New York, USA (United Nations) - Many of the world’s largest cities are located in coastal areas highly vulnerable to rising sea levels and extreme weather events linked to climate change. Billions of people are at risk and the damage that could result from flooding and storm surges could undermine the economic gains of the past few decades in a matter of hours. These cities must take action now to increase their resiliency to the impacts of climate change.

To this end, the United Nations, in partnership with the World Bank and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, have released a comprehensive guide entitled "Climate Resilient Cities" which focuses on the mega-cities of East Asia and the Pacific that are most vulnerable to climate change and most in need of disaster risk management.

"Ultimately, the cities hardest hit by climate change will be the ones least prepared," said Neeraj Prasad, the World Bank’s Lead Environmental Specialist for the region. One only has to look at events like the 2004 tsunami and more recently Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar to see the enormity of the economic impact and the loss in human lives associated with changing weather patterns.

The increasing concentration of people in the cities also increases their vulnerability to climate change disruption. By 2030, the world’s urban centers will be home to almost 4 billion people. As a result, making cities more climate-resilient must be a priority for city planners and managers around the world today.

"Climate Resilient Cities" calls on cities to adapt to the realities of climate change and to take action to mitigate the consequences of future natural disasters. It also appeals to them to slash greenhouse gas emissions.

Some of the measures are as simple as increasing public awareness of the consequences of climate change; providing more green space; and increasing the use of energy-efficient public transport. Others require legislative support and public investment, including providing alternatives to fossil-fuels, and improving the quality of public infrastructure and buildings.

"Every city is different," said Mr. Prasad. "There is no cookie-cutter solution to climate change impacts. It’s important that you are able to anticipate the likely impacts on your city and make the decision to deal with that."

A just released report on New York City’s vulnerability to flooding notes that storm surge flooding could threaten billions of dollars of property and impact on the lives of millions of residents. During the December 1992 nor’easter, storm tides over-topped some of the region’s seawalls for only a few hours, but managed to flood the NYC subway and the PATH train systems, shutting down these transportation systems for several days.

The Primer provides sound practices from cities that have taken the climate change challenges seriously, among them Milan, Tokyo, New York, China’s Dong Tan, Hanoi, Singapore, and a few cities within the Metro Manila area.  This affords the cities still defining their own climate change strategy a wide range of mitigation and adaptation options.

Dealing with the impact of climate change at the city level requires better understanding of what makes any city vulnerable. To this end, Climate Resilient Cities offers a tool to help policy-makers identify characteristics that make the city a "hot spot," create strategies to increase their resilience to impacts of climate change, and establish the link between climate change, disaster risk reduction, and city planning as well as management.

This Primer allows city governments to better understand how to plan for climate change impacts and impending natural disasters through sound urban planning to reduce vulnerabilities. It gives local governments information to actively engage in training, capacity building, and capital investment programs that are identified as priorities for building sustainable, resilient communities.

This tool engages city officials in an assessment exercise to identify the city’s human and built environment characteristics, potential impacts of climate change, and natural or other hazards. Beyond that, the assessment will also identify local government prerogatives and authorities that would allow it to take action in dealing with potential climate change impacts and natural hazards.

The ultimate determination from the assessment is to identify main vulnerable and at-risk areas. This knowledge is then critical for defining priority actions that move (or "cool down") the city from becoming a "Hot Spot."

The exercise requires completing a City Typology and Risk Characterization Matrix. The assessment is not a quantitative tool for ranking cities nor is it intended to be a scientifically rigorous assessment. But it does point the way for needed changes to better prepare cities for inevitable climate related impacts.

City Profiles of Sound Practices are available on CD-ROMs that accompany the Primer. Longer city profiles provide comprehensive analyses of a city’s disaster management systems, and of climate change impacts. Cities profiled include: Albuquerque (New Mexico), USA, Jakarta, Indonesia, King County / Seattle (Washington), USA, Rockville (Maryland), USA, Singapore, and Tokyo, Japan.

Shorter profiles focus on selected aspects of a city’s climate and disaster management path, focused on such topics as adaptation to climate change, mitigation of climate change impact or mitigation of disaster risks. Cities profiled include: Dongtan, China, Hanoi, Vietnam, London, United Kingdom, Makati City, Philippines, Milan, Italy, New York (New York), USA, and Venice, Italy.

The following Slide Show demonstrates the close link between a city’s economic and social vulnerability to climate related impacts and rising levels of greenhouse gas emissions.

Every one metre rise in sea levels will be a corresponding 2 per cent drop in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) due to the decreased fresh water supply, damage to agriculture and fisheries, disrupted tourism and reduced energy security.

Links to the full Primer and associated tools, resource documents, city profiles  and other presentations are available here.

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For More Information: United Nations