Smart Cities, Shared Futures: Bridging Asia and the World
Asia’s cities will account for over half of global urban population growth by 2030, making their climate policies and technologies critical to global sustainability. Cities in other regions bring valuable experience in governance, resilience, and civic engagement. By collaborating across geographies and development stages, cities can combine diverse strengths to co-create scalable, context-sensitive solutions.
This event will gather leaders from government, business, and civil society to share models in policy, finance, and technology deployment, aiming to shape the next generation of globally integrated urban climate action.
Sponsors:
Partners:
Agenda:
( 10:00-12:00PM Morning Session (Invite-Only) )
12:00-1:00 PM Welcome Lunch Networking
1:00-1:15 Opening Remarks and Fireside Chat
1:15-1:45 Keynote Speech
“From Local Innovations to Global Pathways – Cities as Strategic Actors in Climate Action”
This keynote, will examine how cities—operating at the frontlines of both implementation and innovation—can lead global transitions toward sustainability. It will emphasize the importance of bridging regional divides and leveraging diverse governance models, resource capacities, and citizen engagement approaches to scale effective solutions.
Speaker: Dr. Kent E. Calder
Kent E. Calder currently directs the Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies at Johns Hopkins University SAIS, as he has done since 2003. He recently also served for varying intervals as Dean, Vice Dean for Faculty Affairs, and Vice Dean for Academic Affairs at SAIS.
Prior to SAIS, Calder served as special advisor to the U.S. Ambassador to Japan; Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS); tenured professor at Princeton University; lecturer on government at Harvard; and as the first executive director of Harvard University’s Program on U.S.-Japan Relations. Professor Calder received his Ph.D. from Harvard University, where he worked under the direction of Edwin O. Reischauer, former US Ambassador to Japan.
A specialist in East Asian political economy, Kent Calder lived and researched in Japan for eleven years and elsewhere in East Asia for four years. He has served as Distinguished Visiting Professor at Seoul National University; as Rajaratnam Professor at Nanyang University in Singapore; and as Visiting Professor at the University of Yangon in Myanmar.In 2014, Professor Calder was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon. His recent publications include: Global Political Cities: Actors and Arenas of Influence in International Affairs (2021); Super Continent: The Logic of Eurasian Integration (2019); Circles of Compensation: Economic Growth and the Globalization of Japan (2018); Singapore: Smart City, Smart State (2017); Asia in Washington (2014); and The New Continentalism: Energy and Twenty-First Century Eurasian Geopolitics (2012).
1:45-2:10 PM Session 1: Public Sector Dialogue
“From Local Action to Global Impact – Advancing Inter-City Collaboration for Climate Solutions”
This session will explore how local climate action, when supported by strong cross-border collaboration, can catalyze systemic change at the global level. Representatives from city governments, international organizations, and urban networks will engage in a dialogue grounded in real-world initiatives that demonstrate how localized innovation and governance can scale beyond borders to inform national policies, multilateral agendas, and global climate goals.
Crucially, the session will highlight the enabling role that international institutions can play in this process—from facilitating knowledge exchange and peer learning, to providing technical assistance, financial mechanisms, and policy platforms that connect cities across geographies. By sharing lessons from concrete urban experiences, the discussion will also examine how cities and international organizations can co-create frameworks that strengthen local ownership while enhancing global coherence.
Speakers:
Panelist: Oumar Sylla, Director of the Regional Office for Africa, UN-Habitat
Panelist: Aditi Maheshwari, Managing Director of Climate Action Implementation, C40 Cities
Panelist: New York City Mayor's Office for International Affairs (TBC)
2:10-2:35PM Session 2: Finance & Investment
“Financing Smart Cities – The Role of ESG and Impact Capital”
This session will address the urgent financing gap facing urban climate initiatives, particularly in rapidly growing cities. It will explore the evolving role of multilateral development banks (MDBs), ESG investors, blended finance mechanisms, and public financial institutions in enabling scalable, sustainable investment in smart cities. Discussion will include governance design, impact measurement, and recent trends in tools such as green bonds and public-private models.
Speakers:
Panelist: DBJ Americas Inc.
Panelist: TBC
Panelist: World Bank (TBC)
2:35-3:00PM Session 3: Academia × Industry Insights
“Integrating Technology and Knowledge – Scaling Urban Climate Solutions”
This session will focus on emerging technologies and academic research that support climate resilience in urban areas. It will spotlight cross-sector collaboration models—among startups, researchers, and city governments—that drive implementation and scaling of climate solutions, especially through urban testbeds. Emphasis will be placed on the complementarity of scientific innovation and local governance capacity across diverse regions.
Speakers:
Panelist: Hidetoshi Takeda, NINEJP (National Innovation Network for Entrepreneur Japan)
Panelist: Timothy Hoffman, Program Director, Climate Initiatives at Columbia Technology Ventures
Panelist: (TBC)