What links the Paris Agreement, Barbie and Arnold Schwarzenegger? The answer is this week’s guest on Cities 1.5!

As a key architect of the Paris Agreement, Catherine McKenna - Canada’s former Minister for Climate Change and the Environment - reflects on why cities are now the true engines of delivery. There’s also a powerful exploration of Catherine’s new memoir, Run Like a Girl, and a firsthand account of why we cannot solve the climate crisis while leaving half the world’s population out of the corridors of power. It’s time to lead like a girl.

Featured guest:

Hon. Catherine McKenna, Chair of the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Expert Group on Net-Zero Commitments of Non-State Entities and host of Women Leading on Climate podcast

Audio clips:
Environment minister tells Rebel Media reporter to stop calling her 'Climate Barbie' - CBC News

Links:

What justice for women in Afghanistan? - Swiss Info

Inside the C40 World Mayors Summit - Cities 1.5

It’s Grand Ol’ Bargain, Alright - Hot Takes

Canada’s former climate minister on making a change, ‘aloof’ Trudeau and sexism - The Guardian

Integrity Matters: Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities - United Nations website

Paris climate deal - The Guardian

Breaking the Tragedy of the Horizon - Mark Carney speech

Meet the young climate activists behind Mathur et. al. v. His Majesty - Ecojustice

Why would anyone hate Catherine McKenna? - Maclean’s

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.

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

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

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

In a world where climate emergencies are being declared daily, why do so many of our city streets and public transport networks have misleading ads for the very industries driving the crisis?

Our conversation with two C40 experts reveals how the fossil fuel industry mirrors old tobacco industry tactics using sophisticated techniques to "greenwash" their image and frame essential health protections as attacks on free speech. Tune in to learn how cities reclaiming the narratives in our transit systems and urban squares is a vital step toward fending off industry attacks and securing a safer, more sustainable future for all.

Featured guests:

Mariana Batista, C40 Senior Manager, Public Transport

Charlie Worthington, C40 Project Officer, High Carbon Advertising Bans

Links:

The War Against Tobacco: 50 Years and Counting - National Library of Medicine

How the Fossil Fuel Industry Polluted the Information Landscape - Center for Climate Change Communication

Air pollution from fossil fuels kills 5 million people a year - The Guardian

In The Hague, ban on Big Oil ads survives legal challenge - Courthouse News

Profitable Growth Without Fossil Fuels - Clean Creatives

Frequently Asked Questions - A World Without Fossil Fuel Ads

Declaration on Information Integrity on Climate Change - UNESCO

Cities Climate Transition Framework - C40 Knowledge Hub

Clearing the way: A toolkit for positive, fossil-free city advertising - C40 Knowledge Hub

How cities can restrict carbon-intensive advertising - C40 Knowledge Hub

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.

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

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

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

Hot Take: the climate crisis isn’t some abstract data point or a dry policy debate, it’s a deeply human story of survival. Right now, a whole generation is growing up inside the emergency, doing the heavy lifting to fix a mess they didn't create. We’re bringing you the raw, human heartbeat of the movement and amplifying the voices that stole the show at the World Mayor’s Summit in Rio. The C40 Youth Hub members dive into what real intergenerational collaboration looks like when those with the biggest stake in the future are finally the ones leading the change.

Youth Moment featured leaders:

Juliet Oluoch, Research fellow, Ufanisi Research Network

Anjali Raman-Middleton, Co-founder and Director, Choked Up

Esther Kamara, Founder of Youth Initiative For Climate Action Sierra Leone

Foday Kamara, National Coordinator, Youth Climate Council Global Alliance

Letícia Mathias, Co-founder and Executive Director, Instituto SustentAção

Micheala Chan, Young Water Utilities Expert for the Pacific, Asian Development Bank

Featured interview guest:

Earl Aldrin Burgos. C40 Youth Engagement and Campaigns Manager

Links:

World Mayors Summit special - Cities 1.5

US cities as climate first responders - Cities 1.5

C40 Youth Moment - YouTube

Youth Hub - C40

Youth Engagement Playbook for Cities - C40

Loss and Damage: Challenges and Opportunities for City Leadership

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.

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

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

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

What would you risk to tell the truth, if the institution you served was one of the most powerful corporations on Earth?

Early scientific warnings about global heating have long stood in tension with corporate narratives shaping public understanding. This episode examines the enduring disinformation created and disseminated by the fossil fuel industry: how it evolves, why it persists, and what it means for the pace of climate action. Through the perspective of a former insider at ExxonMobil, we explore the widening gap between the disinformation narratives pumped out by fossil fuel companies and the personal consequences of challenging one of the most powerful corporations in modern history.

