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University of Strathclyde
TIC, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Designing Smart Cities: opportunities and Regulatory Challenges
01 April 2015
Francesco Sindico
Director, Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance
Are cities smarter than States when it comes to climate change?
Are Cities Smarter than States when it Comes to Climate
Change?
 Francesco Sindico
o Director, Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance
http://www.strath.ac.uk/scelg/
o Programme Leader, Strathclyde LLM in Climate Change Law and Policy
http://www.strath.ac.uk/courses/postgraduatetaught/climatechangelawpolicy
/
Are Cities Smarter than States when it Comes to Climate
Change?
Outline
 Climate Change
 States and Climate Change
 Cities and Climate Change
Cities as potential finance
drivers for change towards
a low carbon society
Are Cities Smarter than States when it Comes to Climate
Change?
Climate Change
 Doomsday, but not for all at the same time (and there may be some
winners…)
Are Cities Smarter than States when it Comes to Climate
Change?
Climate Change
 Emissions coming from cities are relevant
Cities contribute to 70% of
global GHG
Are Cities Smarter than States when it Comes to Climate
Change?
States and Climate Change
 2015: Paris the new Copenhagen!
States have driven 20 years
of international
negotiations that have not
solved the problem…
Are Cities Smarter than States when it Comes to Climate
Change?
States and Climate Change
 States not so smart because of sovereignty
 States not so smart because of lack of legally
binding rules
 States not so smart because international climate
change rules cannot be enforced properly….
Is International Law ill
equipped to deal with
climate change? Are there
smarter players than
States?
Are Cities Smarter than States when it Comes to Climate
Change?
Cities and Climate Change
 Cities as hub of excellence in smart climate solutions
Are Cities Smarter than States when it Comes to Climate
Change?
Cities and Climate Change
 “Could Oslo’s decision to divest from coal inspire bigger cities to do the
same?” The Guardian, 23 March 2015
Are Cities Smarter than States when it Comes to Climate
Change?
Cities and Climate Change
 Cities and Divestment
Are Cities Smarter than States when it Comes to Climate
Change?
Cities and Climate Change
£bilions
 City pension funds
(0.3) vs State
sovereign wealth
funds (26.8)
Oslo
Norway
Cities may be smarter, but
are they just a drop in the
ocean?
Are Cities Smarter than States when it Comes to Climate
Change?
Cities and Climate Change
 But what if other
cities follow suit?
Are bigger cities also smart
when it comes to climate
change?
Are Cities Smarter than States when it Comes to Climate
Change?
Cities and Climate Change
 London
o £2bn GLA Group Investment
Syndicate
o £4.8bm portfolio London Pension
Fund Authority (LPFA)
“The mayor takes climate change extremely seriously,” a spokesperson said, adding
that the mayor’s office believed a sudden divestment on London’s part from fossil fuel
investments would cause “a huge disruption to the world economy, let alone the
retirement plans for millions of UK residents”. There was, the spokesperson said, “a
realism that there needs to be transition away from fossil fuel and not a sudden cliffedge”.
Are Cities Smarter than States when it Comes to Climate
Change?
Are Cities Smarter than States when it Comes to Climate
Change?
Are Cities Smarter than States when it Comes to Climate
Change?
Cities and Climate Change
 Can civil society and youth be the driver for divestment in cities?
Universities as a start-up for
innovation and divestment
policies: are Universities
really smart?
Are Cities Smarter than States when it Comes to Climate
Change?
Cities and Climate Change
 The questions?
o What is the role of law (if any) to promote divestment from city actors?
o What is the role of International Law (if any) in bringing cities within the
current international negotiations?
o What is the role of law (national, International, any…) to enable
individuals to press cities to change business behaviours?
Why would Cities deliver
better than States when it
comes to climate change?
Are Cities Smarter than States when it Comes to Climate
Change?
States, Cities and Climate
Change
 States not so smart because of sovereignty
 States not so smart because of lack of legally
binding rules
 States not so smart because international climate
change rules cannot be enforced properly….
Would the answers be
different if States were to
be replaced by Cities?
Are Cities Smarter than States when it Comes to Climate
Change?
Conclusions
 The “smart” dimension of cities is not (only) to make these cleaner,
greener, more carbon neutral through technology and the use of data
 The “smarter” dimension of cities is to focus on their potential to finance
the world towards a low carbon society path
Cities are not per se
smarter than States, but
they can pave the way! Big
cities as global leaders?
Are Cities Smarter than States when it Comes to Climate
Change?
Thank you!
 Francesco Sindico
o Director, Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance
http://www.strath.ac.uk/scelg/
o Programme Leader, Strathclyde LLM in Climate Change Law and Policy
http://www.strath.ac.uk/courses/postgraduatetaught/climatechangelawpolicy
/