
Every month, around five million people migrate to a city somewhere in a developing country in hope of improving their lives and the lives of their children. Cities offer opportunities but also concentrate risk, and climate change promises to exacerbate risk and put those opportunities in jeopardy. By 2050 flood damage in coastal cities is expected to reach $1 trillion a year, and cities in developing countries will suffer the highest losses relative to GDP.
On 10 June the Technical Expert Meeting of the UNFCCC negotiations in Bonn discussed specific ways of enhancing climate action in the urban environment.
To avoid devastating consequences, we must invest in resilience and promote aggressive mitigation efforts. Cities offer a unique opportunity to tackle climate change. Today cities account for two thirds of the world’s overall energy consumption and about 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
As cities in the developing world grow at record pace there is a unique window of opportunity to apply a climate lens to urban development and support cities as they set themselves on a sustainable and resilient growth path.
Building resilient and livable cities is key to avoiding a 4-degree world and securing prosperity. If the world’s cities embark on a low-carbon development path, global greenhouse gas emissions could decrease by 30% (or 10 giga-tonnes) – equal to twice the carbon footprint of the entire European Union.
The Low-carbon Livable Cities Initiative
The Low-Carbon Livable Cities Initiative (see the infographic here) supports the cities of the developing world in their efforts to set themselves on a low-carbon and resilient development path. Leveraging the expertise of its many partners, the World Bank Group has designed a series of planning and financing tools that can be tailored to cities’ needs and help them tap their full emissions reduction potential.
Applying a climate lens to cities’ development plans means that, energy savings resulting in lower carbon emissions will free up budget for other sustainable investments, resilient infrastructure will withstand the forces of nature, and citizens will have cleaner air to breathe.
By reaching 300 of the largest developing country cities, the Initiative has the potential to improve the lives of over 700 million people in the cities it will help, and billions globally as emissions are reduced.