Featured guest:

Lindsey Gulden, Principal Data Scientist at Leg Up Data and former employee at ExxonMobil

Audio sources:

Oil giant ExxonMobil predicted climate change in 1970s - BBC News

Exxon CEO and Chairman of the American Petroleum Institute Lee Raymond speech (1996) - CPAN

WSJ: SEC probes Exxon after whistleblower complaint - CNBC

Links:

New study in 'Science' puts a number on what Exxon knew decades ago about climate change - Potsdam Institute

How a Newton woman became an enemy of ExxonMobil - The Boston Globe

Tracing Big Oil’s PR war to delay action on climate change - The Harvard Gazette

Carbon Capture and Storage: The Billion Dollar Scam - Environmental Defence

Trump says he might keep Exxon out of Venezuela - Reuters

Countering Climate Disinformation - C40 Cities

Disinformation episodes - Cities 1.5

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.

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

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

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

Across the United States, cities are acting as climate first responders - carrying climate action forward even as national politics grow more hostile. From clean energy and buildings to transport, land use and resilience to extreme weather events, mayors are proving that climate leadership does not depend on federal permission. It grows from proximity: to people, to impacts, and to the places leaders are entrusted to protect. Cities are stepping in to safeguard neighbourhoods, rivers, urban ecosystems and public health, often while the federal government undermines climate policy or attacks local authority.

Featured guests:

Keith Wilson, Mayor of Portland, Oregon, USA

Kirk Watson, Mayor of Austin, Texas, USA

Juliet Oluoch, Research fellow at Ustawi Analytica and youth climate activist from Nairobi, Kenya

Links:

Solved: How the World’s Great Cities Are Fixing the Climate Crisis by David Miller

The Fate of the Inflation Reduction Act in the Second Era of Trump - Cities 1.5

Trump signs order to withdraw US from Paris climate agreement for second time - The Guardian

‘Poet, writer, wife, mom’: who was Renee Nicole Good, the woman killed by an ICE agent? - The Guardian

Mayor Keith Wilson Announces Portland Has Reached more than 1,500 Emergency Overnight Beds, Delivered at Unprecedented Speed - Portland.gov

Costumed protesters in Portland defy description of the city as a 'war zone' - NBC News

Austin Climate Equity Plan

$3,000 grants offered to groups addressing climate change and food access challenges - Austin Monitor

More links for this episode available at jccpe.utpjournals.press and c40.org.

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.

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

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

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

In times of profound geopolitical turbulence - wars, trade shocks, energy insecurity, and climate breakdown - something unexpected is happening: while autocratic leaders double down on fossil fuels and climate denial, cities are stepping into the breach to create a different story. One of hope, resilience, and innovation.

Like wildflowers pushing through concrete, cities around the world are experimenting with new economic models that challenge the old orthodoxy of endless growth. They're turning away from Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as the sole measure of success and asking different questions: Are people housed? Are they thriving? Are we staying within planetary limits?

Featured guests:

Kate Raworth, Co-founder of the Doughnut Economics Action Lab (DEAL)

Leonora Grcheva, Cities and Regions Lead at DEAL

Giuseppe Sala, Mayor of Milan, Italy

Nkosindiphile Xhakaza, Executive Mayor of Tshwane, South Africa

Carola Schouten, Mayor of Rotterdam, Netherlands

Links:

Doughnut Economics in Local Governments: An Overview of Emerging Practice by Leonora Grcheva and Michele Vianello

Special Issue on Sustainable Prosperity in the 21st-Century City - the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy

Trump fossil-fuel push setting back green progress decades, critics warn - The Guardian

Resources for a better future: GDP - Resilience.org

Milan's Food Waste Hubs Network

Compilation of the Integrated Waste Management Plan for the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality

CCU Challenge: Unlock the City’s Ambition of Becoming Fully Circular by 2050

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.

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

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

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

As geopolitical power shifts, cities are rising to lead this urban century while nations cling to outdated systems. Season 6 of Cities 1.5 explores how mayors and urban leaders from around the world are turning uncertainty into opportunity, building regenerative futures with hope-filled narratives that counter disinformation and inspire action.

Join us from January 13, 2026, as we explore the urban transformation the world cannot wait for, ranging from tackling disinformation, decarbonising infrastructure, and confronting the growing alliance between political authoritarianism and the fossil fuel industry. Through intimate conversations with global mayors and urban innovators, we reveal how cities are not just adapting to change…but are actively shaping our future.

Because the future isn't waiting, and neither are cities.

Links:

Zohran Mamdani’s full victory speech, 4 November 2025 - Zohran Mamdani for NYC YouTube channel

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.

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

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

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

In the face of the accelerating climate crisis, rising authoritarianism, and geopolitical shifts, national governments are faltering…but cities are stepping into the void and taking the lead.

Season 6 of Cities 1.5 will delve into how municipal-level actions and powerful coalitions are creating a carbon-free future, promoting resilience, and enabling a new economic system based on wellbeing over profit. We’ll explore how cities are countering disinformation, fear, and inertia by spearheading significant local climate initiatives and forming new alliances, daring national governments to follow in their footsteps. Because the future won’t wait - so we need to decide now who will lead, and whether we want to move towards disaster … or resilience.

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.

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

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

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