Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions through Urban Climate Action A guide for incorporating urban climate action and human settlement issues into the Nationally Determined Contributions enhancement process. Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions 2 through Urban Climate Action Supporting Organizations: GO GREEN FORCLIMATE This report was produced as part of the project Accelerating climate action through the promotion of Urban Low Emission Development Strategies, or Urban-LEDS for short, implemented by UN-Habitat and ICLEI and funded by the European Commission. For more information on the Urban-LEDS project; www.urban-leds.org contact@urban-leds.org @ICLEI, @UN-HABITAT Disclaimer: The sole responsibility for the content of this publication lies with the authors. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union. The European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein. Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions through Urban Climate Action 3 Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions through Urban Climate Action A guide for incorporating urban climate action and human settlement issues into the Nationally Determined Contributions enhancement process. Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions 4 through Urban Climate Action Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) through Urban Climate Action Nairobi, June 2020 All rights reserved ©2020 United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) P.O. Box 30030, 00100 Nairobi, Kenya www.unhabitat.org DISCLAIMER The designations employed and the presentation of material in this report do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries, or regarding its economic system or degree of development. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme or its Executive Board. HS Number: HS/048/20E ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS; Coordinator: Marcus Mayr, UN-Habitat, Steven Bland, UN-Habitat Lead Author: Anya Plescia-Boyd, UN-Habitat Contributing Authors: Steven Bland, UN-Habitat, Pasquale Capizzi, Arup, Sarah Colenbrander, Coalition for Urban Transitions, Petter Lyden, GIZ, Marcus Mayr, UN-Habitat Expert Contributors: Maria Gracia Aguilar, C40; Verania Chao, UNDP; Alana Craigen, UNDP; Katharina Davis, UNDP; Felix Doehler, GIZ; Nathalie Doswald, UNEP; Julie Greenwalt, Go Green for Climate; Bernd Hackmann, UNFCCC; Catlyne Haddaoui, Coalition for Urban Transitions; Laura M Hammett, UNDP; Benjamin S. Karmorh Jr, Environmental Protection Agency Liberia; Shea O’Neil, Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy; Martina Otto, UNEP; Philippe Plaga, GIZ; Lea Ranalder, REN 21; Donovan Storey, Global Green Growth Institute; Asrat Yirgu Senator, NDCP and Environment, Forest & Climate Change Commission of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia; Prof.Dr.Nicola Tollin, University of Southern Denmark (SDU) and Recycling the City Network (RECNET); Maryke van Standen, ICLEI; James Vener, UNDP; Angela Wagner, UNFCCC Design and Layout: Euclide Namema, UN-Habitat Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions through Urban Climate Action 5 Definitions & Terminology: Human settlements and urban areas: this Urban stakeholders: This will vary on a country guide focuses on both urban areas and human basis but could be drawn from; city governments settlements and considers these as a city or and local authorities, utilities, private sector, town of any size where people live and work in community organisations (particularly those close proximity. It recognises that great variation representing vulnerable groups, such as the exists between countries in terms of how they urban poor or informal workers). define urban areas. The terms “urban areas” and “cities and towns” are used interchangeably, Urban climate action: this refers to all urban where “Human settlements” is a broader term climate actions– whether they focus on referring to any cluster of dwellings where mitigation, adaptation, resilience or an integrated people live. approach of all of these. Nature Based Solutions (NBS) use the Vertical Integration & Multilevel governance: features and complex system processes of These terms are used to describe intentional nature, such as its ability to store carbon and and strategic linkages and coordination between regulate water flows, in order to achieve desired national and sub-national climate planning, outcomes, such as reduced disaster risk and an implementation, communication and monitoring environment that improves human well-being and evaluation. and socially inclusive green growth. Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) Sub-national government: This refers to embody efforts by each country to reduce regional, local, state, city, municipal level, or any national emissions and adapt to the impacts of tier of government below national level. climate change, collectively aiming at limiting warming to 1.5 to 20 C, as set out in the Paris Urban content: This term broadly encompasses Agreement. urban-specific references within NDCs – this could range from refering to city-specific Conditional/Unconditional contributions to climate monitoring or indicators; to addressing Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs): the urban sector in a dedicated section of the An “unconditional contribution” is what countries NDC; to including urban stakeholders in the could implement using domestic resources and consultation process. Essentially evidence that capabilities, to contribute towards their NDC urban challenges have been considered and targets. A “conditional contribution” is one that urban measures have been articulated that can would be implemented if international support be translated into action. were provided. Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions 6 through Urban Climate Action Foreword At UN-Habitat, we believe that the With our attention focused on success of this Decade of Action will responding and recovering from the depend on how rapid urban growth is COVID-19 crises, let us ensure that managed. Already, we live in an urban every action we take today, every world: more than 55 % of the world investment and support we mobilise, population lives in urban areas today stimulates more sustainable, low- and this number is expected to rise to carbon and resilient development around 66% in the coming decade. pathways that leave no one and no place behind. Human settlements are drivers of economic prosperity and hubs for social and human development. But UN-Habitat is grateful to its partners they also generate a significant share for their support in this endeavour, of global Greenhouse gas emissions and hopes that it will be a useful As I write this, the current COVID-19 and are particularly vulnerable to its contribution to government efforts to health emergency rightly consumes effects. Some of the communities most improve low-carbon urban development much of our attention. However, this vulnerable to climate change are the and climate resilience. I would like to crisis also clearly demonstrates the urban poor. Integrating sustainable encourage planners at the national importance of accelerating progress urban development into national climate and sub-national level, experts, and towards realising the seventeen commitments – Nationally Determined decision-makers working on climate ambitious Sustainable Development Contributions (NDCs) - is therefore of change to use this Guidance to better Goals (SDGs) the world’s governments paramount importance. understand the need and opportunities committed to in 2015, and the Paris for climate change adaptation and Climate Change Agreement of the same According to UN-Habitat’s analysis mitigation in human settlements. year. of the first round of national pledges submitted under the Paris Agreement, At the same time, I hope that this Had we been further advanced in approximately two thirds of all countries publication will also be useful for meeting these goals, we would be have included some urban references in local authorities to contribute to NDC better equipped to face this challenge their submitted Nationally Determined formulation and implementation and - with stronger health systems, fewer Contributions (NDCs), but there remains rally behind these important shared people living in extreme poverty, less much still to do. national commitments, and strengthen gender inequality, a healthier natural synergies and partnerships between all environment, and more resilient It is our hope that this guide can inspire actors. societies. governments to go further in integrating urban and human settlement issues In order to accelerate progress, the UN into NDCs, and effectively integrate has declared its Decade of Action to the urban development community in accelerate global action in support of the formulation and implementation Member States goals and aspirations process. It was informed by country Ms. Maimunah Mohd Sharif in (i) eradicating poverty and reducing representatives, partners, and experts Under-Secretary-General and inequality, (ii) driving climate action in the urban development and climate Executive Director, UN-Habitat and supporting a healthy planet, and change community over the course of (iii) achieving gender equality and the the past 6 months in a participatory and empowerment of women and girls. consultative process. 01 PURPOSE OF THIS GUIDE In the coming months and years, Member States • Embed their climate objectives into urban will continue to undertake domestic processes decision-making across all sectors of to review, strengthen and implement their government Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). • Create the enabling frameworks towards Inclusion of urban climate action and the implementation of high-ambition subnational government stakeholders in NDC NDCs at sub-national level and help formulation, priority setting, targets, governance climate authorities to engage with urban and implementation has the potential to support authorities through a common basis of government efforts to enhance ambition and language and understanding delivery of NDCs. Similarly, the NDCs can inform urban policies Target audience and priority setting. Member States have requested support on how best to integrate The guide aims to provide practical and succinct human settlement and urban issues into their opportunities for incorporating urban climate NDCs1 and this guide aims to offer this in an action and human settlement issues into the applied manner. current future NDC revision and enhancement process, drawing on existing knowledge and The intention of this guide is to support networks. Member States to: It is primarily targeted at national governments, • Enhance the ambition of their NDCs specifically NDC coordinators and their teams, in the current 2020 and future revision but also provides insight for sub-national processes, by harnessing the potential stakeholders aiming to engage with the NDC of human settlements and urban climate process more effectively. We have included action to deliver a high quality of