Cities require the most investment and face the biggest risks in the climate emergency. But how can we make sure that they are at the centre of the growing conversation around finance for climate action? The House Live sat down ahead of COP27 with a panel of experts from C40 Cities and WSP to hear what a major new report tells us about unlocking the finance potential of cities to play a greater role in meeting the climate change challenge.

The UK and other European countries are facing a severe energy crisis, with the potential to place more than 8 million UK households in fuel poverty this winter. This ‘energy’ crisis is more accurately a natural gas crisis, driven mostly by restrictions on Russian gas supply to Europe. In one of her first initiatives as Prime Minister, Liz Truss chose to lift the moratorium on UK shale gas production which has been in place since 2019. The announcement claimed that this could ‘get gas flowing in as soon as six months’.

But does this move have any merit and, more importantly, will it actually help struggling households? Dr Laurence Stamford from The University of Manchester argues that the answer to both questions is ‘no’.