I'm on the train heading back to DC thinking about where I am, physically, in the world right now: Heading south along the east coast of the US, with the vibrancy of dialogue and discussion at #UNGA and #NYCW in New York behind me, heading in the direction of #HurricaneHelene which will make landfall tonight on Florida's Big Bend. It's expected to be catastrophic, with "unsurvivable" storm surge which could reach as high as 20 feet in places. The whiplash from progress, hope and excitement to the very real human impact of increasingly severe storms is part of our daily lives at this point.
I will say that New York provided a lot of opportunity to feel excited about the immensity of action that is taking place - from small to big, from your average city street to the depths of the ocean.
🌏 Last night, the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities hosted a truly inspiring evening celebrating the finalists for the #PrizeforCities - all of which are tackling mitigation, adaptation and pollution solutions at the hyper-local level. Remarks by Anacláudia Rossbach, Ani Dasgupta and Rogier van den Berg reminded me that impassioned leadership is critical for our collective success. The grand prize winners from Fortaleza, Brazil, #ReCiclo, demonstrated that simple innovations can have a deeply personal impact on the lives of people who might not always be included city-wide decision making.
🌏 Cities and human settlements are making it known that they hold the key for climate solutions. I was reminded of the super convening power of C40 Cities and the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM) which are powerhouses of collective action for cities. Platforms like the Subnational Climate Action Leaders Exchange (SCALE) with partners like the U.S. Department of State and Bloomberg Philanthropies are critically positioned to elevate some of the best examples, experiences, opportunities and -yes- hurdles to reaching deep climate action. I'm keen to see what the next accelerator on Zero Emission Resilient Buildings can bring to the forefront, and how my own state of #Maryland will continue to be a leader.
🌎 When it comes to mitigation, there is just too much to do in carbon management tech. Marine/ocean carbon dioxide reduction (mCDR) is increasingly on deck for discussion, with some obvious potential. If you want to get into the policy (sea)weeds, I highly recommend Carbon Removal Alliance's July memo on mCDR https://lnkd.in/euqj9nba and Carbon180's white paper "Depending on the Ocean." I'm keeping my eye on this space and how people and ecosystems will stay at the center of solutions.
I'm feeling buoyed by the energy of New York, my old home, but also preoccupied thinking about the thousands of families preparing for Hurricane Helene. Stay safe, everyone.
Global Marketing Director
1wDaniela Allerbon huge congratulations 👏this is such a fantastic honour for you!!