ZeroCarbonCity is a global British Council campaign to raise awareness and stimulate debate about climate change and the energy challenges facing the world’s greatest cities. It hopes to build on the success of the previous British Council Science campaign DNA50 which directly reached four million people worldwide. Our aim is to raise awareness and stimulate debate around climate change and the challenges we face, reinforcing the UK’s commitment to tackling climate change.

The ZeroCarbonCity programme has been developed as a result of extensive research both in the UK and overseas. The campaign, launched in the UK in early March 2005, will be visiting over 60 countries around the world with a wide variety of activities taking place including:

• a global online debate supported by a series of articles by scientists, technologists, city planners and policy makers
• a series of city debates in each country
• a touring exhibition plus supporting materials including book and catalogue (NorthSouthEastWest)
• add-on activities including dialogue through drama events; educational activities/ workshops/ experiments; school projects; interactives
• give-away items for events
• a collection of fiction and non-fiction climate change books
• Culture Lab UK climate change special
• LearnEnglish Science climate edition
• 'Selector' audio CD - mixture of interviews and music around the climate change theme
• UK infocus special climate change edition

ZeroCarbonCity shifts the emphasis away from climate change impacts and inter-governmental negotiations, towards mitigation, adaptation, and practical measures that people can adopt.