What knowledge do cities need to meet their climate action ambitions?
Innovate4Cities is a city-focused research and innovation initiative addressing critical data, innovation, and technology gaps to enable cities to take accelerated and ambitious climate action. A key part of building the roadmap to generate the knowledge, tools, partnerships and funding that cities need to meet their climate action ambition includes the establishment of a Global Marketplace to accelerate urban sustainability, supported by regional marketplace events.
Since 2019, the Melbourne Centre for Cities has been contributing a range of research, program and governance services for the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy Innovate4Cities Initiative. This includes the delivery of a multi-year research and innovation strategy, a regional research and innovation needs synthesis report, delivery of the 2021 Innovate4Cities Conference, and the updated Global Research Action Agenda (GRAA), and City Research and Innovation Agenda (CRIA).
In preparation for the 2024 Innovate4Cities Conference, the Melbourne Centre for Cities is now engaged with partners in designing a multi-sectoral marketplace platform where local governments, academic research institutions, financiers, and private enterprise may coordinate action to solve challenges in cities throughout the world. Through the Centre’s ClimateTalks podcast, a series of city leaders are being featured to highlight progress toward fulfilling the GRAA and CRIA, showcasing urban case studies presented in the Global Marketplace in a special edition of the Journal for City Climate Policy and Economy.
Learn more about Innovate4Cities here on the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy website.
Outputs
Walsh, B., Greenwalt, J. Oke, C., Hadfield, P., Dickey, A., Craig, Marlies; et al. (2022): Findings from Innovate4Cities 2021 and Update to the Global Research and Action Agenda. University of Melbourne. Report.
Oke C., Walsh B., Assarkhaniki Z., Jance B., Deacon A., & Lundberg K. (2022) The city research and innovation agenda: prioritizing knowledge gaps and policy processes to accelerate city climate action. J City Clim Pol Econ 1(1):94–110.
Oke, C. Walsh, B., Jance, B., Hadfield, P. Palermo, V., Salehi, P. et al.(eds) (2022): City Research and Innovation Agenda, update. University of Melbourne. Report.
Student Energy & Melbourne Centre for Cities, University of Melbourne (2021). Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy Youth Policy Innovation Team: Process Outcomes and Recommendations for Global Regions. [Online resource]
Dickey, A. (ed.), Oke, C. (ed.), et al. (2021). Innovate4Cities Conference 2021: Student-Led Final Report. Melbourne Centre for Cities, University of Melbourne. [Online resource]
Dickey, A. (ed.), Oke, C. (ed.), et al. (2021). COP26 Insights from the Innovate4Cities Conference 2021: Student-Led Briefing Report. Melbourne Centre for Cities, University of Melbourne. [Online resource]
Dickey, A., Hadfield, P., Oke, C., Verbeeck, J. (2021). Opportunities for coordinating multi-level climate action: an analysis of city climate action and national urban engagement. Melbourne Centre for Cities, University of Melbourne. [Online resource]
Hadfield, P., Oke, C., & Verbeeck, J. (2021). Regional Research and Innovation for City Climate Action: Global Synthesis Report. Connected Cities Lab, University of Melbourne. [Online resource]
Hunter N., Walsh B., Delgado Ramos G.C., Greenwalt J., Roberts D., Oke C., Nielsen D., & Slotow R., (2023). Cities and climate change science after Edmonton: Knowledge, people, and organisations' influence and outreach, Current Research in Environmental Sustainability, Volume 6, 100231. [Online resource]
Lynch, A., Oke, C., & Leavesley, A. (2021). State of play: Local governments and city networks accelerating climate action in Australia. ICLEI Oceania.
Project team
Asst. Prof. Cathy Oke, Deputy Director (Strategy and Operations), Lead: Symposium, Marketing and Communications, Melbourne Enterprise Principal Fellow in Informed Cities
Andrew Irvin, Project Officer in Urban Innovation
