More than 80% of the global GDP is generated in cities – the engines of economic growth. However, an increasing number of cities are becoming climate vulnerability hotspots. Greater numbers of people, assets and economic activities are exposed to climate events as urban areas in the developing world continue to grow rapidly. Increasingly, sea-level rise, erosion, cyclones and flooding will affect low-lying and coastal cities, while water stress, heat stress, fires and droughts will impact urban environments in drylands.  According to the Climate Change Vulnerability Index, 79 African cities rank among the 100 fastest growing cities in the world, but also fall within the “extreme risk” category.

The Accelerator leverages partners to provide support to African cities through a comprehensive city diagnostic exercise. The exercise identifies priority investments in both municipal management and resilient infrastructure such as in water, sanitation and solid waste, mobility and housing, and green and grey infrastructure to mitigate droughts and urban floods. Based on the assessments, including those that identify scalable locally led action, specific investments and actions for financing are identified. Investments and other supporting actions will be designed in a way that maximizes jobs and creates small and medium-sized enterprises for adaptation services.

In N’Djamena the capital of Chad, for example, working with the World Bank, GCA is providing technical assistance to a US$100 million investment Gender Vulnerability Assessment and Investment Prioritization Analysis to improve the design and prioritization of infrastructure to mitigate flood risks. The Water and Urban team is also supporting projects in Senegal, Liberia, Sierra Leone.

Rapid Climate Risk Assessments

Conducting a Rapid Climate Risk Assessment (RCRA) to understand a city’s present and future climate risks is crucial for identifying, prioritizing, and implementing urban planning strategies that avoid repeating mistakes made by other cities globally. An RCRA can be the critical first step in a city’s long-term climate adaptation journey. 

Supporting China’s Pilot on Resilient Cities

With funding support from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management of the Netherlands, the International Panel on Deltas and Coastal Areas (IPDC), and the Ministry of the Ecology and Environment of China (MEE), GCA collaborated with the MEE and the Weihai Municipal People’s Government on a project supporting Weihai City in building a climate adaptive pilot city. The initiative aims to provide technical support to Weihai City, enhance the city’s resilience to climate change, and promote the development of climate-resilient policies and projects in urban planning, design, and implementation.