Climate Change and African Cities

Transcription

1 Climate Change and African Cities

2 Overview Cities in Climate Change in Africa Impacts on African Cities Adaptation Options Mitigation Options Opportunities for African cities Key messages

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5 Major and Capital Cities of Africa at risk due to sea level rise Alexandria Mombasa Dar es Salaam Maputo Durban Port Elizabeth Cape Town Luanda Douala Lagos Accra Cotonou Lome Abidjan Monrovia Conakry Banjul Dakar Casablanca Algiers Tunis

6 The Impacts of Climate Change on African Cities Extreme weather events damage buildings and urban infrastructure Coastal cities and small island states affected by sea level rise; Coastal erosion Water resources stress: floods and droughts Human Health malaria; waterborne diseases; polluted water Food Security Livelihoods Tourism Climate refugees move to urban slums

7 < Sea Level Rise Landslides > v Tropical cyclones Flooding v

8 Adaptation & Mitigation Adaptation = To manage the un-avoidable Mitigation = To avoid the un-manageable Adaptation and Mitigation are interconnected and closely related to the overall development and poverty alleviation agenda.

9 Adaptation Options Climate proofing of urban infrastructure, e.g. seawalls and storm surge barriers Investing in storm water drainage Early warning systems Enhance community resilience Upgrading of slums; Relocation of extremely vulnerable settlements and infrastructure Access financing mechanisms such as the UNFCCC Adaptation Fund Insurance schemes

10 Mitigation Options 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)

11 Urban planning Sustainable building Urban transport modes Renewable energy generation

12 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 There are other themes (greening, water, etc.) and many more active cities; but there is a clear need to scale up!

13 Policies and Strategies Raise public awareness on challenges and opportunities Join networks to pool resources and share know-how 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)

14 Opportunities 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: UN-HABITAT, UNEP, UNDP, UNITAR, World Bank, ICLEI, etc. African Climate Change Centre in Addis Ababa (UNEP GC25) Direct involvement of large cities sustainable development packages (post Kyoto)

15 Key Messages Urbanization affects climate change, resulting in severe impacts to African cities and livelihoods. The severest burden will be born by the 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 must be raised urgently.

16 Thank you!