Cities and Climate – From Knowledge to Action

By: Sarah Habersack - Director of ANDUS

Time and again, we have heard, read and spoken about the well-known figure: 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions originate in urban centres. Yet it is only recently that urban development found its way into the NDCs. In Brazil, it was only with the latest revision that the issue gained sharper focus and greater priority, together with the Climate Federalism proposal. Still, at NDC negotiations and climate conferences, representatives of local governments remain largely absent.

Why is it so difficult to translate the recognition of the central role of cities in tackling climate change into policies, governance structures—both global and national—and concrete action? Cities are “messy”. Their greatest advantage—bringing together multiple sectors, actors and socioeconomic realities within the same territory—becomes a disadvantage in a political system that organises itself in silos and struggles to recognise interlinkages.

Cities provide the setting to make an essential decision in the fight against climate change: how do we want to use our land? How much rural land will be converted into urban or industrial areas? Where and how will new human settlements arise to house the global population? Will these settlements be located close to workplaces, schools, health facilities and essential services? How is land around major mining, industrial production and logistics sites being planned and developed?

Land is what connects the many different sectors and actors. Yet in today’s political and economic system, it is also treated as a prime commodity—offering the lure of quick and easy profit.

Cities—and more specifically, local governments—are not recognised in every country as important, democratically legitimate actors in the climate fight. Brazil and Germany are both federal systems that grant municipalities significant autonomy and recognise mayors as political actors. However, in many other national contexts, municipalities have short terms in office and even fewer resources to participate in national and global decision-making—decisions that will ultimately play out in their streets, homes and public spaces. This means that, especially when it comes to climate action, there is a striking gap between those who draft and negotiate policies and investments, and those who live with their consequences. The result is policies that fail to reflect local realities, limit the impact of projects on the ground and undermine trust in local governments’ ability to act on climate. The reasons lie not in a lack of local capacity, but in insufficient financial, political and economic decentralisation.

This analysis does not diminish the considerable efforts that cities across the world are already making to adapt to climate impacts and reduce emissions. IKI projects—among them the Support for the Brazilian National Agenda for Sustainable Urban Development (ANDUS) project—focus precisely on strengthening local governments, integrating urban and climate policies and promoting a holistic vision of cities, starting with land use and planning.

COP30, dubbed the ‘delivery COP’, offers a unique opportunity to bring Cities and Climate to the fore. As host country, Brazil has highlighted Climate Federalism in its NDCs, is a leader of the Coalition for High Ambition Multi-level Partnership (CHAMP), and has advanced policies that integrate urban development with climate action, such as the Periferia Sem Risco programme, Green and Resilient Cities, and the Ministry of Cities’ Sustainability Agenda.

Learn more about the project here.