Cities 1.5

As catastrophic wildfires intensify across Canada - destroying homes, blanketing the country in smoke, forcing evacuations, and driving major economic losses - we ask in this episode what it will take to live with fire in a warming world. 
David sits down with returning guest to the podcast, fire ecologist and professor Jen Baron, to hear how decades of suppression and the disruption of Indigenous cultural burning helped create today’s more severe, fast-moving fires. We also hear from Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland as he recounts the 2024 wildfire that destroyed 374 structures (including his own home!) despite strong preparation and makes the plea for disaster-ready, low-carbon housing and faster clean-energy transition to save other communities from the same destruction. David also speaks with Métis leader for the province of Alberta, Gabrielle Blatz, as she urges governments to include Indigenous knowledge and Métis women in emergency planning, and Clearwater Mayor Merlin Blackwell to hear how the residents of his own small town continue to fight for mitigation projects in the face of destructive pipeline expansions. 
Oh, Canada: Solutions for the Climate Crisis is supported by Elbows Up for Climate, The C40 Centre, and the University of Toronto Press. 
Featured guests:
Dr Jen Baron,  Assistant Professor of Fire Ecology at the University of British Columbia Okanagan in the Center for Wildfire Coexistence
Richard Ireland, Mayor of Jasper, AB
Gabrielle Blatz, Otipemisiwak Métis Government's Provincial Secretary of Women, Gender Equity & Inclusion
Merlin Blackwell, Mayor of Clearwater, BC
Links:
The Government of Canada provides an update regarding the 2026 wildfire season – August update - Public Safety Canada
Centre for Wildfire Coexistence
Indigenous Heritage in Kelowna - Tourism Kelowna  
Attribution of the Influence of Human‐Induced Climate Change on an Extreme Fire Season - National Library of Medicine 
America's Fires: A Historical Context for Policy and Practice - The University of North Carolina Press 
Blending Indigenous and western science: Quantifying cultural burning impacts in Karuk Aboriginal Territory - The Ecological Society of America, Volume 34, Issue 4
What do you mean, ‘megafire’? - Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
How wildfire smoke travels from Ontario to New York City — and turns distant city skies orange - CBC News 
How Canada helped in past U.S. wildfires as Ford says some are ‘chirping’ - Global News 
Timeline of the Jasper Wildfire - Parks Canada 
History of Jasper - Municipality of Jasper 
Year Two Progress Report - Jasper Recovery Coordination Centre 
Mayor of Jasper loses home in devastating mountain park wildfires: ‘I see memories of life taken’ - Global News 
Lessons from the Jasper wildfire: build disaster-ready, energy-secure homes - The Hill Times
Secretary Spotlight: Gabrielle Blatz - Otipemisiwak Metis Government  
Green Municipal Fund
Ma ma tâ wan sakâw Healing Forest - Porject Forest
Season 1 | Episode 1 | Good Fire Podcast - Indigenous Leadership Initiative
Clearwater adopts new wildfire resiliency plan - Clearwater Times 
FireSmart Canada
Why the Lytton fire of 2021 won’t be forgotten, the community is trying to move forward - CBC News 
Wells Gray Community Forest
Clearwater Financial Plan - District of Clearwater
If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/
Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeries
Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/
Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield.
Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo.
Our Associate Producer is Rachel Schneider.
Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/
Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/
Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

