On 17 March 2021 at 14:30 (CET), the World Resources Institute (WRI) is hosting a webinar on 'Seizing The Urban Opportunity - How can National Governments Recover from COVID-19, Tackle the Climate Crisis and Secure Shared Prosperity Through Cities?'.

Join the webinar for the Coalition’s global flagship event and launch of a new report, Seizing the Urban Opportunity. The event will hear from leading policy makers and global thought leaders such as the COP26 President Alok Sharma, Professor Lord Stern and UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa. The event aims to inspire, inform and build momentum for enhanced climate ambition by national governments and other actors ahead of COP26 in Glasgow. Through insights from six emerging economies – China, India, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, and South Africa – the report provides a call to action to tackle the triple challenges of COVID-19 recovery, sustainable and inclusive development, and climate change by transforming cities.

This virtual high-level event will feature an impressive line-up of speakers, including:

• Rt Hon Alok Sharma MP, COP President Designate video address; 
• Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations video address; 
• Professor Lord Stern, Chair of the Grantham Research Institute, London School of Economics; 
• Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary, UNFCCC; 
• Sharan Burrow, General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation; 
• Dr. Andrew Steer, President and CEO, World Resources Institute;
• Mark Watts, Executive Director, C40 Cities, Co-chair of the Urban Leadership Council, Coalition for Urban Transitions; 
• Smt Manisha Mhaiskar (IAS), Principal Secretary Environment Department, Government of Maharashtra; 
• Sowmya Parthasarathy, Director, Integrated City Planning, ARUP; 
• Wanjira Mathai, Vice President and Regional Director for Africa, WRI; 
• Ani Dasgupta, Global Director, WRI Ross Center for Cities, Global Co-director, Coalition for Urban Transitions; 
• Andrea Fernández, Director of Climate Planning, Finance & Partnerships, C40 Cities.

'Seizing the Urban Opportunity' is being launched to support the COP26 UK Presidency in building momentum for enhanced climate ambition by national governments and other actors ahead of COP26 in Glasgow. Through insights from six emerging economies—China, India, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa—it provides a call to action to tackle the triple challenges of COVID-19 recovery, economic development, and climate action by transforming cities. The report is a collaborative effort, created in consultation with experts and policymakers in the six focus countries, with additional input from more than 36 organisations across five continents. The report is funded by the UK government, The Resilience Shift, the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation.