Cities must play a leading role in addressing climate change impacts as they concentrate important assets and vulnerable communities. As urbanization increases, cities will be highly impacted by climate extremes that infrastructure and plans have not accounted for. To avoid potential losses and damages, cities need to take action as quickly as possible by securing funding from governmental, bank, private sector, and other sources to implement adaptation measures. A lack of action risks exacerbating impacts due to poor governance and lack of political commitment, knowledge, and funding allocated to reactive approaches rather than proactive adaptation. The Covenant of Mayors for Energy and Climate can help guide city climate action.

1. Urban Adaptation
A 15 minute speech
follador@alsocabra.com
Marco Follador

2. Cities have to play a leading role in addressing
climate change impacts

3. Soaring Urbanization trends

4. Cities concentrate important assets
Built assets
(infrastructures)
Economic activities

5. And vulnerable communities

6. “The vast majority of those
assets, and assets everywhere
in this country, are designed to
withstand climate events of
the past, not climate events of
the future.” (Swiss Re America)
Cities have been planed without future
climate extremes

7. Cities will be highly impacted

8. What can we do as
quickly as possible to
avoid potential
losses as damages?

9. Big problems = Big Opportunities

10. Funding
Governmental
sources (Eu
funding LIFE,
H2020,...), local
budgets...
Banks/financial
institution
provides loans or
guarantees
Private sectors/green
bonds/real estate
developers/foundations

11. Risk of INACTION
Lack of vertical/horizontal governance
Lack of political commitment
Lack of knowledge
Lack of $$
Wrong allocation of $$ to reactive
approaches (disaster management…)

12. Covenant of Mayors for Energy and Climate

13. Thank
you!!
…where everything seems nearly
hopeless until the end, and then
suddenly, many times against all
hope, the super-heroes save the
day….
…Or maybe we should just listen to the
scientists and climate practitioners a lot more

14. www.alsocabra.com
follador@alsocabra.com