Innovate4Cities Global Marketplace

Registration is now open for the Innovate4Cities (I4C) Global Marketplace, an online event from 10-12 October 2023 to convene cities, business, academia, other levels of government, and civil society to catalyze partnerships and projects to scale up local climate action . 

Grounded in the latest research from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the science is clear: climate change demands increasingly urgent transformative action to reduce emissions, meet core human needs, and increase social, energy, and environmental resilience. Cities and local governments can play a crucial role in implementing climate action, but require cross-sector partnership and collaboration to meet the moment.

The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM) invites all cities and local governments, and their partners in climate action research and innovation, to the first of its kind Innovate4Cities (I4C) Global Marketplace October 10-12 online.

Building on research and innovation priorities identified via key city & climate change science agendas, the Innovate4Cities Global Marketplace is a shared space to connect and match cities, local governments, funders and financiers, academia, and other levels of government to tackle the policy, research, and innovation gaps most critical to urban action.

The I4C Global Marketplace will provide a virtual space to identify, explore, and connect the challenges, knowledge, and solutions focused on tackling the climate crisis through action implementation in cities and local governments. The Marketplace aims to catalyze regionally relevant partnerships that maximize shared priorities and ambitions to to implement need-based city climate actions and solutions that deliver a net-zero, climate-resilient and safe future.

Format for the Marketplace: There will be sessions in suitable hours for all timezones across the three days, with meetings and presentation opportunities open to all who are interested. We will be in touch to discuss options to actively participate in the marketplace – to present or pitch your ideas for research and innovation, relevant to your local climate action needs. Importantly, this isn’t like a normal conference. 

You can attend one day, half a day or just a specific meeting – with a program focussed on a few high level stock-take plenaries on research and innovation for cities and local government climate action; and many small to medium meetings to generate meaningful partnerships for research and innovation to close the implementation gap on local climate ambition.

Moreover, the I4C Global Marketplace informs development of the Innovate4Cities Conferences by taking stock of the appetite for cross-sector partnership and implementation that addresses crucial research and innovation priorities. City and climate change science agendas will benefit directly from the knowledge and opportunities shared and developed within and across Marketplaces.

Why attend the I4C Global Marketplace?

• Connect and match with regionally relevant  businesses and academics on unique project / solution / program offerings that can facilitate action plan implementation;
• Learn from other cities and local governments, industry, academia, and business about sustainability-related challenges and opportunities they face – and share good practices to address them;
• Generate knowledge around policy, research, and innovation gaps at the nexus of city climate action that feeds into longer-term engagement opportunities

The GCoM alliance invites you to register your interest to participate at the virtual Innovate4Cities Global Marketplace from 10-12 October 2023. Interested participants may also choose to ‘pitch’ your need and/or solution to a cross-sector audience filled with potential partner organizations within your region.