Cities Alliance Annual Report 2018

During the year IIED and UN Environment held regional roundtables in Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia and Kigali, Rwanda. Cities Alliance had strong representation at
the roundtables from cities the partnership works in.
The project will result in a policy brief that
will collect what kind of data cities need, and
how they can track progress on becoming
more environmentally sustainable. The brief is
expected to be published in 2019.
Adaptation diplomacy
Traditionally, climate mitigation has received
more funding and attention than adaptation.
This activity, launched in 2018, seeks to make
the case for adaptation and resilience in cities
by demonstrating why adaptation is important,
and what cities can do. It is being implemented
by a consortium including ICLEI, SDI,
UN-Habitat and 100 RC.
The project has produced a well presented and
widely disseminated publication entitled Data
Speak Louder than Words, targeting local and
regional governments. It is a global stocktaking
of what cities are doing on adaptation, what
has been achieved, and where the gaps are.
It also examines the major hazards that cities
are assessing. The aggregated data by and
for cities provides a strong justification for
diplomacy around adaptation at key events,
such as the High-Level Political Forum.
A second publication is planned for 2019 that
will examine the socioeconomic benefits of adaptation. It will target the global level
on key messages around adaptation, engaging with mayors and city officials about
why adaptation is important and bringing their experiences to the global debate.
BOX 6:
A Year of
Momentum
for Cities
and Climate
Change
The year 2018 has been an eventful
year in the realm of cities and climate
change, with the space vacated
by faltering national governments
being filled by cities and regions,
demonstrating momentum and
innovation for the climate challenge.
Throughout, the Cities Alliance Joint
Work Programme for Resilient Cities
was engaged, ensuring that the issue
of informality in cities is on the agenda.
The Cities Alliance also worked to
focus attention on secondary cities,
which is especially fitting since all
the major global events on cities and
climate change this year were hosted
by secondary cities: Edmonton,
Canada; Incheon, South Korea; and
Katowice, Poland.
Bringing urban practitioners and
scientists together at CitiesIPCC
in Edmonton
The year started in Edmonton, a
northern Canadian city of one million,
for the CitiesIPCC: Cities and Climate
Change Science conference, which was
coorganised by Cities Alliance. The
conference brought together over 700
delegates – researchers, practitioners,
policymakers, and youth – to inspire
future research and action on the
science of cities and climate change.
44 Cities Alliance