam Brzezinski, British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science

    Chiara Morfeo, Senior Manager for Research and Communications at the C40 Centre

    Oleksandr Senkevich, Mayor of Mykolaiv, Ukraine

    To follow more of C40 and the C40 Centre’s work combating climate disinformation, please check out the following links:

    The C40 Centre’s climate communications insights - Substack

    Previous episodes of Cities 1.5 covering different aspects of climate disinformation

    Overview of C40’s disinformation work.

    If you would like a copy of the C40 disinformation and extreme weather playbook - available in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese - please request one through the form at the bottom of this link.

    Links:

    Big Oil's Real Agenda on Climate Change - InfluenceMap website

    Combatting Climate Disinformation: Comparing the Effectiveness of Correction Placement and Type - Environmental Communication

    Inoculation Theory as a Design Approach to Game-Based Misinformation Interventions - Taylor & Francis

    Disinformation in the City: Response Playbook - University of Melbourne & German Marshall Fund

    Disinformation in the Service of War - Center for European Policy Analysis

    Starving the Hydra: How Digital Platforms Profit from Misinformation - Center for Countering Digital Hate

    If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

    Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeries

    Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/

    Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield.

    Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo.

    Our Associate Producer is Rachel Schneider.

    Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

    Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

    Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/
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    30 min
  • HOT TAKE: Can Cities Clean Up the Cloud?

    HOT TAKE: Can Cities Clean Up the Cloud?
    Jul 23 2026

    As the AI boom drives an unprecedented rush for computing power, cities face a critical question: how do we support digital expansion, without derailing net-zero climate goals? Left unregulated, data centers can consume staggering amounts of energy and water, threaten to destabilise power grids, strain local resources, and alienate communities. But it doesn’t have to be like this: city leaders are stepping up to demand both climate-friendly solutions and accountability for big tech. In this Hot Take, we explore how local leaders are moving to prevent a digital “wild west” through international collaboration. We examine the launch of the Global Urban Data Centers Pact - a landmark commitment from 41 mayors across six continents, representing 90 million people - which aims to enforce clean energy mandates, water stewardship, and tangible community benefits for future data center development.

    Featured guests:

    Hannah Daly, Professor of Sustainable Energy at University College Cork

    Kate Gallego, Mayor of Phoenix, United States of America

    Nick Reece, Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Australia

    Links:

    The Cloud vs the Climate? Lessons from Ireland on the data centre debate - Cities 1.5 podcast

    Wyoming tightens wastewater rules after Meta datacenter contractor flushed contaminated water - The Guardian

    Mayors from around the world unite in call for sustainable urban data centres - C40 website

    Urban Data Centres - C40 website

    Data centers and the climate landscape: An actionable resource for US mayors - C40 Knowledge Hub

    Thirsty for power and water, AI-crunching data centers sprout across the West - Stanford University

    Stockholm, Sweden : Heat recovery from data centres - EU Covenant of Mayors

    Inside the C40 World Mayors Summit: The battle for cities, truth, and a fossil-free future at COP30 and beyond - Cities 1.5, featuring Lord Mayor Nick Reece on data centres

    Seizing the opportunity to do data centres right - Climate Council

    Australian government announces plan for new AI and data centre regulations - Architecture AU

    If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

    Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeries

    Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/

    Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield.

    Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo.

    Our Associate Producer is Rachel Schneider.

    Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

    Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

    Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/
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    24 min