4.1 Building on progress made at the local level to enhance climate action
The stocktaking provides valuable information on the state of urban adaptation and climate resilience worldwide with a keen focus on the Global South and the measures taken by mega, as well as small and medium cities in Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and Latin America.
It makes sense to review the adaptation progress at the local level, since the impact of climate change is felt locally, affecting different sectors, services, systems, and populations from one city to another.
Sea level rise
This indicates clearly that each urban area’s exposure is unique and should therefore be assessed at the local level in order to create a viable defense against the impacts of climate change.
If there would be a single message coming from the figures presented extensively in the pages above is that there is already progress made at the subnational level in realizing a sustainable and resilient global urban future.
Therefore, integration of action at all government levels is paramount in order to capitalize on hard-won successes at the local level and learn from inclusive, holistic approaches to solving the climate challenge of our times. But the pace of action is clearly too slow.
Data indicates that the lives of millions of urban dwellers, as well as critical city assets, services, and crucial city-region ecosystems are projected to be severely impacted by worsening floods, precipitation, storms, heatwaves, drought, and disease outbreaks. And though climate change is expected to affect communities and regions everywhere, its impacts are likely to disproportionately affect the poor, marginalized, and most vulnerable populations.
Cities and regions in the Global South and Global North are expected to experience differential impacts from similarly hazardous conditions.
Within the Global South, disparities further trickle down to the city and community level. In Cape Town, South Africa, there’s a difference in the way drought is experienced between “formal” and “informal” urban dwellers.
Marginalized groups – depending on local context – could include women, youth, elderly, sick, poor, or slum dwellers.
Local and regional governments have raised the ambition and undertaken robust climate action, but the collection of information, understanding of new incoming climate knowledge, and corresponding action is still in infancy.
This holds especially true for urban areas in the Global South.
Nations are obliged to regularly submit (and accordingly adjust) their NDCs and also encouraged to formulate and implement National Adaptation Plans (NAPs).
Where there are currently 12 NAPs submitted from developing countries,44 there are already 162 climate adaptation/resilience plans or integrated climate plans available from cities and regions.
This local knowledge, availability of local data, and experience in adaptation planning may complement the NAP process if integrated in the national efforts.
Conclusion
Many components need to converge to bring about the system change toward inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable ways of living. New ways of collective thinking, new habits, impactful partnerships, innovative technology, and people-centered approaches are in the forefront of the sustainable development pathway humanity needs to follow. Such an endeavor will not be possible for nations without their cities and their surrounding regions and vice versa. “Data speak louder than words” reinforces the call for action stemming from overwhelming evidence (science, people, nature) of climate change worldwide. Actions taken by nations, cities, regions, communities, and individuals in the next ten years will be decisive in correcting the course of climate change and overcoming the global challenges of an urban future.
Press link for full report: Resilient Cities 2019
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