Urban centres hold the majority of the world’s population, yet these man-made environments are often devoid of green spaces. Adequately planned urban greening can not only improve living conditions for city dwellers but also help countries meet their broader climate goals.
Nature provides key benefits for resilience and can be the foundation for sustainability. It cleans the air and water, it provides food, beauty and serenity for people. The “green” realm provides immense benefits to societies, cities, and their citizens. Perspectives and solutions for creating cities that are resilient, sustainable, liveable and just for everyone.
With urban populations continuing to grow and contributing more than their fair share of global emissions, cities must step up and fulfil their potential as sources of solutions to the climate crisis. Initiatives such as C40 smart cities can help catalyse ambitious climate action plans in line with science-based targets. The latest C40 meeting in Copenhagen shows that there is a growing drive for cities to take the lead in generating positive change.
Climate Finance is the key to drive urbanization toward Smart Cities. It also means shifting investments towards building a vision of our common future. And we already know how to do it, on both global and regional scales.
A new report translates the key scientific findings and policy observations from the IPCC’s Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C (SR1.5) for officials and
Better planning for sustainable urban growth and the use of natural solutions, careful management of protected areas near cities, and integration of nature into cities
World Cities Day is celebrated every year on October 31st with the aim of promoting the international community’s interest in global urbanization, pushing forward cooperation
A Reflection by CMCC Foundation – REMHI Division Climate change, heat waves & the Urban Heat Island effect The impacts of climate changes are expected
Summer 2003, the severe heat wave that affected Europe (15,000 excess deaths over August in France, nearly 1,100 of those in Paris) taught our cities that adaptation and preparedness are not an option but a necessity. How are we putting the lesson into practice?
A new study attempts to verify if and in which cases cities can constitute proxies to study the effects of long-term climate impacts on plants and animal species. Some peculiar conditions of urban centres, such as high CO2 concentrations, are hard to replicate experimentally; on the other hand, urban variables and characteristics could be misleading for the ecological research.
Cities as ecosystems? The benefits of this approach are manifold, including water purification, improved public health, reduced disaster exposure, enhanced resilience and social justice. But to move cities – and so the planet – into a sustainable future, this approach must become more integrated and pragmatic, and applied also in the global south, says on Nature Xuemei Bai, professor at the Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University in Canberra.
Smart city technologies have a high, and largely unrealized, potential to improve quality of life. The idea behind smart cities is to use technology and
