Tokyo Hosts TIME TO ACT FORUM 2026: Global Cities Gather on Climate Crisis and Energy Frontier

Tokyo hosts the TIME TO ACT FORUM 2026 today, Tuesday 6 October 2026, bringing together representatives of cities and countries at the forefront of climate action alongside international organisations leading global climate discussions. Held under the theme “The Climate Crisis and the Energy Frontier — Building a Resilient and Sustainable City”, the forum runs from 5:30 to 7:30 pm Japan Standard Time and is open to a global audience through a hybrid in-person and livestream format.

FAKTA

• What: TIME TO ACT FORUM 2026 — The Climate Crisis and the Energy Frontier: Building a Resilient and Sustainable City
• When: Tuesday 6 October 2026, 5:30–7:30 pm Japan Standard Time
• Where: Tokyo, Japan (hybrid event with global livestream)
• Organiser: Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TIME TO ACT movement, launched 2021)
• Supported by: C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability
• Format: Keynotes and panel discussions; simultaneous Japanese–English interpretation
• Context: Run as a “Town Hall COP”, feeding local voices into UNFCCC COP discussions ahead of COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye

Cities at the heart of the TIME TO ACT FORUM 2026

This year’s forum focuses on building resilient and sustainable urban environments amid the ongoing climate crisis and on exploring new energy frontiers. Keynote speeches and panel discussions bring together leading cities and countries in climate action alongside international organisations engaged in global climate discussions.

The forum also serves as a “Town Hall COP”, a framework launched by ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability and rolled out worldwide since April 2025. Town Hall COPs bridge local climate initiatives with international policy discussions by reflecting the voices and outcomes of local events in national and UNFCCC COP dialogues. ICLEI serves as the official focal point for the Local Governments and Municipal Authorities constituency at the UNFCCC, giving city-level outcomes a direct route into the COP process — just weeks before COP31 opens in Antalya, Türkiye.

Representatives of leading cities and countries gather at Tokyo’s TIME TO ACT FORUM 2026, run as a Town Hall COP feeding local voices into the UNFCCC process. Photo: Watan News

What is TIME TO ACT

The TIME TO ACT movement was launched by Tokyo in 2021 as a platform for driving climate action and fostering collaboration among global cities. Under the slogan “TIME TO ACT”, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has promoted a climate crisis action movement to accelerate effective action towards decarbonisation, using Tokyo’s influence and its connections with cities around the world to call for concrete climate action worldwide.

This year’s forum is part of the broader Tokyo 2050 Strategy, which focuses on achieving zero emissions and laying the groundwork for a green transformation of the metropolitan economy and society.

A forum that practices what it preaches

The organisers say the electricity used at the forum venue is sourced entirely from renewable energy — aligning the event itself with Tokyo’s vision of a sustainable future. The hybrid format and livestream make the discussions accessible to a global audience, with simultaneous interpretation in Japanese and English.

As implementation — turning climate commitments into measurable results — dominates the road to COP31, city-led initiatives like TIME TO ACT show how local governments are moving from pledges to practice.

Read the same story on our main site: TIME TO ACT FORUM 2026 on watannews.dk, and follow more of our climate coverage on the Watan News climate page.