Download our award-winning app and enjoy access to all exclusive features. Click here to access on Apple or Android.

During European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s first term from 2019 to 2024, climate change was arguably at the top of the political agenda. The European Commission tabled a huge package of laws aimed at slashing emissions across the bloc, framing the new “Green Deal” as the backbone of a more prosperous European Union.

Today, things have changed. With Russia's war on Ukraine continuing, military conflict in the Middle East, and trade uncertainty caused by Donald Trump’s tariffs, climate seems to have slipped down the list of political priorities.

In Europe, the political debate is less about how to urgently slash emissions than how to boost military spending and reduce red/green tape to give businesses an edge in the global marketplace.

For Green Party politicians across the continent, this poses a problem, both environmentally and politically. How can green politicians marry the need to address climate change with current political priorities?

“The winds are not in our favour at the moment. We have war on European soil, and that has been challenging for Green parties internationally. We have prided ourselves on our pacifism. To look at people from Ukraine in the eye and say, ‘Actually, we support you in your fight against Russian aggression’ requires a change from ourselves in our approach.”

Ciarán Cuffe won a seat in the European Parliament in 2019, where he sat with the Greens/EFA group. Cuffe gained a reputation as a dedicated lawmaker, landing the role of chief negotiator on new EU rules to make buildings more energy efficient. However, despite his legislative achievements, Cuffe was not returned as an MEP in the 2024 elections. Today, he acts as the co-chair of the European Green Party.

In this episode of The Urban Report, Cuffe reflects on his experiences in the European Parliament, whether defence, competitiveness and climate concerns can co-exist politically, his new position with the European Greens, and the role of cities in pushing forward climate action.

Download our award-winning app and enjoy access to all exclusive features. Click here to access on Apple or Android.

If you have any thoughts or questions about anything that has been discussed in this week’s episode, you can reach Sean at his X account: Sean Carroll

Follow us on X at @Foresight_CE or email us at: sean@foresightmedia.com.

You can also find FORESIGHT Climate & Energy on LinkedIn.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When it comes to reducing building emissions, knowing where to start is not always easy—buildings vary in size and shape, serve diverse purposes, and construction methods differ, sometimes quite drastically, by geographic location.

Given this diversity, what are the steps that we can take to reduce the carbon output of the built environment?

The Energy Transitions Commission, a coalition of stakeholders advocating for a faster global energy transition, produced a report outlining how we can achieve zero-carbon buildings globally.

The report tackles both the emissions from heating, cooling, and powering buildings—and the carbon footprint from constructing them in the first place.

“I think from a social justice angle, often the households who are living in the lowest quality, less energy-efficient homes, who will actually see the largest benefits from insulation and other retrofits, are also likely to have lower incomes. So, from this perspective, governments do have a role to play in terms of subsidising these retrofits.”

It outlines actions we can implement today to lower emissions, such as switching from gas boilers to electric heat pumps, and actions that may take longer to achieve, such as scaling low-carbon materials.

On this week’s episode, Min Guan, the Head of Systems Insights at the Energy Transitions Commission, joins Sean to discuss the report’s findings.

Min outlines how barriers to decarbonising the built environment can be overcome, covering topics such as encouraging the building industry to adopt low-carbon construction materials, unwarranted media criticism of heat pumps, and the role of the state in politically and financially supporting the shift to cleaner buildings.

“The reason why I'm optimistic is because the buildings transition is much more [than] about decarbonisation: it's about lowering energy bills and also improving air quality and creating a better environment and more comfortable buildings, and as a result of that you will also have the benefits of lower emissions.”

---

Download our award-winning app and enjoy access to all exclusive features. Click here to access on Apple or Android.

If you have any thoughts or questions about anything that has been discussed in this week’s episode, you can reach Sean at his X account: Sean Carroll

Follow us on X at @Foresight_CE or email us at: sean@foresightmedia.com.

You can also find FORESIGHT Climate & Energy on LinkedIn.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Download our award-winning app and enjoy access to all exclusive features. Click here to access on Apple or Android.

Post World War II, American cities were the envy of the world. With booming industries, towering skyscrapers, and highways full of cars, US cities symbolised the country’s soaring quality of life. Today, however, the position of American cities has faded—many US urban centres grapple with vacant downtowns, stark inequality, and infrastructure straining under modern demands.

Across the Atlantic, Nordic cities like Copenhagen and Stockholm have pulled ahead, topping global livability rankings thanks to their emphasis on collective goods: efficient public transport, mixed-use neighbourhoods, and climate-resilient design.

Now, Bloxhub, a sustainable urbanisation hub, is introducing US cities to the Nordic urban development model, helping them to address their challenges with Scandinavian strategies.

“A saying in the Nordics is that people will use the infrastructure you give them. So, when you give them more lanes on the highway, they will be used. If you give them more bike infrastructure, it will be used. So, it's a matter of nudging people in the direction that you want them to go, and they'll probably utilise it.”

What can US cities looking to rejuvenate their fortunes learn from the Nordic model of urbanisation? And can a model built on shared space and high-trust governance work in a nation focused on car-centric planning and individualism?

Martine Reinhold Kildeby of Bloxhub joins the Urban Report to discuss how trust, collaboration, and "nudging" residents toward greener choices can reshape cities without upending local identities. From Detroit’s experiments with digital mobility solutions to Austin’s energy-efficient building retrofits, Nordic approaches are set to revitalise American urban areas.

Download our award-winning app and enjoy access to all exclusive features. Click here to access on Apple or Android.

If you have any thoughts or questions about anything that has been discussed in this week’s episode, you can reach Sean at his X account: Sean Carroll

Follow us on X at @Foresight_CE or email us at: sean@foresightmedia.com.

You can also find FORESIGHT Climate & Energy on LinkedIn.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.