Michael Keith’s call for an urgent new focus on cities and their environmental impact (Opinion, January 26) is hugely welcome. Urban populations are expected to grow by 1.5bn by 2040, which means that not only will cities have an even greater footprint, many more people will depend on climateconscious urban planning for housing, livelihoods and key services like sanitation.
But there’s a crucial viewpoint missing from the new body Keith proposes — the many millions of people who live in slums or informal settlements, who are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change. They must be represented on any new advisory body alongside academics and city administrators if it’s to work for everyone.
And given that millions of city dwellers are already suffering the impact of climate change, any new initiative should also consider how existing infrastructure can be adapted to build resilience to rising temperatures, drought and bigger and more frequent storms. Globally, just 11 per cent of climate-specific multilateral finance goes to cities, and only 5 per cent of adaptation-specific funding. This is a significant hidden brake on effective action to tackle an important aspect of the climate crisis.
We know that although cities can be much hotter than rural areas due to the heat island effect, higher temperatures are not experienced equally: wealthier neighbourhoods can mitigate this potentially deadly menace with additional tree cover, air conditioning and other measures. IIED’s research has shown that improved living conditions in poor neighbourhoods can have positive affects for whole societies through higher gross domestic product. This is one area where fairness and pragmatism can overlap for everyone’s benefit.
Anna Walnycki
Principal Researcher, International Institute for Environment and Development, London WC2, UK
