August 7, 2025

Accelerating Climate Action Implementation in Cities

Cities are at the forefront of climate change. While accounting for 70 percent of global CO2 emissions, cities cover only 2 percent of Earth's land. And according to the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, 80 percent of cities face significant climate hazards.

In the face of existential threats, political gridlock, and “winner-takes-all" mentalities, ethics can help unlock novel approaches for responsible and informed decision-making to confront intractable problems. Its utility in fields such as science, engineering, and medicine is now well established, so how might we apply ethics to accelerate climate action implementation in cities?

In March 2025, the Carnegie Ethics Accelerator convened an international group of experts in city climate action together with leading ethicists, to explore this question. The result? A new Climate Action in Cities tool which aims to demonstrate the usefulness of applied ethics strategies in this context.

Ethical Questions Facing Mayors and City Officials

At Climate Week NYC 2023, Carnegie Council President Joel Rosenthal identified some of the tough questions facing city leaders, such as:

• Are those responsible doing their part to decarbonize their economies?
• Who is allowed at the decision-making table?
• Who ensures future generations do not face a catastrophe that our generation has passed onto them?

Rosenthal continues: "With well over two-thirds of humanity expected to reside in cities by 2050, city governments will be on the frontlines of decarbonizing our economies and transforming society as a whole."

Living a Moral Life in a Catastrophic World

Moral philosopher Travis Rieder joins Values & Interests to explore how we might pursue ethical lives in an era of global crisis. From climate change and violent conflict to the dilemmas of daily life, Rieder argues that we must radically overhaul our outdated moral toolkits to face the challenges of an increasingly contradictory and catastrophic world.

Which pathway is best for unlocking international climate change cooperation?

1) Economic incentives

2) Cultural diplomacy

3) Regulation & enforcement

4) Other

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Continue Exploring the Intersection of Ethics and Climate Action 

This is the first edition of our re-envisioned Carnegie Ethics Newsletter. Moving forward, you’ll receive this monthly email focused on providing you with tools and resources to analyze tradeoffs and make ethically informed judgements on trending topics in international affairs. In the future, look out for issues covering space diplomacy, artificial intelligence, peace and security, and more.

To continue learning about climate action, visit our library of resources curated on our Climate Ethics Key Terms page.