“The time is now.”

“Now or never.”

“It’s one minute to midnight.”

“Either we stop it, or it stops us.”

As the rhetoric builds at COP26, so do the expectations. In our series, Countdown to COP26, we have been setting out our hopes for the summit. Hiba Alaraj started the countdown with an introduction to its key objectives, from the shift to renewables to addressing the impacts of agriculture, fossil fuel production and waste management. This was followed by Ed Houghton’s piece reminding us of the role public behaviour plays in delivering on these goals. He advocated an evidence-based approach to any behavioural interventions – we already have a good idea of what works, so we need to focus energies on the behavioural nudges that can lead to real-world changes. In the final piece last week, Hiba analysed the UK Government’s Net-Zero Strategy and identified some of the challenges ahead, such as in the rapid rollout of electric vehicle infrastructure and the potential barriers to the take-up of heat pumps. 

And now it is time. World leaders have gathered in Glasgow, we’re starting to hear a steady stream of soundbites and pledges. Although it’s too early to predict the outcome, it’s clear that the mood has changed significantly since Paris. But the challenge of the summit is a human one – and failure comes at great human and environmental cost. Like any meeting, it relies on the consensus of individual representatives and their teams; they have the facts, the data and research as a stark reminder of the need to act, but now it’s down to people to agree to commit to climate targets. Every country comes to the summit with a different experience, from island nations in imminent danger from rising sea levels to traditionally oil-rich countries seeking to reinvent their economies. It is no surprise, then, that previous negotiations have come down to the chaotic re-drafting of wording in the middle of the night. 

This human decision-making process is part of what drives our work at DG Cities. We believe that technology and innovation can be a force for good, but only when people are part of the solution – if nobody adopts a new transport system, for example, it will not take cars off the road. That is why we start by listening to people and taking their needs as the starting point. One of the ways we do this is through the DG Cities Research Community, a group of over 800 UK citizens who are interested in shaping research and insights on issues related to sustainability and the use of technology in towns and cities. Most recently we’ve asked our Research Community their views on smart homes and e-scooters - you can read about the outcomes of that research here. 

There are things that humans understand that computers can’t yet grasp. Our project D-Risk, for example, is learning from the public’s driving experiences to teach autonomous vehicles about the complexity of cities – a computer might find it difficult to make sense of a person dressed up as a traffic light, for instance, or smell the difference between smoke in the road and fog. Similarly, the COP26 summit relies on human intervention in the climate crisis. Technology is a valuable tool, but people must ultimately drive it.

Delivering on COP26 also means turning policy into action at a local level. As an organisation, DG Cities understands the nuances of the public sector; we came out of the Royal Borough of Greenwich and as a team, we have over 100 years of combined experience working within local authorities. It’s vital to understand the processes that can bring about change; not just addressing the headline challenges of doing ‘more with less’, but also the real nitty gritty details of everything from policy and governance to procurement and service delivery. These details count, and our insight adds tangible value - it sets us apart from other urban consultancy firms. 

So now at the summit, we rely on people. On the persuasiveness of their speeches and the outcome of conversations between our representatives in Glasgow – may they have positive, productive meetings. And while we hope that they have the skill, passion and determination to achieve what technology alone cannot, we remember that our behaviour, or collective actions as individuals, can still make a difference.

DG Cities

We help cities and communities harness the potential of technology, data and innovation to meet their carbon reduction targets. Our work spans net-zero housing, decarbonisation and fleet electrification, electric vehicle infrastructure, autonomous vehicles, public engagement and much more. Get in touch, follow us on Twitter or our blog to find out about our current projects.