Tried-and-true solutions to climate breakdown created by C40 Cities – An interview with former Toronto Mayor and C40 Cities Managing Director, David Miller

“The real job of a Mayor is to build a great city where everyone is welcome. If climate strategies are properly thought through, and if people from all walks of life are included in the development of climate action plans, then a city will be created that ensures social equity and green infrastructure. If a denser city is built with parks; every service required by everyone; affordable housing; and if it is built in a way that public transit could reduce the reliance on cars, and encourage walking, and cycling – then it is a much more affordable city and a far more sustainable city has been created.” --David Miller

David Miller is the Managing Director of the C40 Center for City Climate Policy and Economy, the author of two books Solved: How the Great Cities of the World areFixing the Climate Crisis and Witness to a City. Professionally a lawyer, Miller was the Mayor of Toronto from 2003-2010, known for progressive leadership on issues of environment, social justice and jobs. His academic background includes law and economics, from the University of Toronto and Harvard respectively, and he is the recipient of honorary doctorates from York University and the University of Waterloo.

Interview with David Miller Managing Director, C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy Canada

By Suzanne Forcese

Lightly edited for brevity and clarity

WT: All your accomplishments highlight a connecting thread of leadership, environment, social justice, responsibility, honor and commitment. What has been the journey that shaped your perspective, vision and mission?

Miller: Growing up in a very small farming village in England, the only child to a single Mom there were two circumstances that have shaped who I am today. The first I was acutely aware of at the age of six.

Class distinction would dictate my path. There were landed gentry in that small village that owned most of the land – every other villager was essentially a tenant. Our church which had been built in 1183 ran everything else. Differences based on economic circumstances were very clear.

All children were required to be tested at age 11. Children of the working class –- my friends—tended to fail the “11 Plus” test. That meant the only option moving forward was technical school. While children of the landed gentry went on to private school and university, that was not an option for us. The injustice of that early awareness has remained a driving force in my roles as a lawyer and elected official to seek justice.

The second awareness came with hindsight. Environmental standards were very high in our village. Out of frugal necessity, we repurposed everything, grew our own organic vegetables, composted, fixed everything that broke or sold it to the rag-and-bones man who would come around with a horse and cart to fix and sell it. These experiences have forged my commitment to the environment.

WT: Your path brought you and your mother to Canada which would have been a course correction for your future.

Miller: Very significantly. After we came to Canada, I was deeply influenced by an experience on a canoe trip to Algonquin Park in the fall of Grade 9 with 4 other boys, the headmaster and biology teacher at our school. The first day I was immediately struck by the stunning beauty of nature and the fact that I could dip my tin cup into the lake to drink pure clear water. The next day it snowed and rained resulting in grueling canoe experience that is etched in my memory. The beauty of nature, the challenge of nature, the pure water – this developed my environmental consciousness.

WT: How has your political experience defined you?

Miller: I now work for a coalition of Mayors of the world’s largest cities. And one of the reasons is because I was once the Mayor of Toronto -- one of the world’s most significant cities.

During my time in office Toronto was a leader in addressing climate change as a city. We built on our Atmospheric Fund formed in the 90’s to spark innovation in addressing climate change breakdown.

In my time we passed a very significant climate strategy by Council involving building a city around public transit to reduce the need for car ownership. Toronto became more walkable, cyclable, and addressed building energy efficiency.

We updated the Better Buildings Partnership

 with The Deep Lake Water Cooling System

We implemented many other cutting-edge strategies in Toronto. First as a Councillor and then as a Mayor I witnessed what a big city like Toronto could accomplish in addition to the multiple responsibilities for parks, housing, youth programs, transportation, public health, and much more.

A City that prioritizes environmental sustainability equally with responsibilities can use those responsibilities and legal powers to actually build a far more sustainable city that is much more inclusive both physically and economically.

That’s been very important grounding as I work with the C40 Coalition of Mayors -- Mayors of the world’s leading cities who are committed to using their voices and actions to help the world avoid climate breakdown.

With an awareness of climate change Mayors are likely to build a great city for everybody by bringing in policy that makes a difference. For example, rapid transit includes low-income neighborhoods in the fabric of a city. That is the kind of city a mayor is elected to build.

WT: How do you define your role now with C40?

Miller: I lead our internal think tank as Managing Director.

Our role is to help the Mayors of nearly 100 (originally 40) Mayors of the world’s greatest cities with the scientific facts, the academic information, and the narrative they need in order achieve success in avoiding climate breakdown in their cities.

I am blessed with a small but mighty team. We dig deeply into the science and psychology of communication. Understanding people’s biases allows us to demonstrate to Mayors and other city officials how to listen to their constituents’ concerns and realities. We coach them in communications skills that ensure positive climate action undertakings.

For example, we focus on a narrative of public health and the economy because ultimately economic systems have an effect on climate change.

WT: Are C40 Cities the same as “The 15-Minute City” concept? Please also address the pushback surrounding the concept.

Miller: The idea of a 15- Minute City is a simple concept that allows people in a reasonable walk or short public transit or short bike ride access to all daily needs, recreation, work, education, shops, great parks. This should not be a new concept to Torontonians. We think of our city as city of neighborhoods.