life some extracts from submitted NDCs and while reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) some country case studies, to provide tangible emissions. examples. • Support a more integrated approach to To effectively integrate human settlements and NDC development and implementation urban content into the NDC process requires across national and local governments. engagement of national stakeholders with urban importance - like ministries of housing and urban • Implement their NDCs by aligning the development, national utilities like energy, water activities of urban stakeholders behind a and waste, housing companies, construction common vision for human settlements. and transport sector – as well as sub-national 1 Through the Urban-LEDS project and the NDC Partnership Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions 8 through Urban Climate Action stakeholders such as city governments and REN21, UNDP, UNEP, UNFCCC, and the University local and regional governments in order to of Southern Denmark, who are partnering to help achieve an economy-wide approach to support Member States to include urban and addressing the climate challenge. This requires human settlements related actions in their NDCs. effective collaboration between public and private sector actors. The Guide was developed as part of the project “Accelerating climate action through the promotion of Urban Low Emission Development Who has contributed? Strategies”, implemented by UN-Habitat and ICLEI and funded by the European Commission. This UN-Habitat guide is a product of collaboration with a wide variety of expert contributors from organisations such as; How to use this guide Arup, the Coalition for Urban Transitions, C40, the Environment, Forest & Climate Change It is recommended that this guide can be used Commission of the Federal Democratic Republic by NDC teams in national government in the of Ethiopia, the Environmental Protection Agency following ways. UN-Habitat and its partners of Liberia , GIZ , Global Covenant of Mayors for can support member states with this work by Climate & Energy, Global Green Growth Institute, providing virtual or in-person technical and Go Green for Climate, ICLEI, NDC Partnership, facilitation support: Stage of NDC Revision Activities to make use of the guide Planning NDC 2020 revision • Use guide to review previous/draft NDC and identify gaps and opportunities process (e.g. submission prior to COP26) • Use guide to review national planning processes (e.g check alignment with NUPs, existing city plans, financing opportunities etc.) OR • Plan/implement sectoral workshops with lead Ministries focusing on the urban In the process of 2020 NDC revision dimension of sectoral NDC responses (e.g. submission planned for next 3-6 months) • Secure support of an urban specialist to ‘champion’ issues as part of sectoral working groups  • Reach out to international partners (e.g. NDCP members) to support in specific  technical areas or facilitation support • Share guide along with schedule of the upcoming NDC process to urban stakeholders at national and local level Submitted 2020 NDC revision, • Review the submitted NDC and consider opportunities in light of: ongoing implementation (and future revisions) a) NDC implementation plans: identifying urban relevant commitments and actions (already submitted NDC to UNFCCC b) Future NDC revisions: identifying gaps and opportunities in 2019/20) • Extend communication of the NDC to urban stakeholders at national and local level  Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions through Urban Climate Action 9 Where we are at with NDCs? 2020 is the first five-year milestone of the 2015 Paris There is a rapidly closing window of opportunity if we are Agreement. In preparation, countries are required to prepare to achieve the objectives and long-term goals of the Paris new or updated NDCs as part of the agreement’s ‘ratchetting Agreement5 and current commitments are not enough. mechanism’, which requires countries to continue to submit Countries must increase their NDC ambitions threefold to NDCs every five years. NDC enhancement – whether it achieve the well below 2°C goal and more than fivefold to involves new or updated NDCs — should be pursued in the achieve the 1.5°C goal6. context of a country’s long-term strategies (also due to be submitted in 2020) that will guide countries’ transitions to a The landscape has changed since the 2015 Paris Agreement. low-carbon, climate-resilient future by 20502. To date 187 countries have ratified or otherwise joined the Paris Agreement representing 97% of global emissions7; The Paris Agreement set out a global commitment to limiting technical innovation has resulted in the price of renewables warming to well below 2°C or 1.5°C3. According to the IPCC and a wide range of low carbon measures falling; countries 20184 Special report, we are currently on track to exceed have started focusing on decoupling emissions from 1.5°C sometime between 2030 and 2052. economic growth8; and there is a growing public appetite for ambitious climate action, particularly from youth. Extreme This expected increase of the global mean temperature weather events of 2019 and the global pandemic of 2020 is associated with rising sea levels, rapidly changing are bringing the importance of adaptation and resilience of ecosystems and more extreme and slow-onset events such nations and cities to the forefront of the political agenda. as heat waves, storms and flooding. The impacts undermine global efforts for development and prosperity everywhere. Increasing