ReliefWeb

1.Introduction

Climate change is impacting natural and human systems on all continents and across all our oceans. Regardless of its causes, the observed impacts of climate change are bringing the sensitivity of natural and human systems to the forefront.

From altered weather patterns to rising sea levels and more extreme meteorological events, the bearings of climate change impact on people’s wellbeing and livelihoods.

Many of these changes are strongly linked to human activity, notably intensified temperatures, high seas and the rain patterns. The consequences of non-action will be disruption not only for economies and environments but for all people and human activity.

Climate change cannot be considered a distant threat to future generations, but as the most pressing and challenging issue for humanity today. Although all peoples are affected, it is the poorest and most vulnerable who pay and will continue to pay a proportionately higher price as disruption, deterioration, displacement or even destruction of human life become more frequent.

Without action, the average global surface temperature is expected increase over the course of the century and may exceed 3°C, with some areas expected to increase even more. Ocean temperatures are equally set to rise and ice melting is likely to continue at current or accelerated rates. Predictions put the average elevation of sea level between 24-30 cm up to 2065, and 40-63 cm up to 21004 . Even if emissions stop tomorrow, climate change and its impacts will persist for many centuries. Climate resilience measures are therefore an imperative for the foreseeable future.

In a rapidly urbanizing world, UN-Habitat is committed to promoting effective climate action in our cities and recognizes that sustainable and resilient urban development cannot be achieved or sustained without mitigation and adaptation measures. Cities may be the biggest polluters, but they are also centres of innovation, transformation, growth and large-scale gains where climate action stands to be catalysed. Recognizing the complexity of cities and the need for a collective response to climate action, UN-Habitat works with a broad range of agencies and entities to mobilize expertise, experience and effective action towards sustainable urban development.

The City Resilience Profiling Tool (CRPT), developed by UN-Habitat, is a leading methodology for resilience building in cities and has a strong climate action focus. The CRPT identifies resilience trends, vulnerabilities, synergies, and interlinkages within the urban system that become the basis for prioritized actions. This Climate Action Enhancer extracts the elements of the CRPT methodology that relate most closely to climate challenges and as such aims to provide a snapshot of the city in relation to climate action.