Canada is having a moment: our reputation and soft power are growing. In the face of unexpected tariffs, a deepening housing crisis, and skyrocketing cost of living, Canadians are asking who we really are, what we want to stand for…and what lies ahead. There is great opportunity to be had, but also great risk in the road ahead. Canada needs energy independence and geopolitical protection - but Mark Carney’s federal government seems to be choosing a path of further baking in fossil fuels, rather than forging a progressive path that assures a safe future for all. Cities - and the people who call this country home - are asking for a different way forward. 
The science is clear, and it’s telling us we need to make big changes. But we know that science alone is not enough to turn the tide of the climate crisis. We need to figure out how to tell better, more community centered stories around the impacts happening on the frontlines, in our own backyards…and we need elected leadership across the country to listen, learn, and act in the best interests of Canadians.
In the first episode of this special 6-part miniseries, we hear about the science, data, and politics that brought Canada to this crucial moment - and while we unravel the complicated history of how we got here, we also begin to look forward to the solutions we need to protect the people and places in this land we call Canada.
Oh, Canada: Solutions for the Climate Crisis is supported by Elbows Up for Climate, The C40 Centre, and the University of Toronto Press. 
Featured guests:
Ian Mauro, Executive Director of the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS)
Amber Bennet, Executive Director of Re.Climate
Steven Guilbeault, former Minister of the Environment
Links:
Canada Day Poll: Canadians are more proud even as anxiety about the future persists - Abacus Data
Climate Atlas of Canada - Prairie Climate Center
Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium
UNEP: World set to cross 1.5°C global warming, but can still limit, adapt to and return from higher temperatures - UN Environment Programme 
What is the Paris agreement and why does 1.5C matter? - BBC 
Government of Canada releases Adapting to the Impacts of Climate Change in Canada - Environment and Climate Change Canada 
Indigenous Knowledge Studies - Indigenous & Community Engagement (ICE) 
British Columbia Assembly of First Nations 
Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs
British Columbia First Nations Climate Strategy and Action Plan 
Relationship Protocol advances First Nations climate solutions - PICS
Relationship Protocol Between First Nations Leadership Council And The Pacific Institute For Climate Solutions - PICS
First Nations Leadership Council
Radical Act of Hope - Podcast 
Chief Frank Brown joins PICS as next Indigenous Climate Fellow - UVic News 
Come Hell or High Water - CBC
Ethical Oil - The Narwhal 
Alberta Narrative Projects
Canadians (Still) Care About Climate Change - Re.Climate
UK politicians think public opposition to climate policy is far greater than it is, study finds - University of Cambridge Research 
Americans and policymakers underestimate endorsement for the most popular climate solution narrative, combining personal and political action - Nature
Canadians Want to Become a Renewable Energy Superpower - Re.Climate 
Canadians' climate change concerns rebound amid wildfire season - CBC article 
The inconvenient clarity of Steven Guilbeault - Canada’s National Observer 
When Steven Guilbeault climbed the CN Tower for a climate protest - CBC
Jurisdiction, duties and authorities - Environment and Climate Change Canada 
Key facts about Canada’s competitiveness for foreign direct investment - Government of Canada
Radical or pragmatist? Either way, Steven Guilbeault has his work cut out - CBC 
Rachel Notley helped strike a grand bargain on oil and the climate. Can Trudeau save it? - CBC
(Almost) everybody in Canada wants a pipeline. Nobody wants to pay for it - The Narwhal 
Alberta’s Fossil Fuel Fixation Is Dimming Renewables’ Bright Future - The Tyee
Alberta gets its way in deal with Ottawa - Canada’s National Observer
The Man Who Wants to Break Up Canada - Maclean’s 
Mark Carney named United Nations Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance - Bank of England
The largest public transit investment in Canadian history - Office of the Prime Minster of Canada
Guilbeault says Canada 'backsliding' on climate action as he resigns as MP - CBC  
Communities impacted by climate map - Elbows Up for Climate
If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/
Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeries
Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/
Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield.
Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo.
Our Associate Producer is Rachel Schneider.
Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/
Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/
Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

Climate change can feel frightening and uncertain - so much so, in fact, that sometimes hope can feel like an act of denial. But hope isn’t denial: it’s a recognition that we still have choices.
In our new Cities 1.5 limited miniseries, Oh, Canada: Solutions for the Climate Crisis, we’re speaking to Canadians from coast, to coast, to coast, who are turning those choices into action. Featuring voices from politics, academia, activism, and municipal leadership - including Leader of Canada’s NDP Avi Lewis, Otipemisiwak Métis Government's Provincial Secretary of Women, Gender Equity & Inclusion Gabrielle Blatz, former Minister of the Environment Steven Guilbeault, Executive Director of Re.Climate Amber Bennett, Executive Director of the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS) Ian Mauro, Assistant Professor of Fire Ecology at University of British Columbia Okanagan in the Center for Wildfire Coexistence Dr. Jen Baron, writer and public policy researcher Seth Klein, and mayors from Yellowknife, Waterloo, Clearwater, Jasper, and more - we’ll be exploring the science, politics, and communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis across Canada.
Oh, Canada: Solutions for the Climate Crisis is supported by Elbows Up for Climate, The C40 Centre, and the University of Toronto Press. This 6-part deep dive into the climate crisis through the lens of Canadians fighting to write a different story debuts on October 6, 2026, so make sure you tune in - you won’t want to miss it.
If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/
Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeries
Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/
Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield.
Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo.
Our Associate Producer is Rachel Schneider.
Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/
Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/
Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

