Cities are growing by leaps and bounds. Currently, almost 55 per cent of the global population lives in cities. This figure is estimated to grow to 68 per cent by 2050. In this decade, which is also the ‘Decade of Action’ to accelerate the pace of actions to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), every region in the world is going to urbanize fast. However, it is estimated that
96 per cent of this urban growth will take place in the less developed regions of East Asia, South Asia and Africa with three countries—India, China and Nigeria—accounting for 35 per cent of the total increase in global urban population from 2018 to 2050.
Cities are the most happening places as economies and aspirations meet there. But then, they are developing at the cost of the rural areas and local ecosystems. As rural people migrate into cities in large numbers, and as cities aspire to grow more, cities are battling with many challenges. Cities have not only become symbols of prosperity but also synonymous to some of the world’s biggest challenges such as poverty, gender-based discrimination, inequality in several fronts including water and sanitation, and increasing vulnerabilities due to climate change impacts such as sea rise, extreme precipitation events induced flash floods, heat stress, so on and so forth.
Climate change and cities
On the September 2nd, Governor of New York Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency to help New Yorkers affected by hurricane Ida. The hurricane unloaded a catastrophic deluge that, according to some climatologists, should only occur once over a 200-to-500 year period. However, that has become a regular phenomenon now. “More than seven inches of rain fell in Central Park over a period of 12 hours, with 3.15 inches of it pouring down in a single hour, setting a new record that was only just broken during Hurricane Henri last month”, the CNN reported. City leaders were caught completely off guard, the agency said.
“In the past two weeks, New York City has had three of its top 20 heaviest one-hour downpours on record; four of the top 20 have come this year. On
August 21, it received 1.69 and
1.84 inches in back-to-back hours. Another top-20 one-hour rainfall occurred on July 8, when 1.54 inches fell in a single hour”, reported the Washington Post.
About 50 people were said to be dead as an impact of this hurricane that brought heavy flooding rainfall that outsmarted one of the world’s best sewer systems and the subway’s water pumping mechanism. That is for a city that is not only the most happening one in the world, but termed as one of the best in taking climate actions that are aimed at sharp reductions in carbon emissions by 2050.
As I write this piece, here in India, the capital city of Delhi is going through a historical weather moment. Abundance of rainfall has crippled water supply of many parts of the city. Till mid-September, Delhi has received 1,160.8 mm of rainfall, the highest since 1964 and third highest since records have been kept by the Indian Meteorological Dept. Experts believe due to late withdrawal of monsoon, which is expected by the end of third week of September, Delhi will receive more rainfall. The capital city has already witnessed several spells of floods and related woes including water logging of several areas and traffic problems on the streets. The Delhi deluge has disrupted piped water supply to many parts of Southwest Delhi and it is going to continue till the end of third week tentatively.
Such extreme events can impact cities in many ways. The most recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has concluded, based on a mammoth scientific review of hundreds of scientific researches, that human-caused greenhouse gas emissions have “led to an increased frequency and/or intensity of some weather and climate extremes since pre-industrial times.” This report strengthens the conclusion of the IPCC’s 2018 special report on 1.5 degree Celsius of warming that “even relatively small incremental increases in global warming (+0.5 degree Celsius) cause statistically significant changes in extremes on the global scale and for large regions.”
Cities are part of this problem but will also have to bear a major brunt of global warming. Cities generate 70 per cent of global carbon emissions and consume two-thirds of the world’s energy. They have to take local climate actions to reduce the burden on the ever growing populations and flourishing geographies. The have to be part of the solutions, to be specific.
Local climate action plans can help meet SDG goals
In response to the latest disaster in New York, Errol Louis of the CNN said, “New Yorkers needed a mayor focused less on the big picture and more on the immediate crisis with matters like communications, contingency plans and basic preparedness.” I would say, both are important. Committing to emissions reductions and at the same time taking local steps to adapt to climate change have become essential for cities at a time when climate change is outsmarting the smartest of cities.
Delhi’s State Action Plan on Climate Change already recognizes the weather extremes and various impacts of climate change. The government seems to be giving a big push to renewable energy. A vulnerability assessment of Mumbai city by the World Resource Institute finds out that India’s commercial capital is facing substantial increase in extreme rainfall events in recent years. The city is formulating its climate change action plan that is expected to be ready by November this year.
In fact, many cities in the world have started taking local climate actions. Starting from undertaking emissions inventories and developing reduction targets, cities have gone into taking several adaptation measures. Such local actions could be strengthened if cities understand their relationship with nature and work to conserve ecosystems. The 2020 World Cities Report says that urban areas that have adopted compact and mixed land uses are able to reduce per capita rates of resource use and greenhouse gas emissions. “When nature-based solutions are incorporated into design and management, urban areas can benefit from multiple ecosystem services including carbon sequestration, local climate regulation, storm water capture and water and air purification”, recommends the report.
Wetlands to the rescue
I would recommend that cities should not lose sight of the wetlands as an important shot in their arms in their battle against climate change impacts. In fact, preserving these natural infrastructures can help us meet at least 7 of the SDG goals, the Wetland International (WI) says. The WI advocates the need to safeguard and restore wetlands to reduce CO2 emissions, protect cities and shores, maintain biodiversity, combat desertification, and provide clean water and food; all issues that are included in the SDGs. Loss of wetlands have reduced capacity of the cities to cope with extreme weather conditions. These sponges in the cities to absorb excessive rainfall have been lost to a large extent and that has given rise to multiple problems. This is also one of the causes of the increased heat stress in our cities. I am really happy to learn that the Delhi government has set a two-year deadline to recharge and rejuvenate 22 lakes and 200 water bodies. In another important city of India, Bengaluru, environmentalists and concerned citizens have knocked the doors of judiciary to restore lakes. Thanks to the Karnataka High Court, the lake division of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has appointed special officers with magistrate powers to evict encroachers and resolve conflicts around lakes. Such orders of the judiciary should serve as an enabling factor for other cities to help free their wetlands of encroachment and conflicts.
More than that, as I always suggest, city authorities should engage with local citizens to take conservation actions. Further, each city should have two plans ready within a year. One, a SDG plan and two, a climate action plan. These two plans should be working together to help the cities tide through climate change impacts that are outpacing their progress and causing immense damage not only to the infrastructure but also to the people, especially the ones in the poor pockets or informal settlement areas. And that would help cities meet the SDG goals.