Climate Change and African Cities

Overview

• Impacts on African Cities

• Adaptation Options• Mitigation Options• Opportunities for

African Mayors• Key messages

Major African Cities at risk

due to sea level rise

CasablancaAlgiers

AlexandriaMombasa

Dar es SalaamMaputoDurban

Port ElizabethCape Town

LuandaDoualaLagosAccra

CotonouLome

AbidjanMonroviaConakryDakar

The Impacts of Climate Changeon African Cities

• Extreme weather events damage buildings and urban infrastructure

• Coastal cities affected by sea level rise• Water resources stress: floods and droughts• Human Health – malaria; waterborne

diseases; polluted water• Food Security – Livelihoods – Tourism• Climate refugees move to urban slums

< Sea Level Rise

Landslides >

v Tropical cyclones

Flooding v

Adaptation & Mitigation

• Adaptation = To manage the un-avoidable

• Mitigation = To avoid the un-manageable

• Adaptation and Mitigation are interconnected and mutually supportive

Adaptation Optionsfor African Mayors

• Climate proofing of urban infrastructure, e.g. seawalls and storm surge barriers

• Investing in storm water drainage• Early warning systems • Enhance community resilience• Relocation of vulnerable settlements and

infrastructure• Access financing mechanisms such as the UNFCCC

Adaptation Fund• Insurance schemes

Mitigation Optionsfor African Mayors

• 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)

Urban planning – Sustainable building

Urban transport modes – Renewable energy generation

Examplesby 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

Policies and Strategiesfor African Mayors

• Raise public awareness on challenges and opportunities

• Join networks to pool resources and share know-how and best practices

• 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)

Opportunitiesfor African Mayors

• 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 towards a post-Kyoto protocol: UN-HABITAT, UNEP, UNDP, UNITAR, World Bank, ICLEI

• African Climate Change Centre in Addis Ababa (UNEP GC25)

• Direct involvement of large cities – sustainable development packages (post Kyoto)

2009 Calendarfor African Mayors

Raising the voice of cities in the global Climate Change debate:– 17 March – Launch of Cities and Climate

Change Initiative, Oslo– 1 April – GC22 Dialogue on impacts of climate

change on housing and urban finance, Nairobi– 16 June - ICLEI World Congress Edmonton– 28 June - World Bank Urban Research

Seminar on Cities and Climate Change, Marseille

– 10 December - Mayors Summit at COP15 Copenhagen

Key Conclusionsfor African Mayors

• Urbanization affects climate change, resulting in severe impacts to African cities and livelihoods.

• The severest burden is born by 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 has to be raised urgently.

Thank you!