The following is a sponsored article written by Kate Gallego, Mayor of Phoenix, Arizona and Joy Belmonte, Mayor of Quezon City, Philippines and sponsored by C40 Cities.
Cities around the world this summer broke temperature records once again. The results were devastating: extreme heat now kills almost half a million people every year, and the danger continues to grow. By 2050, the number of urban residents exposed to life-threatening heat is expected to increase. increase fivefold.
From the desert of Phoenix in the US to the humid streets of Quezon City in the Philippines, mayors are facing the same new reality: the heat is here to stay and is affecting every element of city life. That's why we—along with more than 30 other mayors from C40 Cities, a global network of nearly 100 of the world's largest cities tackling the climate emergency—are joining forces to protect our people today and prepare our communities for a hotter future. Via new Cool City Accelerator C40we will work together to accelerate bold and inclusive climate action that meets the urgency of this growing threat.
In some ways, our cities are very different. Phoenix, America's fifth largest city, is located in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona and enjoys over 300 days of sunshine per year. Quezon City, the most populous city in the Philippines, faces sweltering humidity and the annual risk of typhoons. Yet both cities are on the front lines of rising temperatures that threaten health, strain our energy grids and exacerbate inequality.
Extreme heat is deadliest climate hazardbut it is also the quietest. It kills through heat stroke and dehydration, as well as worsening cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. It is felt most often by people who have the fewest resources to cope: older adults, children, outdoor workers and low-income communities. In Phoenix, residents of low-income neighborhoods may experience fever a few degrees higher than in the wealthier parts of the city. In Quezon City, densely populated areas may become dangerous heat traps.
Markus Lindström/Getty Images
We refuse to accept a future in which a heat wave is a death sentence for those who have the least and whose responsibility for the climate crisis is disproportionately small. The Cool Cities Accelerator is our overall plan to prevent this. According to COP30 call as part of a “decade of results”, it provides a practical framework for mayors to act boldly and share what works.
First, we are now protecting lives. Participating cities appoint heat managers, improve early warning systems, and coordinate emergency response across agencies. Phoenix, for example. created America's first federally funded Office of Heat Response and Mitigation, expanded access chilled water stations, as well as outdoor cooling and hydration stations, including overnight cooling center options, to provide assistance where it is needed most. Meanwhile, Quezon City is currently mapping heat-vulnerable communities and the development of citywide heat action plan. It has already adjusted working hours for outdoor workers and introduced heat-tolerant crops to more than 1,400 urban farms.
The goal is to ensure long-term sustainability. Over five years, Accelerator participating cities will integrate cooling into building codes, redesign streets to provide shade and air circulation, and expand tree canopy and green corridors. Phoenix pilots reflective “cool sidewalks”landing thousands of treesand creation of artistic shadow structures and establishing regional standards for heat-ready infrastructure. Quezon City is park restoration and greening schools and public spaces. As part of these efforts, the city supported local groups transforming empty sites into small forests and gardens, while encouraging private developers to introduce more environmentally friendly designs in accordance with the Green Building Regulation. These efforts save lives and reduce energy bills while improving the quality of life in the surrounding area.
But urban warmth isn't limited to city limits, and our solutions shouldn't be either. That's why collaboration is at the heart of the Cool Cities Accelerator. Thirty-two cities, from Austin to Athens and Singapore to Santiago, are now sharing data and design ideas. The details on the ground are obviously different, but the solutions we're developing together are remarkably similar: creating more shade, better design, and better care for our most vulnerable populations. When our teams share lessons about early warning systems or how to engage with our communities, we all move faster and more efficiently.
For too long, extreme heat has been underestimated and under-measured. We can build cities that are not only cooler, but fairer. But to do this, we must act together, and we must act now. We need to provide solutions that not only keep people alive today, but also enable future generations to thrive.
C40 is a network of nearly 100 mayors from the world's leading cities who are working to take the urgent action needed now to confront the climate crisis and create a future in which everyone, everywhere, can thrive. C40 city mayors commit to a science-based, people-centred approach to limit global warming in line with the Paris Agreement and build healthy, fair and resilient communities.