It’s true in London England as well. In my neighborhood in Hyde Park for example, there is no need for a car since everything you need is within walking distance. Why does that matter? Because it’s socially sustainable. Children can walk to a centrally located school –- the same school for everyone--creating a sense of neighborhood and community. Social integration is strong as are environmental values. It's about ways of thinking and planning growing cities.

There is an online pushback which is a result of a misunderstanding that people were going to be locked in neighborhoods.

The good news about this is in the research that we have conducted at C40. We tend to think the way our brains work regarding what we see online-- particularly when far right voices are very loud, we tend to think there are many more voices than there really are. The reality is the numbers (driven by a small radical group) are very small. It’s a fascinating example of how manipulation on the internet impacts what we think and talk about and even on public policy.

The 15-minute city concept allows for neighborhood, for kids to play their sports nearby, to shop within walking distance, to have a subway nearby to go to work, and to look out a window and see trees. The concept has longevity because it is economic, inclusive, sustainable.

WT: According to the C40 Cities website, “C40’s Climate Action Planning programme supports cities around the world to create and implement climateaction plans in line with the 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement.”

Why is the 1.5°C Goal important? What are the main problem areas that can be modified to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

Miller: We are heading very close to the 1.5° threshold according to 99.999% of the climate scientists and the United Nations.

By 2030 we need to have greenhouse gas emissions on a path to net zero by 2050.

Cities hold the key. Cities are ahead of national governments in their climate action because of their responsibilities such as transportation, parks, waste management, building codes, or development standards. Cities have natural responsibilities and historic responsibilities that are also very significant when it comes to climate change. As much as 70 –75% of greenhouse gases in the world could be attributed to cities and the activities needed to sustain them. For example, if a power plant is outside the city and it’s powered by coal those gases will be counted in that calculation.

WT: Where are the biggest emitters?

Miller: Most of the greenhouse gases are in 4 areas:

• Transportation
• How we heat/cool our buildings & how we build them
• Waste management
• Energy generation

In all of those areas there is something happening in a city somewhere that is dramatically lowering greenhouse gases and if we take those best ideas -- not inventing new tech –- just take the best ideas that exist today and are done somewhere and we can spread them rapidly at scale over the next 5 years to 2030 there is a real chance to meet that goal of greenhouse gas emissions.

WT: You talk about that in your book, Solved.

Miller: That's why I wrote the book because people were losing hope. It’s important to bring these stories together so people know we can have hope. We must push. It's a lot of work. Five years is a very short time but it's important to point out we can do things, and they are being done.

WT: Can you provide us with some examples.

Miller: There are many. Here are a few:

• New York City has a law that forces commercial buildings’ greenhouse gas emissions in heating and cooling to drop by half by 2030. Why commercial buildings? Because they are the biggest emitters.
• Los Angeles’ electricity generation was around 30% coal (with the previous mayor) By 2030 it will be completely clean. There are many clean energy programs including subsidizing solar for low-income homes and training low-income people for jobs in greening society –solar panel installers for example. They have married social equity with clean energy.
• Shenzhen, China has an electric bus fleet of over 16,000 buses; their taxis are electric; a deliberate policy by that city to foster a new industrial energy reliant on the manufacturing of electric cars and buses

WT: Can you give our viewers a relatively easy solution to reduce greenhouse gases?

Miller: Composting is a simple and easy fix in food waste management that prevents methane from escaping directly into the environment.

WT: Are we doing enough in Canada?

Miller: There is a lot to be done

In Canada we have a special challenge with gas because the industry has led us to believe it is a clean substitute. Not true because if methane leaks in the pipeline we have a problem. Gas is almost as dirty as coal from a climate perspective. We have a challenge in Montreal for example with their new building standards. There is much more to do between 2030 and 2050 but to improve on things now is the best way to solve that problem.

WT: You also talk about the unique role of Mayors in your book Solved.

Miller: Mayors unlike a federally elected official -- a prime minister or a premier are responsible for delivering actual services. A city council doesn’t just pass laws it oversees the delivery of services. The mayor as head of council has ultimate responsibility of and accountability of delivering those services properly.

A federal or provincial government promises to bring in a policy or strategy. The law comes in – but this takes an incredible amount of time. 

If a city has a problem with a water system it's the mayor’s job to deliver clean water to the people. Were a mayor to say, “I passed a policy to clean up our water. It will be clean in 30 years,” the people would chuck out that official at the earliest opportunity. A Mayor must address issues. That is a very different role because you actually deliver the services.

In the biggest cities the Mayors and the Councils are responsible for a variety of services and programs that can have a very direct impact on climate. Toronto is Canada’s biggest landlord -- if buildings are far more energy efficient and much cheaper and emit fewer greenhouse gases, they are much cheaper to live in.

The combination of delivering real services and the expectation that you make change in real time – not a promise in the future and the fact that cities have the ability to make changes that impact our climate is a unique combination and its why cities and the mayors who lead them have such an opportunity to make the right climate change.

WT: A very large piece of making goals a reality is in the messaging. As a writer, a lawyer, a communicator you understand how important metaphor is in connecting with the collective psychology and emotion of the global community. It feels as though there’s another book about to emerge to illustrate what is next for you.

Miller: I am co-authoring a book, with a second voice.

I enjoy doing what I am doing knowing that this work is a valuable contribution. We are in the midst of an existential crisis that includes everyone, but we can make a difference.

Related:

C40 Knowledge Hub

Cities 1.5 -

Solved