The Solutions to the mitigation and adaptation of cities to climate change must start at homewhere people live, work and build their daily lives, states the most recent report from the UN Human Settlements Program (UN Habitat) released this Tuesday in the World Urban Forum which takes place in Cairo, Egypt.
Climate change and accelerated urbanization are the subject of the study, which warns of the pressures generated by a poorly managed urban growth that has ended green spaces in cities and other urban centers.
UN Habitat warns that More than 2 billion people currently living in cities could be exposed to additional temperature rise of at least 0.5 degrees Celsius by 2040, and emphasizes that climate action in metropolises continues to fall short of the scale and intensity of the challenges facing those places.
«Virtually no urban resident will be unaffected, with billions of people subjected to higher temperatures or exposed to the risk of flooding and other threats», he stated Anacláudia Rossbachexecutive director of UN-Habitat.
The text details that city residents have access to an average of 30.6 square meters of green spaces, less than half of what they enjoyed 30 years ago.
Rossbach highlighted in the presentation of the report the “strategic” importance of this document, “since right now we are in an increasingly urbanized world” in which we can see “how events related to climate change affect cities.” , such as heat waves and floods, such as those just seen in Valencia (Spain).
Lack of financing
Despite all this prominence, cities are receiving less than 20% of the financing necessary for effective climate action.
In this sense, the study highlights the lack of financing for a resilient urban infrastructureand specifies that of the up to $5.4 trillion a year that is needed to build and maintain climate resilient systems in cities, current financing amounts to just $831 billion, of which only 1% goes to urban adaptation climate action.
This deficit leaves cities and their populations more vulnerable and exposed to increasing risks.
The report highlights that climate interventions have failed to protect the most vulnerable communities or have even worsened their situation, citing cases of “green gentrification”, That is, beneficial measures such as the creation of parks result in the direct displacement of poor households or increase property values, which prevent low- and middle-income people from accessing them.
Participants at the opening ceremony of the World Urban Forum in Cairo.
Cities are part of the solution
UN Habitat argues that despite the complex barriers that cities face given the accentuation of the climate emergency, urban areas They are not just part of the problem with 80% of greenhouse gas emissionsbut they are also part of the solution even though they have not yet reached their full potential.
The urban areas already They house 55% of the world’s population, and that figure is expected to increase to 68% in 2050, but it is precisely from these urban concentrations of people that some of the most interesting and progressive responses to climate change have begun to emerge.
The study indicates that a growing number of cities and communities are taking action, in many cases with little or no national support and internationally, to strengthen their collective resilience and reduce their emissions.
Bottom-up initiatives
These initiatives generally arise from the bottom up, that is, They begin in communities, including informal settlements, and escalate. until reaching the public administration bodies. Some results are very encouraging and in many developed countries urban emissions per capita are now lower than national averages.
“Contrary to the perception that cities are polluting, countries are not condemned to face increasing emissions as they urbanize: net zero emissions pathways can be achieved or low carbon through appropriate climate-responsive planning options,” the report notes.
The executive director of UN Habitat emphasized the importance of integrating urban realities into climate debates. “As we prepare for COP29, we commit to harnessing knowledge to inform strategies that resonate with both local and global efforts”Anacláudia Rossbach stressed.
Real progress starts at the local level
He Secretary General of the UN agreed that real progress begins at the local level: “On the ground, in communities and in people’s lives.”
In a video message to the Forum, António Guterres said that local and regional authorities are a crucial part of the response to so many issues at all levels, including at the United Nations.
“The Local actions are the building blocks for future green citiesfair and resilient,” he said.
Guterres added that cities are “powerful drivers of social and economic developmentand are catalysts for sustainable solutions,” and invited delegates to “seek innovations and inspiration and bring them back to their communities.”
Participatory climate action
The report calls for a sharper urban approach to advance ambitious national commitments and highlights the importance of aligning climate action with broader development goals, such as improvement of services, modernization of settlements, poverty reduction and public health.
Likewise, it calls to take into account the integrated climate issues across sectors to help cities make effective and lasting investments in sustainable development.
He also advocates for a participatory and community-led climate action and calls for locally appropriate solutions that address the specific needs of residents, particularly in informal settlements and low-income neighborhoods, where communities have often been excluded from decision-making.
Hosted by UN Habitat and Egypt, the 12th World Urban Forum, which runs until November 8 in Cairo, hosts some 6,500 participants from around the world, including government officials, urban planners, community leaders, business representatives and community organizations. civil society.
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