ambition through stronger GHG reduction targets and adaptation efforts are some of the key goals of the NDC The expected devastating effects of climate change can enhancement mechanism built into the Paris Agreement. only be prevented by more ambitious and more effective There are many ways to commit to and deliver greater climate action where CO2-emissions must be net-zero in emission reductions, including activating the potential 2050 and efforts to adapt to climate change need to increase action by local governments, expanding or ‘deep diving’ into significantly. sectors, greater transparency, attracting climate finance and investment, as well as increasing implementation The UNEP Emissions Gap Report 2019 finds that even if all and building broader buy-in from key ministries and unconditional Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) stakeholders9. under the Paris Agreement are implemented, we are still on course for a 3.2°C temperature rise. Parties to the Paris Agreement need to go beyond current commitments and dramatically strengthen their NDCs in 2020. 2 While NDCs operate on five-year cycles and currently extend roughly through 2025 or 2030, long term strategies involve planning to mid-century, these two different planning tools are closely related. See more: www.wri.org/news/climate-action- today-and-tomorrow-relationship-between-ndcs-and-ltss 3 Rogelj et al., 2016 4 IPCC, 2018 5 Rockstrom et al. 2017 6 IPCC 2018 7 https://www.wri.org/faqs-about-how-paris-agreement-enters-force 8 WRI, 2017 9 WRI & UNDP, 2019a Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions 10 through Urban Climate Action UNFCCC Guidance on NDCs in relation to urban climate action and sub-national stakeholders: The ‘Paris rule-book’ also known as the Katowice Climate It also outlines that specific projects, that may contribute Package - is a set of decisions from Katowice COP24 – by to mitigation or adaptation and/or economic diversification the CMA10, which include (amongst other things) guidance should be included in the NDC, which may cover, but are on inclusions in NDCs. not limited to, key sectors, such as energy, resources, water resources, coastal resources, human settlements and The Paris Rulebook reaffirms the key role that a broad urban planning, agriculture and forestry; and economic range of stakeholders, including, regions, cities, the private diversification actions, which may cover, but are not limited sector, intergovernmental organisations, non-governmental to, sectors such as manufacturing and industry, energy and organisations, decision makers, scientists, youth, women mining, transport and communication, construction, tourism, and indigenous peoples, play in ensuring Action for Climate real estate, agriculture and fisheries12. Empowerment11. And further encourages public participation and engagement with local communities and indigenous peoples, in a gender-responsive manner. Urban content in NDCs by incorporating multi-sectoral stakeholders and actors from all levels of government and the A study undertaken by UN-Habitat in 2017 economy in decision-making, attracting finance, showed that the majority of NDCs, 113 out of and achieving both mitigation and adaptation 164, show strong or moderate urban content, objectives set at a national level. Periodic NDC with the main portion focusing on urban issues revisions provide the platform to incorporate new in the context of adaptation (see Figure 1). Only technology innovations and send investment around 20 countries have NDCs that speak to messages to the private sector. climate mitigation in urban areas13. Surprisingly, some of the most urbanised countries have little The Global NDC Outlook Report (2019) explicit urban content in the NDCs. highlighted that there was still a substantial need for countries to mainstream their NDC into This represents an enormous missed sub-national policies and budgets. Whilst almost opportunity that can be addressed in the current all 133 countries stated that they have, or are in round of NDC updates by 2020, as some of the the process of mainstreaming their NDC targets ‘low-hanging fruit’ in terms of climate action (integrating them into national climate change clearly exist in cities. policies, strategies, budgets and laws) there has been little progress on ensuring that NDCs are Including the needs and potential of urban areas parts of budgets, especially at regional levels, or and human settlements in NDCs presents an in regional development planning. (See Figure 2) opportunity to address issues of implementation 10 CMA is the short form for the group of the countries who have signed and ratified the Paris Agreement. The full name of this governing body is “Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement 11 UNFCCC, 2018a (FCCC/PA/CMA/2018/3/Add.2) 12 UNFCCC, 2018b, (FCCC/PA/CMA/2018/3/Add.1) 13 CUT, 2019; UNH 2017: Both analyses based on a database of 160 NDCs developed by UN-Habitat and the University of Southern Denmark Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions through Urban Climate Action 11 Urban content of NDCs 58 countries with urban content in their NDCs focus on urban adaptation measures 34 countries with urban content in their NDCs mention neither urban adaptation and mitigation measures 17 countries with urban content in their NDCs focus on urban adaptation and 4 countries with urban mitigation measures content in their NDCs focus on urban mitigation measures Figure 1: Analysis of urban content in NDCs from UN-Habitat (2017) Mainstreaming of NDC targets into Sub-national plans and budgets 3% 10% [No Response] [Yes] 35% 52% [In Preparation] [No] Figure 2: Based on data from the NDC Global Outlook Report 2019 (UNDP 2019) This suggests that governments have not yet considered how to fund a long-term shift to net-zero carbon and have not sufficiently engaged sub-national actors14. 