Promoting Climate-Resilient Cities Through Climate-Smart Urban Laws

A Networking Event on Promoting Climate-Resilient Cities Through Climate-Smart Urban Laws by the Legislation and Governance team

Globally, climate change is one of the most pressing challenges of our time. However, countries and cities, in particular, are not adequately equipped to address the adverse impacts of climate change. Cities are home to more than half of the world’s population and are responsible for approximately 70 per cent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, worldwide. This unprecedented rate of urbanisation contributes to increased GHG emissions. Recent studies have observed that 25 megacities produce 52 per cent of the world’s GHG emissions. Accordingly, the projected 68 per cent of the world population to live in cities by 2050 will likely be accommodated through carbon-intensive urban expansion (as opposed to resilient urban densification) unless adequate measures are taken. Urban law has an essential role to play in directing spatial planning and design to climate-friendly practises and promoting positive outcomes by guiding behaviour towards collectively agreed public objectives. This, in turn, facilitates the process of ensuring that cities are sites of inclusive climate resilience and low-carbon urban development.

The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Regional Programme Energy Security and Climate Change in Sub-Saharan Africa (KAS) in collaboration with the Policy Legislation and Governance Section of UN-Habitat (PLGS) commissioned a project titled “Urban Law for Resilient and Low Carbon Urban Development in Malawi, Namibia, and Zimbabwe”. This project aims to achieve resilient and low-carbon urban development by improving the understanding of and building the capacities on, legal frameworks to support climate-friendly urban development. The climate urban legal assessments were undertaken between December 2021-November 2022 using the Urban Law Module of the Law and Climate Change Toolkit, a legal assessment tool developed by UN-Habitat in collaboration with UNEP, UNFCCC, and the Commonwealth Secretariat to support governments at national, regional, and local levels accelerate climate change adaptation and mitigation in urban areas.