CB Bureau In the spirit of the theme of the conference I attended in
Bonn (Resilient Cities: 2nd Annual World Congress on Cities and Adaptation to
Climate Change, June 3″5, 2011), I was pleased to overcome the shock and
surprise of the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud and an e-coli food outbreak to
share my latest research insights with 500+ delegates from local government and
global finance from around the world.
In the same week of the news that record-breaking
CO2 emissions put the world on fast track to irreversible climate change, I
and other delegates noted the gathering marked a tipping point in a key debate
to tackling climate change.
Convened by ICLEI-Local
Governments for Sustainability with UN-Habitat,
the premise to the gathering is, in summary, that cities account for both more
than half the world’s population and carbon emissions, a footprint that will
increase with urban”rural migration; however, international climate
negotiations to date have failed to grasp this and have, instead, focused their
deal-making on nations or sectors. Whilst these deals have stalled, city mayors from Mexico, Tanzania, The
Philippines, and elsewhere have the vision and appetite to step in where
others fear to tread. Yet, to lead to more tangible action on the ground
requires re-thinking the way the World Bank and other global financiers select
projects and partners to fund.
Given this, it was refreshing and fascinating to hear
details of the new report Arc 3:
Climate Change and Cities; First Assessment Report of the Urban Climate Change
Research Network, focusing on how to manage risks associated with hazards
(e.g. heat waves), vulnerability (e.g. % poor), and adaptive capacity (e.g.
resources). Taking India’s megacities such as New Delhi as a case in point, one
measure – perhaps unsurprising in the light of recent events in Japan – is to harden
power plants against severe storms or quakes. Another intervention is the
regulation of settlement growth in floodplains.
Whilst all very informative, the most inspiring thing was the
sheer intellect, charisma, and appetite for change from city leaders from the
developing and emerging economies who were fired up to challenge the way people
think. As Didas Massaburi, mayor of Dar es Salaam, summed it up in Bonn, ‘poverty
and the environment are twins, and their parents are ignorance.’ That is good
enough for me.
About Philip Monaghan
writer, strategist, and change manager in the fields of economic development
and environmental sustainability.
He is the acclaimed author
of the books Sustainability
in Austerity (2010) and Hard to
Make, Hard to Break (forthcoming 2012).