The Earth System Governance Project is delighted to announce its endorsement of the research project LO-ACT.
LO-ACT focuses on enabling low carbon urban development in medium and small cities in rapidly urbanising areas in East, Central and West Africa, South Asia and South East Asia.
The majority of emissions in the next century will be emitted by infrastructures that are yet to be built, particularly in rapidly urbanising areas where infrastructure is lacking. Population forecasts suggest that most population growth will take place in small and medium cities. Yet, to date, research on climate action has focused on showcasing strongly branded, successful initiatives in global cities. The low
carbon transition depends on myriad of actions in ordinary cities, that is, cities outside global networks of climate innovation and leadership. LO-ACT will address this critical gap by delivering the first multi-dimensional, large scale assessment of low carbon action in ordinary cities. It will seek to contribute a new framework to understand global environmental politics and urban governance.
LO-ACT is a 5-year project led Prof. Vanesa Castán-Broto at the Urban Institute, Sheffield University, UK, and also involving collaborators from University College London, UK, and Utrecht University, the Netherlands. It has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme Grant Agreement No 804051 — LO-ACT — ERC-2018-STG
To find out more about the project, read here or visit its website.