Mainstreaming Climate Change into Urban Policies: urban transformation, climate change and governance

Transcription

1 Mainstreaming Climate Change into Urban Policies: urban transformation, climate change and governance Donovan Storey Sustainable Urban Development Section Mainstreaming Climate Change into National Urban Policies EGM, UNCC, Bangkok March

2 Why Focus on Cities? In 2014, 2.07 billion people lived in urban areas in Asia Pacific, representing 53 per cent of the world s urban population Since 2000 an astonishing increase of 630 million people in the ESCAP region Between 1980 and 2010 Asia- Pacific cities grew by 1 billion people A further 1 billion will be added in next 25 years 2050: 3.2 billion+/ 64% of region will live in cities 2

3 The Urban Context Cities are consumers of regional resources; are sources of waste; and are vulnerable due to this unsustainable pattern Continued degradation of ecosystem services through an exploitation model Significant and growing contribution to GHG Sea-level rise, and extreme events (storms, floods, droughts) interact with human impacts, such as degraded and altered biophysical environments Complex and distinctly urban patterns of risk and impact, to which cities, their populations & governments must respond

4 Climate vulnerability and climate change threatens to reverse development gains Significant overlap between climate change vulnerability and urban poverty Need for integration of poverty reduction with climate change intervention, in order not to exacerbate vulnerability This is not a trade-off Holistic, flexible and participatory approaches to urban climate resilience can be an effective tool to foster inclusive and sustainable development and good governance.

5 The Urban Context Our struggle for global sustainability will be won or lost in cities (Ban Ki-Moon, UN Secretary-General)

6 Vulnerability Defined IPCC defines vulnerability as consisting of 3 main components: Exposure Sensitivity Adaptive Capacity Vulnerability is not a static state, but changes over time

7 Resilience Defined The capacity of cities (individuals, communities, institutions, businesses and systems) to survive, adapt, and thrive in the face of stress and shocks, and even transform when conditions require it. Urban climate resilience can be understood as both an ONGOING PROCESS and NORMATIVE GOAL

8 Attributes of resilient cities Five key elements of resilient cities: Awareness knowing your strengths and assets, liabilities and vulnerabilities, threats and risks Diversity includes the notion of redundancy, alternatives and back-ups, and a range of capabilities Self-Regulating withstanding disruption Integrated collaborative and concerted efforts Adaptive capacity to adjust to changing circumstances

9 Quick Guide for Policy Makers

10 Framing Pro-poor, Urban Climate Resilience

11 Principles of pro-poor urban climate resilience: The Do s and the Don ts AVOIDING MALADAPTATION Don t focus on a narrow or isolated outcome Don t make your planning unnecessarily rigid and without taking account of risk Don t sideline or disregard those who will be most affected Focus on the whole urban system Embrace flexibility Enable participation and promote partnerships

12 Selected Issue-based Entry Points Basic services and infrastructure Housing Land-use planning and tenure security Livelihoods Health Food security, urban agriculture and ecosystems Disaster risk Management What are the challenges? Why is climate change making the situation worse? How can we improve resilience?

13 Closing the governance loop urban climate resilience While much can be achieved through sector-based approaches, more concerted attention needs to be paid to the specific benefits of comprehensive city-wide approaches Towards comprehensive planning and governance Vertical coordination Horizontal collaboration Lesson learning Whole-of-system thinking Developing a citywide resilience strategy Identifying climate vulnerability Developing and sustaining multi-stakeholder partnerships Promoting awareness and knowledge sharing Creating a supportive and empowering governance framework Strengthening the capacity of urban stakeholders

14 Closing the governance gaps Limited local and national capacities to address climate change challenges, aggravated by limited documentation and dissemination of good practices and regional support; Limited funding for climate change responses, particularly at the local level; Lack of political will since climate change is still seen as a threat well beyond the electoral cycle; and National urban policy and legal frameworks that do not anticipate and manage rapid urban growth and climate change. How to bridges the gaps?

15 Finance & Mainstreaming Across the world, the burden of adapting to climate change will be felt most strongly in urban areas. According to one estimate by the World Bank, as much as 80 per cent of global adaptation costs will be borne in urban areas Finding the funds A new approach to financing urban adaptation Local communities International climate finance Overseas Development Assistance National governments Urban authorities City-to-city partnerships Finance as yardstick

16 Six opportunities for funding urban resilience/adaptation Focus on what is most cost effective Developing a clear business case Mainstream adaptation into existing programmes to enhance co-benefits on investment Pool resources (finance, human ) Linking adaptation to pro-poor outcomes in other areas Encourage communities to contribute to the process

17 Regional opportunities for this project To be able to develop effective examples of mainstreaming which build upon/develop successful and enduring partnerships Establish norms with regard to good examples with regional lessons especially of successful multilevel governance To demonstrate what is possible in the Asia- Pacific region, in the context of rapid urban growth, sustainable development and new development paradigms

18 THANK YOU & have a successful meeting! 18