14 UNDP, 2019c The busy city of Yangon, Myanmar with a lot of vehicles and activities on the street ©Shutterstock 02 MAKING THE CASE FOR URBAN CLIMATE ACTION Why should national governments include urban content in their NDCs? Cities in almost every country are growing The urban and infrastructure sector was listed rapidly, and urban areas hold the key to in the IPCC Special Report (2018), as one of the successful national emission reduction and key sectors where an urgent transition is needed development of adaptative capacities. Currently along with energy, land use and industry. The 4.2billion (55%) of the world’s population lives in report states ‘urban and infrastructure system urban settlements15,16, this number is expected transition consistent with limiting global warming to increase to 6.7 billion by 2050 (68% of the to 1.5°C …would imply, for example, changes in population)17. land and urban planning practices, as well as deeper emissions reductions in transport and Urban citizens are increasingly vulnerable to buildings’. It has however been shown that it is multiple climate change risks and these risks possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are especially critical for the urban poor and from urban buildings, materials, transport and marginalised populations18. waste by almost 90% by 2050 using technically feasible, widely available mitigation measures (see Figure 2)21. “Since urban areas are the source of around 70% of global emissions, city emissions reductions can contribute greatly to Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). It is in national interests to ensure that cities are supported to establish 2050 targets that are compatible with the Paris Agreement goals. Nations have a responsibility to help unlock city action and financing pathways, both to bolster NDCs and advance global progress towards the Paris Agreement goals19”. Cities are also especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Groundwater depletion, fires, food shortages, sea-level rise, extreme temperatures and increased increased frequency of extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and storms which affect city infrastructure and the livelihoods and health of residents20. 15 UNDESA, 2019 16 For comparison in 1950, 30 % of the world’s population was urban, and by 2050 it is projected to be 68 % 17 UNDESA, 2019 18 Kapos, 2019 19 GCoM, 2019 20 REN 21, 2019 21 CUT, 2019 Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions 14 through Urban Climate Action 5% Such a low-carbon urban transition will need Waste Sector big investments, and quickly, but they are very 16% productive, attractive investments, and by Materials Efficiency empowering local governments and enabling (and accounting for) urban climate action, can offer cost-effective means to achieve national emission targets. By considering sectoral targets and actions through an ‘urban lens’ also ensures great policy coherence and alignment and 21% leverages greater opportunity for mitigation and 58% Transport Sector Buildings Sector adaptation potential. National and governments therefore have a huge opportunity to further reduce their emissions and to secure international recognition for their climate leadership (at national and sub-national Figure 3: Sectoral breakdown of technically feasible and available mitigation measures to achieve 90% reduction in GHG (based on CUT 2019 figures) level) and support for their climate actions by including more urban content in their NDCs. For example, if the urban water sector were to At the same time, these commitments offer a become carbon neutral, it could contribute the chance for national governments to advance equivalent of 20% of the sum of committed their domestic agenda and sub-national reductions by all countries in the Paris governments to deliver local climate action, Agreement22. For regions with sufficient rainfall, collectively resulting in more resilient, healthier, green infrastructures and urban vegetation can more liveable and more productive cities and reduce urban heat island effects and thus lower thereby stimulate national socio-economic needs for cooling and energy23. development. Climate change impacts on urban areas are increasing. Key The specific impacts on each city will depend on the issues include rising temperatures, heat stress, water security actual changes in climate experienced (for example, higher and pollution, sea-level rise and storm surges, extreme temperatures or increased rainfall), which will vary from weather events, heavy rainfall and strong winds, inland place to place25. Effective climate adaptation is possible, but flooding, food insecurity, and ground water salination. it requires risk-reducing infrastructure, effective institutions, the capacity to learn from past events, and finance, which is A significant portion of the world’s urban areas are located lacking in many towns and cities. along coastlines, where rising sea levels and storms threaten inhabitants and infrastructure with flooding and strong This means there will probably be considerable residual loss winds . Cities in low-elevation coastal zones, for instance, 24 and damage, arising from the climate change impacts that face the combined threat of sea-level rise and storm surges. cities cannot cope with or adapt to. At present, the extent of Often industrial centres are located on estuaries and close to this loss and damage is difficult to quantify, and nobody really urban areas and ports. knows what policy changes are needed to address this at local and national scales26. 