Cities forging ahead with their climate actions

Scientists and thought leaders have reminded us that climate change is the defining issue of our time and is quickly becoming a human rights crisis. Research shows that 85 percent of the world’s population has already experienced climate-induced extreme weather events.

About 55 percent of the world’s population lives in urban areas, and this trend will continue in the next decades with a 90 percent increase of urbanization in Asia and Africa. Cities, particularly those in Asia, are some of the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

Coastal cities like Jakarta, Bangkok, Chittagong, and Ho Chi Minh City are threatened by rising sea levels that will render parts of these cities unlivable, and put additional pressure on basic services and local infrastructure already strained by the COVID-19 pandemic. Other megacities like Delhi are experiencing rising heat waves with record-breaking temperatures reaching up to 49.2 degrees Celsius in May 2022.

Climate change and rapid urbanization may also increase the risk of future displacement in Asia. A report released by the Asian Development Bank and the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre highlighted that 225 million internal displacements were recorded in Asia Pacific between 2010-2021, with nearly two-thirds of the total recorded in East and Southeast Asia.

With increasingly severe climate events, such as storms, typhoons, drought, rainfalls, and heat waves, cities and those living in cities face multiple consequences. The impact of climate change in cities is more apparent for those living in areas lacking infrastructure and adaptive capacity, and individuals may be more vulnerable due to age, gender, disability, economic situation, caste, and other factors. Disasters and climate shocks will exacerbate preexisting inequalities and exclusion, rendering these groups even more vulnerable and exposed to future disasters and climate change-related risks.

Integrating a human rights-based approach into local climate adaptation plans is paramount to empowering public participation, resulting in better public services, more inclusive societies, and more sustainable and resilient cities.

While the world waited patiently (and watched in despair) for the nations negotiating at the Conference of the Parties (COP) 27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, last November, cities are forging ahead with their ambitious, innovative, and rights-based climate actions. Mayors, planners, youth, human rights activists, academics, and civil society organizations from around the globe gathered in Gwangju, South Korea, to attend the annual World Human Rights Cities Forum, where they reaffirmed their commitment to integrating human rights into local climate actions.

One example that realized this commitment came from the City of Iloilo in the Philippines, which developed its local climate adaptation plans through participatory processes involving different sectors of society, from youth, persons with disabilities, and the LGBTQI+ community, to universities, civil society, and businesses.

Another example is the northern city of Baguio, which also developed its local adaptation plan through stakeholder meetings/consultations. The mayor also devised a strategy to mainstream local adaptation plans to various city development and investment plans.

Many more cities across Asia have initiated rights-based climate actions. For example, Dhaka issued a “Town Watching Manual,” which supports residents in understanding and identifying climate risks and vulnerability in their area, and helps them plan and take actions to minimize the negative impacts of climate change.

As part of Seoul’s effort to slash its transport emissions, the city government provides subsidies for electric vehicles of up to 20 percent, with additional support available for vulnerable people and low-income households to ensure all residents have access to clean transport.

Representatives from Asia and the Pacific youths presented their action points on youth participation in national and local climate adaptation plans. Building on the last year’s recommendations, the youth action points focus on how youth can participate more substantively in the planning, decision-making, monitoring, and evaluation of national and local climate adaptation plans. The message of nothing about us without us was made loud and clear throughout the discussion.

There is a gap in the capacity of government actors to develop and implement climate policies underpinned by gender and human rights. Whilst there are numerous resources on how to mainstream gender in climate change projects, opportunities to train technical people at national and local levels are limited.

Cities play an important role in global climate action, as often cities move faster than nations. However, without a coherent global plan on what cities can and should do and the corresponding financing, cities cannot meet their full potential as sources of innovation and solutions.

The lack of accessible climate finance for cities to spearhead local mitigation and adaptation efforts, especially in the Global South, risks exacerbating the adverse effects of climate change, such as climate-induced migration, that will impact the Global North. The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network

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Windi Arini is program officer at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute in Jakarta.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer is a member of the Asia News Network, an alliance of 22 media titles in the region.