Building Urban Resilience to Disaster Risks and Climate Change for Sustainable Development: Linking Sendai, New York, Paris and Quito

Urban settings are heavily vulnerable to the impacts of natural disasters and climate change. Unplanned and rapid urbanisation in many disaster-prone parts of the world jeopardises the resilience of communities, in particular the most vulnerable. Flooding, water scarcity, extreme temperatures and droughts are major climatic threats, along with earthquakes and tsunamis, affecting urban environments with impacts on health, infrastructure, the economy and well-being. At global level, there is widespread recognition of the benefits of integrating the knowledge base, policies and practices for addressing climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction and sustainable development. At local level, this integrated approach becomes a necessity as citizens understand and deal with climate change and disasters in a more holistic way to develop more resilient answers. Building the resilience of urban settings and creating a risk-informed urban development paradigm is therefore critical for resilient and sustainable socio-economic development. The multilateral processes of the past year have made this very clear. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 recognises cities as critical actors in building more resilient communities. The Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) includes a global urban goal on inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities and human settlements (SDG 11). The Paris Agreement on Climate Change officially acknowledged the role of non-Party stakeholders to address and respond to climate change, including of cities and other subnational authorities. This session explores, through the lens of urban development, the linkages and synergies between the different international processes in an attempt to identify opportunities and challenges that can inform and strengthen the New Urban Agenda. Discussions aim to reinforce the need for strategic urban and territorial planning and management and the importance of addressing the urban dimension in the implementation of the international frameworks. Recommendations contribute to the overall coherence of these international frameworks.