1 in 4 Cities Can’t Afford Climate Protection Measures

A 2020 survey of 800 cities around the world found that approximately 43% didn’t have a plan to adapt to the ongoing climate crisis. The survey was carried out by Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), an organization that runs a global disclosure system for reporting environmental impacts. 25% of the cities cited a lack of financing as a barrier to adaptation.

Kyra Appleby, a global director for CDP, told The Guardian, ‘Adaptation [to the impacts of climate change] is trickier to finance than emissions action. There are enormous benefits from adaptation and resilience, but they don’t appear on the balance sheet. Only a fraction of recovery spending [from the coronavirus pandemic] is being put towards climate change, and even less towards adaption.’

Appleby said the COVID-19 pandemic and the feeling of interconnectedness that came with it has awoken people to their vulnerability, but governments need to take adaptive action.

According to Appleby, cities that are adapting well to climate change include Los Angeles, London, and Athens. In Athens, where summer temperatures can soar to over 100°F, the city has taken measures such as reducing car lanes to make space for pedestrians and cyclists, fixing fountains in public squares, and creating pocket parks to replace some of the green space that was lost to development.

Source: https://go.nowth.is/3vmQQ3n.