22 Ballard, S et al (2018) 23 The Urban Land Trust (2016) 24 REN21, 2019 25 World Bank, 2011 26 https://www.iied.org/climate-related-loss-damage-cities-exploring-new-urban-frontier Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions through Urban Climate Action 15 Cities are vital economic and financial centres, Articulating urban climate action as a national accounting for more than 80% of global GDP27. priority within the NDC is necessary for Poorly managed cities exacerbate enormous attracting financing and leveraging political new demands for energy and infrastructure commitment. The NDC revision process provides investment. A growing number of cities are the platform to incorporate new technology joining various non-state actor partnerships, innovations and send investment messages to to become more efficient, sustainable and low the private sector. If adding new- in this case emitting28. urban climate - policies and actions that result in lower cumulative emissions than the combined This provides an opportunity to strengthen their impact of targets, policies, and actions under the A significant voice, increase advocacy capacity, share learning existing NDC, they enhance ambition31. portion of the and inspire other cities to act. Some cities have world’s urban even committed to climate action that is more We have a possibility here to boost urban- areas are located ambitious than the targets of their national rural resource efficiency to support resilient, along coastlines, governments and can encourage national sustainable development and build on cities’ where rising sea officials to commit to more ambitious climate ambitious climate and resilience plans. It levels and storms action. consolidates the commitment of national threaten inhabitants governments to achieving the Sustainable and infrastructure Policy momentum across various levels of Development Goals – in particular SDG 11 ‘make with flooding and government, as well as a surge in climate action cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, strong winds. commitments by non-state actors, is creating resilient and sustainable’. opportunities for countries to enhance the ambition of their NDCs29. At the subnational level, There is an opportunity to enhance policy for example, over 70 large cities housing 425 coherence, governance and financing across million people have committed to go carbon- different levels of government and thus reduce neutral by 2050 or sooner30. the risk of maladaptation. Ultimately no country would be able to deliver the Paris targets without Including urban content and human settlements action from the subnational level, especially in in NDCs presents an opportunity to enhance highly urbanised countries. As UN Secretary- ambition and implementation through General António Guterres said, cities are where strengthening collaboration across all levels of the climate battle will largely be won or lost32. government and engaging with multi-sectoral stakeholders in decision making to achieve both mitigation and adaptation objectives. 27 REN 21, 2019 28, 29, 30, 31 UNEP, 2019 Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions 16 through Urban Climate Action How can national governments support urban climate action to deliver on their NDCs? Including urban content in the NDCs can motorised travel and travel length), strengthen the role of local and sub-national ‘shift’ (from most energy-intensive and governments in the delivery and implementation polluting modes of transport towards e.g of NDC commitments. One shortcoming of walking and cycling) and ‘improve’ (fuel current NDCs is that they are difficult for many efficiency and integrating renewables into sub-national actors to translate into concrete transport)33. action. However, a focus on cities can foster NDCs are just one proxy for national policy approaches that are more cross-cutting, alignment on cities and climate change, let alone integrating several end-use sectors by e.g policy implementation. Several countries have reducing the absolute number of vehicles longstanding commitments to urban climate on the road or the average length of trips action that are not captured in their NDCs. Many by, for example, promoting mixed use and more countries have urban-relevant pledges in compact urban growth, strengthening their NDCs, promising to reduce emissions from alternative low-emission transit options, buildings, electricity generation, transport and or invest in urban resilience safeguarding waste. people, economies and infrastructure alike. These sector-based commitments are welcome, This is a more cost- and carbon-effective National, and and reflect the reality that policies are crafted solution. Pursuing compact, connected sub-national and budgets allocated through sectoral line and clean cities also offers a huge governments have ministries. opportunity for national governments unique and crucial to achieve faster, fairer economic roles to play in It is therefore important to understand how an development34. supporting national urban lens in addition to a sectoral lens can drive efforts towards further emission reductions. A purely sectoral Compact development improves the zero-carbon, approach to climate change mitigation will miss