Date: Monday, 7 December 2015

Time: 15:00 – 16:30

Room: Large Room

Session access: Open

Contact : Faderr Johm

Email: faderr.johm@unhabitat.org

   Cc: robert.kehew@unhabitat.org

Organized by: UN-Habitat

Description

The Third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) will offer a chance to view the Paris outcomes as well as the new Post-2015 Development Agenda through an urban lens. As an input into the Habitat III preparation process, the members of Cities Alliance have formed a Joint Work Programme to share and debate key messages.

This high-level session will be held as a Talk Show that will be moderated by a prominent journalist. The event is designed for the principals of the Cities Alliance members, as well for the high-level representatives from different constituencies.

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Objectives

  • Showcase the work of Cities Alliance members, as well as other public and private institutions, in supporting cities to address climate change.
  • Examine the role of cities as the front lines of efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions and build resilience.
  • Sensitize and begin to discuss with participants the fact that Habitat III (in October 2016) will offer an opportunity to further consider climate change through an urban lens.

    These three objectives will be reflected in the interventions of each speaker.

Methodology and Speakers

- Moderated Talk Show -

Introduction – Moderator (3 minutes)

Femi Oke, Al Jazeera English, Washington USA

Keynote Speech (10 minutes)

Joan Clos, Executive Director, UN-Habitat, Kenya

Panel Discussion (42 minutes)

Moderator to engage with panelists on predetermined discussion points related to each organizations engagement with city climate action. The dialogue will be tailored by the moderator for panelists to interact and discuss opportunities and challenges cities face tackling climate change and how each organization is capitalizing on the opportunities and addressing the challenges. Furthermore the discussion should highlight the role of cities as the front lines of efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change, and the opportunity for Habitat III to frame climate change within an urban lens.

(PANELISTS)

E. Annick Girardin, Minister of State for Development and Francophonie, France

Ingrid Hoven, Director General of Global issues – sector policies and programmes, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany

Mpho Parks Tau, Executive Mayor, City of Johannesburg, South Africa

William Cobbett, Director, Cities Alliance, Belgium

Luiz de Mello, Deputy Director of Public Governance and Territorial Development, OECD, France

Janet Adu, Slum Dwellers International Core Team Member and Community Leader of the Ghanaian Homeless People’s Federation

Q/A questions from audience (30 minutes)

Closing remarks from moderator (5 minutes)