CITIES AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Cities’ contribution to Climate Change.

In terms of size, cities occupy only two percent of the world’s landmass. But in terms of climate impact, they leave an enormous footprint. Cities consume over two-thirds of the world’s energy and account for more than 70% of global CO2 emissions.

IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON CITIES.

• Almost 50% of cities are already dealing with the effects of climate change, and nearly all are at risk.

• Over 90% of all urban areas are coastal, putting most cities on Earth at risk of flooding from rising sea levels and powerful storms.

• Port cities in developing countries (such as Kolkata, Shanghai, and Guangzhou) are as vulnerable as such cities in developed countries (Rotterdam, Tokyo, or New York City)

Figure 1 Urban Population in LECZ zone

• Approximately 360 million urban residents live in coastal areas less than 10 meters above sea level and are vulnerable to flooding and storm surges (Satterthwaite and Moser 2008).

• Fifteen of the world’s 20 megacities are at risk from rising sea levels and coastal surges

• The financial effects of climate change can be just as devastating as the physical ones. Unexpected expenditures from storms, flooding, snow removal and drought can lead to major disruptions in business operations and city budgets.

CLIMATE-ACTIONS

• As part of the climate change problem, cities also have the opportunity to be integral to its solution

• Cities are on the frontlines of global climate change and are also well-positioned to play a leadership role in driving global action to address climate change.

• Urban density can actually create the possibility for a better quality of life and a lower carbon footprint through more efficient infrastructure and planning.

Climate-smart growth requires the following:

• Act now.This is essential or options that exist now will

disappear and costs will increase as the world commits itself to high-carbon pathways and largely irreversible warming trajectories. Even if we keep climate change to 2* C above preindustrial levels, an “energy revolution” is needed.

Act together

This is key for adaptation and mitigation and keeping the costs down, to protect the most vulnerable, and to open space for developing countries to grow.

You will consider three different types of collective action:

• Finance Partnerships that help cities access the resources necessary for mainstreaming climate action

• Learning Networks that help cities learn continuously from the experience of others

• Collaborative platforms that help stakeholders

coordinate plans across different departments and jurisdictions.

Acting together = Climate Action Planning + Climate Finance

• Most climate actions require incremental capital resources for implementation

• Climate finance includes many programs that effectively transfer funds from developed countries to developing countries

• Climate action plans can attract climate finance partners

Act Together – Improve your capacity for climate action by working closely with others

• Partnerships to take advantage of new climate financing

• Networks that help cities benefit from the experience of others

• Platforms that enable long-term collaboration with other groups

Act Together = Collaborative platforms

Collaboration on climate action can take place on three distinct tiers, or scales:

• at the scale of the city as a corporation, collaborating across departments;

• at the scale of the city as service provider, collaborating among key stakeholders; and

• at the scale of the whole urban region, collaborating with every other group that has significant impact on the region’s performance.

Act Differently

Acting differently means ‘Mainstreaming’ a slow integration of climate action into all decision-making.

Mainstreaming means guiding a renewal of the built environment for decades

Three key elements to managing the changes: – LEADERSHIP – INNOVATION – CREATIVITY

Leadership

Leadership requires a strong team, an effective administrative structure, positive attitudes and a pro-active, self-reliant approach. Much of this is common sense. The biggest challenge is paying attention to all these aspects, as you move forward.

Innovation• Innovation is the second element of what we mean by acting differently. • Innovation generally refers to a process of renewal. • The renewal process requires that we think and behave differently, and that we

invest in different technologies. • Since the renewal process for cities and climate change must continue for two or

three decades, leadership means leading your city along an extended Pathway of Innovations.

• The pathway typically begins with small steps, in no particular order. • After several years, you are ready to intervene strategically – investing time and

money where change is most needed. • Over time with mainstreaming, the city will adopt transition technologies in all

sectors. Transition technologies help you bridge to the future. • Finally we can imagine the city adopting very different, advanced possibilities. At

this stage the city is fully renewed – it is both a low-carbon and a resilient city.

Creativity

Acting differently also can refer to actions that encourage creativity. For cities, the most effective method for increasing creativity is the integrated design process (or IDP). Integrated design is a big change in standard practice for most cities. Typically departments and utilities operate independently most of the time, with separate budgets, plans, and timelines. Projects are led by a small team under a senior architect, planner, or engineer, and supplemented by experts at the detailing stage. For reasons of expediency, or out of habit, most projects use a standard set of technologies, and focus on a single positive outcome.

What will the future for our Cities look like?

If the right investments are made in energy, transportation and green buildings, the cities of the future could look very different than the cities of today. Our communities could be cleaner and more sustainable. Our quality of life could be better.

We face great challenges, for sure a changing climate, a rapidly growing population, a scarcity of resources. But we also face great opportunity the opportunity to redesign and transform cities, the opportunity to harness the power of human innovation, the opportunity to live more sustainably, the opportunity to live better lives.

A GOOD NEW

All of organizations such as C40, World Bank Group, I.C.L.E.I etc are working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly and provide proven models that other cities and national governments can adopt.

The future is bright. And its cities are green.

Video

REFERENCES

• Green Cities campaign http://www.earthday.org/greencities/C40 citieshttp://www.c40.org/cities

World Bank GroupIPCCWRI