Transcript Climate Change and African Cities-revised

Climate Change and
African Cities
Overview
• Impacts on African
Cities
• Adaptation Options
• Mitigation Options
• Opportunities for
African Mayors
• Key messages
Major African Cities
at risk
due to sea level rise
Casablanca
Algiers
Alexandria
Mombasa
Dar es Salaam
Maputo
Durban
Port Elizabeth
Cape Town
Luanda
Douala
Lagos
Accra
Cotonou
Lome
Abidjan
Monrovia
Conakry
Dakar
The Impacts of Climate Change
on African Cities
• Extreme weather events damage buildings and
urban infrastructure
• Coastal cities affected by sea level rise
• Water resources stress: floods and droughts
• Human Health – malaria; waterborne diseases;
polluted water
• Food Security – Livelihoods – Tourism
• Climate refugees move to urban slums
< Sea Level Rise
Landslides >
v Tropical cyclones
Flooding v
Adaptation & Mitigation
• Adaptation = To manage the un-avoidable
• Mitigation = To avoid the un-manageable
• Adaptation and Mitigation are
interconnected and mutually supportive
Adaptation Options
for African Mayors
• Climate proofing of urban infrastructure, e.g.
seawalls and storm surge barriers
• Investing in storm water drainage
• Early warning systems
• Enhance community resilience
• Relocation of vulnerable settlements and
infrastructure
• Access financing mechanisms such as the
UNFCCC Adaptation Fund
• Insurance schemes
Mitigation Options
for African Mayors
• Energy efficiency in local government facilities, e.g.
street lighting and water pumps
• Foresighted transport and infrastructure planning
• Compact and dense urban patterns to reduce
travel distances and infrastructure networks
• Promote energy efficient building materials
• Landfill methane recovery
• Protect forests and watersheds
• Finance: Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
Urban planning – Sustainable building
Urban transport modes – Renewable energy generation
Examples
by African Cities
• Solid waste management technologies:
Durban, Antananarivo
• Housing energy efficiency improvement:
Cape Town
• Rehabilitation and greening of public spaces:
Malindi, Bujumbura
• City-wide planning and management:
Maputo, Kampala
Policies and Strategies
for African Mayors
• Raise public awareness on challenges and opportunities
• Join networks to pool resources and share know-how and
best practices
• Improving climate change governance: linking local
initiatives with national plans (e.g. NAPAs)
• Appropriate by-laws for urban planning, traffic,
infrastructure and building
• Enhance environmental law enforcement capacity
• Strengthening adaptive capacity of cities and communities
• Involvement of key stakeholders (e.g youth, private
sector)
Opportunities
for African Mayors
• Local Authorities to be part of national delegations in
UNFCCC process
• Report on city achievements as part of UNFCCC
reports: sub-national policies and measures
• Support programmes for cities towards a post-Kyoto
protocol: UN-HABITAT, UNEP, UNDP, UNITAR, World
Bank, ICLEI
• African Climate Change Centre in Addis Ababa (UNEP
GC25)
• Direct involvement of large cities – sustainable
development packages (post Kyoto)
2009 Calendar
for African Mayors
Raising the voice of cities in the global
Climate Change debate:
– 17 March – Launch of Cities and Climate Change
Initiative, Oslo
– 1 April – GC22 Dialogue on impacts of climate
change on housing and urban finance, Nairobi
– 16 June - ICLEI World Congress Edmonton
– 28 June - World Bank Urban Research Seminar on
Cities and Climate Change, Marseille
– 10 December - Mayors Summit at COP15
Copenhagen
Key Conclusions
for African Mayors
• Urbanization affects climate change, resulting in
severe impacts to African cities and livelihoods.
• The severest burden is born by urban poor in
African slums.
• Climate change actions by African Cities need to
be expanded and capacities strengthened.
• City initiatives need to be integrated in national
action plans and global reporting.
• The voice of African Mayors in climate change
policy debates has to be raised urgently.
Thank you!