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One in four cities around the world lack the money to protect themselves against the ravages of climate breakdown, even though more than 90 per cent are facing serious risks, according to research.
Cities are facing problems with flooding, overheating, water shortages, and damage to their infrastructure from extreme weather, which is growing more frequent as the climate changes. A survey of 800 cities, carried out by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), found that last year about 43 per cent of them, representing a combined population of 400 million people, did not have a plan to adapt to the climate crisis.
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Last modified on Wed 12 May 2021 00.03 EDT
One in four cities around the world lack the money to protect themselves against the ravages of climate breakdown, even though more than 90% are facing serious risks, according to research.
Cities are facing problems with flooding, overheating, water shortages, and damage to their infrastructure from extreme weather, which is growing more frequent as the climate changes. A survey of 800 cities, carried out by the Carbon Disclosure Project, found that last year about 43% of them, representing a combined population of 400 million people, did not have a plan to adapt to the climate crisis.
Budgetary restraints were cited as the key reason by about 25% of cities. Many are reliant on national governments for the funding needed to protect their infrastructure and vulnerable populations from these threats.
Cities need $72bn boost to protect residents from climate change, CDP reveals
An analysis of the climate mitigation and adaptation plans of 800 major cities has found that one in four does not have the budget to protect their residents from climate impacts like floods.
Pictured: Flooding in Texas following Storm Harvey in 2017
Conducted by CDP, the analysis looks at the data disclosed through the CDP-ICLEI Unified Reporting System by 812 cities in 2020. Collectively, these cities are set to represent some 5% of the world’s population by the end of the decade.
While CDP welcomes the fact that more cities are disclosing using the system than ever before, with just 48 cities having used it in 2011, the analysis raises several red flags in terms of climate adaptation – preparing cities for environmental impacts that are already ‘locked in’.
Hundreds of climate-threatened cities lack adaptation plans, CDP warns
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Cities are facing increasing threats from climate change, including floods, storms and heatwaves
Up to 400 million people could be living in cities with no plan to combat growing threat from floods, storms and heatwaves by 2030, CDP finds
Hundreds of cities around the world are facing significant climate hazards such as flooding, extreme heat, and devastating storms, yet many still do not have adaptation and resilience plans in place to address these intensifying threats, according to a sobering new report from CDP.
A fresh analysis of data submitted to the climate disclosure NGO by over 800 cities worldwide shows that 93 per cent report facing significant threats to their residents, buildings, and infrastructure from the changing climate, while 74 per cent are seeing increasing risks to already vulnerable populations.
Almost half of 812 cities surveyed world-wide still do not have climate adaption plans despite them admitting future risks from water-shortages, heat and disease.