Climate change has been increasing in prominence on the agenda of many city authorities. In the face of COVID-19, cities are already having to explore new ways of working and implement rapid responses to the crisis. Could COVID-19 act as a kind of ‘shock’ to the system that changes our perspectives of what is possible in response to climate change and what we want our cities to look like? How can we ‘build back better’ from the pandemic in a way that confronts the climate crisis? Should we pay greater attention to green spaces as a key element of public health management? Rebuilding our lives and economies after lockdown should represent an opportunity to accelerate sustainability transitions, and clime action must stay top of the global agenda as we emerge from COVID-19.