Advancing community-led approaches and climate justice in the IPCC Climate Change and Cities Report
COP30 Official side-event, Tuesday, November 11th
11:30—13:00h BRT, Side Event Room 3
The event will count with interpretation in english, spanish and portuguese
Partners: Habitat International Coalition, Mahila Housing Trust, Misereor, Pólis Institute, WIEGO, Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action (YUVA), Global Platform for the Right to the City
Background
The IPCC is currently in its seventh assessment cycle, which will include a Special Report on Climate Change and Cities, with a scheduled release for March 2027. This is a welcome development, recognizing the pivotal role of cities and territories both in contributing to and addressing the effects of climate change. The timing is critical: climate-related disasters are increasingly amplifying existing social and spatial inequalities within urban areas, underscoring the need for more effective urban climate adaptation strategies.
In recent years, national governments have begun to reinforce the urban dimensions of their climate agendas. Over the past decade, the share of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) with a strong urban focus has grown by 14%. However, these still represent only 27% of the total, according to a 2023 analysis by UN-Habitat and other UN agencies. Moreover, a review by Cities Alliance found that only 3.5% of global climate finance has been directed toward projects targeting the urban poor. There’s still a vast space for amplifying, deepening and diversifying the discussion around the intersection between climate change and cities and the role played by different actors, especially urban poor communities, those living in informal settlements and engaged in the informal economy, who are disproportionately affected by climate impacts.
In particular, there is an urgent need to diversify the approaches and strategies contemplated within the scope of climate action. As the effects of climate change are increasingly felt and State action is lagging, marginalized urban communities have been mobilizing to both address and adapt to the effects of climate change, as well as to mitigate their ecological impact. These strategies are often overlooked and tend not to be accounted for in institutional climate frameworks.
Objectives
This panel aims to explore the complex impacts of climate change in urban areas, from environmental and spatial challenges to social and economic consequences. It brings together voices from civil society, local governments, academia, worker movements, and international organizations to connect scientific evidence with on-the-ground experience. Framed around key themes from the upcoming IPCC Special Report on Cities and Climate Change –including adaptation, mitigation, loss and damage, climate justice, intersectionality and climate-induced displacement– the event will underscore concrete examples of climate change mitigation and adaptation, with a particular emphasis on community-led initiatives and data production, often under-represented in such discussions.
Specific objectives:
- Introducing, disseminating and contributing to the discussion around the IPCC Special Report on Cities; with a special focus on the needs of marginalised communities and the potential of community-led climate strategies;
- Contributing to a nuanced, qualified, evidence-based exchange around the diverse ways climate change impacts interact with urban issues, focusing on labour, housing, displacement and loss and damage;
- Highlight key research contributions and emerging messages relevant to the report, showcasing the work of various institutions and networks;
- Explore how the Right to the City framework can support workers in securing fair working, housing and living conditions, recognizing their roles as environmental stewards and frontline actors in the climate crisis and is already informing climate action.
Speakers
- Guilherme Boulos, minister of General Secretariat of the Presidency of Brazil
- Bart van den Hurk, Scientific Director, Co-chair IPCC Working Group 2
- Diana Ürge-Vorsatz, IPCC Vice-Chair
- Liliana Miranda, Foro Ciudades para la Vida / Lead Author of Special Report on Cities
- Areli Sandoval Terán, Consultant in human rights related to habitat, HIC-AL
- Bijal Brahmbhatt, Director & Managing Trustee, Mahila Housing Trust
- Clara-Luisa Weichelt, Desk Officer for Urban Development in Latin America at Misereor
- Dulari Parmar, Project Lead- Climate Justice, YUVA
- Henrique Frota, Executive Director, Pólis Institute/Global Platform for the Right to the City
- Kelly Agopyan, Project Officer, Pólis Institute/Global Platform for the Right to the City
- Sonia Maria Dias, Global Waste Specialist, WIEGO