Cities and Climate Change: Harmonizing National Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies With Local Actions
Side Events Venue: R13- International Association Recycling Cities Network RECNET.
- Institute For Housing And Urban Development Studies (IHS),
- International Program On Urban Resilience – RESURBE (INT),
- UNESCO Chair Of Sustainability,
- Technical University Of Catalunya (ES),
- TH Köln – University Of Applied Sciences (DE),
- Institute For Housing And Urban Development Studies (IHS),
- Erasmus University Rotterdam (NL),
- National Autonomous University Of Mexico – UNAM (MX),
- Makerere University (UG),
- Association Recycling Cities Network Colombia (CO),
- Association Of Urbanistic Jurisprudence – CNJUR (MX-INT),
- Technical University Of Antioquia –TdA- (CO),
- SUSTAIN EU Project (EU),
- Secretariat Of Environment,
- Government Of Antioquia (CO),
- Regional Autonomous Corporation Of Central Antioquia – CORANTIOQUIA (CO),
- Association ADAPT Chile,
- (CL),
- Municipality Of Medellin (CO),
- Agency For Urban Development Of Medellin –EDU- (CO).
The side-event discusses the linkage of national climate change policies and strategies, particularly Intended National Determined Contributions INDCs, with local policies and actions in cities; it aims at presenting the preliminary results of a systematic review of current INDCs, analysing their provisions and implications for cities.
The side-event will highlight barriers and opportunities for harmonizing national climate policies with local action, in relation to both adaptation and mitigation; through an urban resilience approach, ultimately contributing to a better understanding of the integration between the Paris Agreement and the New Urban Agenda.
Human settlements and cities are responsible for the current climate change trends and dynamics; at the same time human settlements are vulnerable to the increasing negative effects of climate change, also because climate change is having a multiplying effects on current urban challenges: i.e poverty, sprawl, inequality, and health.
By 2050, over 5 billion people will live in urban areas, thereby cities have a central role in tackling climate change, and their resolve and action can champion the ambitious transformative changes which are indispensable to reduce emissions and to limit the negative impacts of climate change. Cities have already started to take action developing plans, actions and policies for addressing climate mitigations, adaptation and risk reduction although the progress remain still sparse and scattered.
The Paris Agreement calls for increasing ambitions both in terms of mitigation and adaptation, over 160 parties have submitted INDCs and National Adaptation Plans, which are having direct provision and/or implications for cities. To understand and strength the linkage between climate national policies and local actions it recognized as fundamental for both the Paris Agreement and the New Urban Agenda implementation; although this linkages is still to be fully understood and exploited.