This closing session for Day 1 of the two-day COP30 event, Delivery on Human Needs in the 21st Century, explores how cities, innovation ecosystems and young people can drive an “expanded climate and innovation agenda” focused on human needs and flourishing lives rather than only emissions cuts. Dennis Pamlin introduces work on “gigatons of climate innovations” in Brazilian cities and argues for seeing cities as solution providers instead of emission sources, moving beyond narrow net-zero and offset approaches. Pourya Salehi stresses that finance, indicators and institutions must shift from compliance and sector silos to human-needs-driven, system-level solutions that can be exported, particularly from emerging economies. Paul Westin reflects on practical examples from Sweden, Singapore, New York, Mumbai and Ukraine, and questions how benefits reach smaller cities and rural areas. Jay Hennessy presents practical tools and steps—such as the “Win the Future” initiative—to help cities and startups co-create, scale and share solution portfolios globally.
Speakers
· Paul Westin, Senior Business Developer, International Markets, Swedish Energy Agency
· Pourya Salehi, Head of Urban Research, Innovation, and Development Team, ICLEI
· Nitin Arora, Project Leader, UNFCCC Global Innovation Hub
· Jay Hennessy, Director, FL4ALL / Senior Project Leader, RISE
· Dennis Pamlin, Executive Director, FL4ALL / Senior Advisor, RISE
Chaired by Dennis Pamlin, Executive Director, FL4ALL & Senior Advisor, RISE.
Dennis Pamlin
· Introduces the “gigatons of climate innovations from Brazil” and positions cities, tech parks and incubators as central solution actors.
· Critiques the “fossil free typewriter agenda” and net-zero-only thinking, arguing for smart new solutions that improve lives.
· Highlights Brazilian cities where innovation, economic development and health departments lead climate-relevant innovation with global gigaton potential and benefits for over a billion people.
· Insists solution cities should invest in their own solutions, not offsets, and set positive goals (e.g. leading in health or senior care) rather than just zero emissions.
· Reframes smaller cities as agile “startups,” stresses restoring young people’s belief in the future, and invites youth to actively knock on institutional doors.
Pourya Salehi
· Argues that climate finance debates must expand beyond “not enough money” to better using existing resources across ministries and local actors.
· Criticizes compliance-driven, emission-target focus for suppressing system-changing innovation, using carbon-neutral fast food as an example.
· Calls for pipelines of human-needs-driven projects cutting across sectors, and for solution pools emerging from countries like India, Brazil and China.
· Summarizes the expanded climate innovation agenda: need-based system change, measuring flourishing lives and avoided emissions, and cities as architects of innovation.
· For young people, warns against fast social media and fast fashion eroding empathy, urges reconnection with nature, and encourages city-led “brain science” and behavioral-change initiatives.
Paul Westin
· Recalls Swedish work identifying a “one gigaton solution provider” portfolio and stresses better indicators for human needs in climate innovation.
· Shares examples from Singapore, New York, Mumbai and Ukraine that link energy, mobility and security directly to human needs.
· Raises the issue of how smaller cities, villages and rural regions can access and benefit from solution agendas and flourishing-lives approaches.
· Hopes young people can seek meaningful work, practice empathy, reflect on the kind of world they’d want children to grow up in, and “take over” while older generations continue to support.
Jay Hennessy
· Presents “Win the Future” as a practical initiative applying developed tools with cities, companies and startups.
· Reports that system-level, human-needs-focused innovation shows far greater potential than incremental product tweaks in analyses of thousands of startups.
· Describes tools that scan city strategies and innovations to help them reposition existing work around human needs and exportable solutions.
· Outlines practical steps for cities to explore a flourishing lives approach.
(Audio translations and summaries by ChatGPT 5.1)