A new report reveals how the world’s cities are responding to climate change

More than 100 cities around the world have climate adaptation plans but trillions of dollars are still at risk without further action, according to a report by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).

Protecting Our Capital, based on responses from 207 cities and 4,500 large companies, has found that many are already implementing measures towards climate change adaptation and mitigation.

However, with cities generating more than 80% of global GDP and housing more than half of the world’s population, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), businesses and urban centres must find more alignment in tackling the effects of warmer temperatures, rising sea levels and extreme weather, the report says.

Produced jointly by CDP and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, a network of megacities, Protecting Our Capital highlights a range of actions that are planned or already under way.

“The consensus by cities is clear – climate change poses a threat to businesses within their municipality. In 2014, 76% of cities said climate change could impact the local private sector,” the report says.

Possible impacts range from damage to property, capital and non-transport infrastructure to more complex social impacts on public health that would also affect companies’ workforces and customers.

Ports, food production and service industries are among the business sectors particularly at risk, the report says, citing an OECD estimate that more than $3tn in assets is at risk from climate change in ports alone.

“The third largest port in Europe, Hamburg, said that its port will be affected by climate change, and will be more expensive to maintain as a result.”

Cleveland, US, told the survey its $6.5bn shipping industry on Lake Erie is also at risk from more large storms and lower lake levels.

Sea level rise already affects not only the port of Seattle but also the city’s limited freight corridors. As a result, “delivery of goods and services is frequently impacted by extreme weather”, the city says.

Local solutions

Cities and businesses have outlined various mitigation and adaptation measures.

Sempra Energy in San Diego, California, which provides electricity to 20 million customers, identifies drought and higher temperatures as its key risk. This leads to wildfires that could threaten electricity infrastructure.

Sempra conducts risk monitoring and water management across the water basin, and its natural gas plants are built to standards that minimise water use.

San Diego itself is delivering a water resources and urban water management plan to reduce demand and conserve supply, which cuts the risk of wildfires.

Sabesp, a semi-private provider of water and sewerage services in Caieiras in Brazil, says storms and floods will be the biggest impact from climate change on its operation.

It has jointly invested $22m to support research on new technologies to improve water and environmental management across the state of Sao Paolo.

Meanwhile, the city is partnering with the national government to deliver a $5.3m project to increase the flow capacity of the Juquery River, a source of local flooding.

In Lisbon, Portugal, retail bank Caixa Geral de Depósitos says heat waves are the biggest risk. These could cost $2.2m a year in extra air conditioning bills.

The bank has improved energy efficiency in its buildings and cut electricity consumption by 16% since 2010, despite higher temperatures.

Lisbon is working to regenerate the city centre, including green infrastructure for water catchment and urban heat island mitigation.

CPL, a Hong Kong energy company, is raising the floor level of some buildings to compensate for sea level rise. The city is spending $2.7bn on flood defences.

View from London

Jenny Jones, a Green Party member of the London Assembly and former deputy mayor of the city, welcomes the Protecting our Capital report. “It is right to emphasise how important it is for businesses to get involved. Big companies in London are very climate change aware but SMEs [small and medium sized enterprises] are not. Or, rather, they don’t usually have the resources to really get into this and we need to support them.”

The London Assembly’s Economy and Environment committees are investigating how climate change is incorporated into business risk assessment strategy plans and how the Mayor and London Enterprise Panel could support the capital’s economic resilience to climate change, Baroness Jones told Ethical Corporation.

They are also examining what extra infrastructure is needed to protect the city from potential severe weather.

“Adaptation is all very well but we urgently need more mitigation in London, particularly reducing our dirty [road] traffic and installing more solar power,” says Baroness Jones. “People seem to think the environment is quite separate from the economy but climate change will affect all supply chains.”

climate change  environmental regulation  green cities  sustainable cities 

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