What if there are reasons to hope for a more resilient climate future in your own backyard - right here in Canada? Well, that’s exactly the question we’re asking in our new miniseries, Oh, Canada: Solutions for the Climate Crisis. 
At Cities 1.5, we’re proud to join forces with voices around the world for the 2026 #BeHope Podcast Takeover. We’re coming together to prove that even in challenging times, hope remains a real force for progress - and we can all be part of it. This special preview features guests from our upcoming series speaking on what keeps them going in the mission to end climate breakdown.
Oh, Canada: Solutions for the Climate Crisis is supported by Elbows Up for Climate, The C40 Centre, and the University of Toronto Press. This 6-part deep dive into the climate crisis through the lens of Canadians fighting to write a different story debuts on October 6, 2026, so make sure you tune in - you won’t want to miss it.
Featured guests:
Avi Lewis, Leader of Canada’s NDP
Amber Bennet, Executive Director of Re.Climate
Steven Guilbeault, former Minister of the Environment
Ian Mauro, Executive Director of the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS)
Dr Jen Baron,  Assistant Professor of Fire Ecology at University of British Columbia Okanagan in the Center for Wildfire Coexistence
Gabrielle Blatz, Otipemisiwak Métis Government's Provincial Secretary of Women, Gender Equity & Inclusion
Richard Ireland, Mayor of Jasper, AB
Ben Hendrickson, Mayor of Yellowknife, NWT
Dorothy McCabe, Mayor of Waterloo, ON
Merlin Blackwell, Mayor of Clearwater, BC
Seth Klein,  Author of A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency and “Seth Klein / Emergency Measures” on Substack
Links:
How Pakistan’s people-led solar boom is easing impact of Middle East energy crisis - The Guardian
Key energy data for Pakistan - Ember
Electrons In, Hydrocarbons Out: Pakistan’s Quest for Economic and Resource Efficiency - Renewables First
Australia’s renewables transition is well under way – but meeting its 2030 target will be ‘extremely challenging’ - The Guardian
Clean Energy Australia 2026 report - Clean Energy Council
China's renewable energy boom has its own challenges. Here's what we can learn - World Economic Forum
Yes, China has embraced renewables – but don’t call it a transition, expert says - The Harvard Gazette
The European Green Deal - official EU website
European Climate Law - official EU website
2030 Emissions Reduction Plan: Clean Air, Strong Economy - Government of Canada website
Canada's 2030 climate target far out of reach, according to federal data - CBC News
‘No way’ Canada can meet its 2030 climate target, researchers say - The Toronto Star
Vingroup proposes scrapping LNG-powered plant plan for renewables amid Iran war, document shows - Reuters
Quezon community, RE backers claim ‘victory’ against LNG - Business Mirror
‘Science under attack’: Top climate scientist Kate Marvel explains why she resigned from NASA - Scientific American
Kate Marvel website
If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/
Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeries
Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/
Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield.
Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo.
Our Associate Producer is Rachel Schneider.
Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/
Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/
Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

When the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, local leaders found themselves thrust onto the frontlines of both military defense and environmental catastrophe.  Coupled with untold amounts of human suffering, the war has inflicted deep environmental scars - from the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam to the corrosion of municipal water pipes - which many Ukrainian officials refer to as "ecocide." Yet, amidst daily bombardment, energy blackouts, and severed water supplies, city leaders and residents are demonstrating what true urban resilience looks like on the ground.
In this special bonus episode, we hear from a mayor who refused to abandon his city when it was encircled in the early days of the war; a man who led the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv through eight months of near-daily missile attacks. Despite ongoing attacks,the city is using decentralisation, solar-powered infrastructure, microgrids, and real-time data analysis to keep critical municipal services running during wartime. These strategies keeping cities resilient against military aggression also offer vital lessons for surviving climate impacts globally, as well as forming the bedrock of plans to rebuild in a way that benefits people and planet, when the violence finally stops. 
Featured guest:
Oleksandyr Senkevych, Mayor of Mykolaiv
If listeners would like to further support Ukraine, the Cities 1.5 team encourages you to follow this link: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/57852?v2=true
Media: 
https://www.itv.com/news/2022-03-08/ukrainians-will-fight-until-last-person-is-left-and-ammunition-runs-out
Links:
For the Russians to cut off Ukraine's access to the sea, they must go through Mykolaiv. 'People are ready to fight until the last ammo,' said its mayor - Business Insider
Report on the Human Rights Situation in Ukraine, 1 December 2024 – 31 May 2025 - Ukraine OHCHR
A Preliminary Environmental Risk Assessment of the Kakhovka Dam Flooding - Pax for Peace
Ukraine: Rebuilding Mykolaiv's water supply - Danish Refugee Council
First Person: Ukrainian ‘city of heroes’ plans post-invasion future - UN News
BBS investigation: the Russians blew up the water pipeline to Mykolaiv on purpose. They are not allowing repair crews - Babel Ukraine
Water for Mykolaiv - Nova Ukraine
Decentralized Energy: A Pathway Toward Local Security and Ukraine’s Green Recovery - Heinrich Böll Stiftung
A Calibrated Crime. Mykolaiv government building missile strike - Truth Hounds
If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/
Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeries
Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/
Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield.
Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo.
Our Associate Producer is Rachel Schneider.
Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/
Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/
Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/