The first London Climate Action Week (LCAW) in 2019 was a huge success with over 160 events; making it the largest climate event in Europe outside official UN meetings.
The digital version of LCAW this week has attracted over 70 events. From discussions with stakeholders the full LCAW in November 2020 will show a step change in growth again.
The quality of LCAW events demonstrates the scope and depth of climate change expertise in London, and the audiences reveal the global reach of London-based organisations. But while providing a platform for announcements, debate and mobilisation was always a core aim of LCAW it was never meant to be the end point.
The challenge of deepening climate action through the global COVID-19 crisis has made this even more necessary. Climate action will only move forward in the next decade if it is integrated into COVID-19 recovery plans and drives the reforms needed to make countries more resilient. The most important of these decisions will not be made by environment ministries or at UN climate summits, but by economic ministries, the IMF and the G20.
With debt growing and large-scale unemployment, climate action will have to find an economic rationale that works alongside demands for increased health and social spending.
Climate actors will need to impact decisions in unfamiliar venues and build new coalitions with actors working on health, economic resilience and economic development if action on the climate crisis is going to avoid being squeezed out by immediate pressures.
Put another way, climate change is going to have to do a decade of mainstreaming in 18 months if there is to be any chance of keeping global temperatures well-below 2°C; let alone 1.5°C.
As the largest concentration of climate-active organisations in the world, London has the responsibility and capability to help lead responses to the new context in three ways:
Designing deliverable green recovery solutions
The case for a green, fair and resilient recovery has been made eloquently by thought leaders, Prime Ministers and the UN Secretary General. Similar promises were made in 2009 but only 12% of the global stimulus supported climate action.
The economic case for clean investment is much stronger today, but this it’s not enough. Decision makers are asking for deliverable green recovery solutions which will make an economic impact in the next two years. Bringing together its world leading technical, business, financial and policy expertise, the London climate cluster must provide the solutions the world needs.
Creating whole economy solutions
Green recovery packages after the last financial crisis focused on renewable energy and efficiency retrofits; action in the aftermath of COVID-19 needs to integrate across the whole economy. Increased investment in electric vehicles and heating requires digital and infrastructure upgrades to energy networks. Optimising resilience investments requires action across flood defence to nature-based infrastructure and urban cooling solutions. Shifting transport needs after COVID-19 requires integrated urban and transport system renewal.
The range of expertise in London should facilitate integrated solutions and innovation to tackle these problems; not least by using London itself as a test bed for cutting-edge approaches.
Reaching beyond climate
Competition for government funding and attention will be huge as societies recover from the first COVID-19 wave and adapt to the new normal. Climate action should not look to compete with other urgent priorities but instead find areas of complementary investment with health, social care and inclusion in areas such as reducing air pollution, increasing access to green space, improving heating and cooling access, strengthening disaster resilience and enhancing food security.
Climate actors must make a virtue of their ability to leverage private finance and green taxation systems to allow fiscal space for other public-spending priorities. London’s diversity and unique range of world class sectors means integration can be delivered for the price of a tube ride; even in an age of Zoom the benefits of proximity matter for innovation and integration.
LCAW digital will give a taste of how London is beginning to respond to COVID-19 through its leading work on sustainable finance, broad-based resilience and new forms of cooperation. But the real measure of London’s response will come after LCAW in how new collaborations are sustained and strengthened; how innovative solutions are developed and moved into concrete action.
