Cities now house 58% of the world’s population and produce over three-quarters of global greenhouse-gas emissions. Their ability to achieve the 1.5 °C target depends on data, who creates it, how it is managed, and whether it is trustworthy. Building on the updated Global Research and Action Agenda (GRAA) and insights from the 2021 and 2024 Innovate4Cities conferences, this chapter explains how current digitalization technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and digital twins, can shift urban climate efforts from compliance-based reporting to opportunity-focused, equity-centered action.
We trace the development of city-level knowledge systems, identify technical, institutional, and ethical bottlenecks through the eight GRAA “towers,” and demonstrate emerging solutions with three digital case studies (ClimateView’s Transition Intelligence platform, OpenEarth Foundation’s CityCatalyst, and Brazil’s DUCTExplorer). Last, the systems-thinking section examines how open standards, participatory data, and ethics-by-design can transform information flows into finance-ready climate portfolios.
Key findings emphasize the importance of data diversity (both digital and analog, as well as formal and informal), technology-neutral governance, and local capacity development. The chapter concludes with a 12-point action plan for city governments, national ministries, investors, and civil society organizations. When implemented together, these steps can turn fragmented data assets into a unified, trustworthy, and inclusive foundation for faster urban climate action.
SALEHI Pourya;
CORBETT David;
CREUTZIG Felix;
PAMLIN Dennis;
SANDHOLZ Simone;
ASADZADEH Asad;
ASSARKHANIKI Zahra;
GRAFAKOS Stelios;
JONES Amy;
MAHAPATRA Pooja;
ASTOLFO Juan Pablo;
PALERMO Valentina;
MELICA Giulia;
WAINSTEN Martin;
HSU Angel;
KÖTTER Theo;
2026-06-15
Palgrave Macmillian
JRC145707
978-981-95-6517-7 (online),
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-95-6517-7_8,
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC145707,
10.1007/978-981-95-6517-7_8 (online),
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