Global Innovation Summit 2023
The Global Innovation Summit is an annual event that aims to inspire the UTM community to implement innovative approaches in technology, resilience, governance, finance, and society in an integrated, accessible, and holistic manner. It offers an opportunity for UTM cities to unite, network, and meet with a community already committed to a net-zero global transition and galvanize cooperation with the climate finance sector, global practitioners, and private sector representatives.
Cities ahead of the curve: local solutions driving innovation
The first edition of the UTM High-level Gathering, held in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) in the framework of the UNFCCC Middle East and North Africa Climate Week (MENACW) offered a unique opportunity for cities to network, collaborate, and connect with a community of national policymakers, international organizations, stakeholders from private sector and academia, with one aim: identify crucial opportunities, collaborations, and partnerships to support UTM cities in the implementation of climate neutral and net-zero pathways enabled by clean energy and systemic innovation across all sectors.
Through a cross-cutting lens, the event zoomed-in on both the challenges, and successful measures and approaches adopted by cities to respond to the needs to build, operate, and maintain sustainable and future-proof urban infrastructures.
Participants both in person and online exchanged on the interconnections between transport and mobility, energy, cooling, and the built environment, focusing on showcasing integrated solutions that foster not only resource efficiency, secure fair, equitable access to all, and leverage innovation and digitalization.
Panelists
Eng. Abdelaziz Elmegbl
Director General of Sustainability program and Green Riyadh – Royal Commission for Riyadh City
Andy Deacon
Managing Director, Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate &Energy
Anna Williams
EMEA Solutions Lead, Geo for Environment, Google Environmental Insights Explorer
Anvita Arora
Program Director, King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Arbjan Mazniku
Minister of State for Local Government, Albania
Are Børjesson
Bergen, Norway
Dr. Aromar Revi
Director, Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS), and Leading author of the IPCC, AR6 Summary of policymakers
Asif Nawaz Shah
Specialist, Inclusion & Constituency Engagement, COP28 Presidency
Beatriz García-Moncó Piñeiro
Mission Coordinator, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
Benjamin Jance IV
Head of Research and Innovation, Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy
Cristina Contreras
Sustainability Innovation Manager, Renca, Chile
Eleanor Webster
Head of Mission Innovation secretariat
Ghislaine Kieffer
Policy Analyst – Energy Efficiency and Cities, International Energy Agency
Giorgia Rambelli
Director, Urban Transitions Mission – Mission Innovation
Graeme Maidment
Energy Research Team, Science and Innovation for Climate & Energy (SICE), UK Government
Gregor Robertson
Global Ambassador, Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy
Heli Huuskonen
Project Manager, Climate and Environmental Policy, Turku, Finland
Hiroyuki Ito
Manager, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRB)
João Dinis
Coordinator Department of Acceleration of Urban Transition, Cascais, Portugal
Julio Lumbreras
Coordinator of the citiES 2030 initiative, Spain
Lea Ranalder
Associate Programme Management Officer, Human Settlements, UN-HABITAT
Luis Tineo
Interim CEO, Climate Investment Fund
Mark Atherton
Director of Environment, Greater Manchester Authority, United Kingdom
Masato Fujimoto
Mayor of Tokorozawa, Japan
Massamba Thioye
Project Executive UNFCCC Global Innovation Hub, UN Climate Change Secretariat
Mohamed Sefiani
Mayor, Chefchaouen, Morocco
Oleksandra Sladkova
Deputy Head of Economic Development Department, Lviv, Ukraine
Pablo Yañez
Officer for International Relations, Puerto Montt, Chile
Patricia Gomez
Deputy Chief Resilience Officer and Director of Energy, Miami-Dade County, USA
Peter El Hajj
Digital Twins Lead, Net Zero Urban Program, KPMG
Rosalinde van der Vlies
Director – Clean Planet, European Commission, European Commission and member of the Steering Committee of Mission Innovation
Sharif Qamar
Fellow and Associate Director, Transport and Urban Governance Division, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), India
Umamaheshwaran Rajasekar
Advisor – Urban Resilience, Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructures
Yong Chen
Program Officer (Lead) for Sustainable Urban Energy, IRENA
Sessions
Urban Transition: reality-check
In the introductory part, global experts started setting a reality-check framework, emphasizing the importance of having a systematic approach when it comes to the improvement of urban resilient infrastructures, connecting innovation on local actions to foster mitigation but also in the implementation of adaptation measures for a climate neutrality and resilient future.
Access to the presentations:
UTM in Action: resource efficient infrastructures
In the first session, cities representatives and partners shared insights related to resource efficient infrastructures, stating that the main driver for innovation comes from setting climate and sustainability goals and targets based on the perception of what is needed, not on what is possible.
Access to the presentations:
UTM in Action: people-centered infrastructures
In the second session, UTM cities addressed the important aspect of managing, setting, establishing and designing people-centered infrastructures to secure a fair and equitable opportunity for citizens to utilize the benefit of this infrastructures. Through the discussion, the representatives highlighted how having people as partners on the development and implementation of urban planning can encourage local governments to make the right choices on which will be the most sustainable choices, the more climate friendly choices that will contribute to the national government climate action strategies.
Access to the presentations:
UTM in Action: smart & connected infrastructures
in the third session, the participants approached the experiences related to the use of data, digital and multilateral interventions for the development of smart and connected infrastructures. The space allowed to showcase how UTM cities are using data not only to deliver carbon reduction, but also to seek further investment.
Access to the presentations:
UTM in Action: brokering solutions and connecting innovation leaders & providers
The UTM, in collaboration with the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy Innovate4Cities initiative launched the UTM Research Clusters with the first call to academics, researchers, universities and think tanks to support UTM cities in the delivery of innovative approaches on data and research around their priorities, identifying what has been done already, currently taking place or planned, encouraging all those stakeholders to address priorities together. The call for collaborations sets the first stepping stone on the way to the next edition of the Innovate4Cities Conference, taking place in September 2024 in Montreal, Canada