feasibility of many low-carbon innovations, climate-resilient the full urban opportunity in two key ways: such as mass transit, bike sharing and cities. district heating. However, caution should • An urban spatial approach allows national be taken when focusing on densification, governments to realise the mitigation as if applied without proper attention to and adaptation potential associated with urban design it can, for example, lead to integrated urban systems. A sectoral increased urban heat island effect and focus on transport, for example, offers lower flood resilience capability. opportunities to ‘avoid’ (the need for 32 11th October 2019, https://unfccc.int/news/guterres-cities-are-where-the-climate-battle-will-largely-be-won-or-lost 33 Bongardt, D. et al., (2019) Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions through Urban Climate Action 17 Therefore, taking a spatial and urban can be effective but be politically and design perspective can provide a balanced technically complex . For adequate and overview considering both mitigation and impactful NDCs and related climate action, adaptation priorities in relevant urban or enabling environments for cities and local Engaging cities human settlement contexts. governments have to be put in place. as centres of innovation and • A multi-level or vertically integrated Even the largest and most able city governments education/culture approach allows national governments to can deliver only a fraction of their mitigation and are often realise the mitigation potential associated potential unilaterally, and with over half of already leading with local innovation and experimentation. all urban abatement potential in cities with the way in terms Cities can provide an appropriate populations of less than 750,000 (as of 2015), of climate action, scale to pilot low-carbon innovations, these cities often lack the financial and technical is a valuable including new technologies, policies and resources of their larger counterparts35. asset for national business models. (See Figure 4 Multilevel governments. Governance Diagram) At the same time, local and regional governments have a unique knowledge over their National governments should enable territories and of the climate challenges affecting climate action by local governments them – essential information for the design of and support them in experimenting with tailored and effective national policies. Engaging different technological combinations, cities as centres of innovation and education/ regulatory frameworks and business culture and are often already leading the way in models, and then replicate successful terms of climate action, is a valuable asset for approaches nationwide. national governments. Through continuous dialogue with Indeed, national, and sub-national governments sub-national actors and encouraging have unique and crucial roles to play in sub-national action in NDCs, national supporting national efforts towards zero-carbon, governments can empower and activate climate-resilient cities. Many national and state local governments to pursue more policies are explicitly urban-focused, such as the ambitious climate action within their design of spatial planning guidelines, building jurisdictions, offer lessons for the whole codes and the drawing of municipal boundaries. country and provide evidence for the development of climate-relevant policies. Many more, though not urban-specific, hugely influence the performance of cities, such as The simultaneous rise of networked national energy planning, tax and transport renewables, smart metering and electric policies. In addition, funding and financing vehicles, for instance, is reshaping energy mobilised by national and state governments and transport systems, systems that is crucial for cities, particularly for large can be tested and rolled out in cities infrastructure projects. and build their resilience. Carbon pricing 34 CUT, 2019 Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions 18 through Urban Climate Action The future of cities and of how climate change more ambitious urban content in their NDCs is tackled therefore depend substantially on through a structured dialogue with local decisions made, by national, and sub-national and regional governments and other local governments and the enabling environments stakeholders. (political; financial; technical; legal) that support integrated action at and between these levels to At the same time, it is urgent that local deliver on their respective mandate governments recognise the national commitment made through NDCs and align their It is therefore urgent that national governments local investments and actions towards these recognise the urban opportunity and include shared national goals. Figure 4: The diagram above attempts to characterise some of the main components of effective multi-level governance for climate action, which includes both vertical and horizontal integration. It was developed by the Urban-LEDS project. 03 KEY URBAN OPPORTUNITIES WHEN DEVELOPING NDCs Each country NDC process differs. Some are in- • Key Opportunity #A: Engage a diverse country led processes with broader stakeholder range of urban stakeholders in NDC participation, others may be based on smaller planning. internal processes, drawing on external capacity where necessary. • Key Opportunity #B: Identify concrete policies and actions for integrating human Two main opportunities have been identified for settlements in the NDC, by applying an NDC coordinators, in order to integrate human urban lens. settlement and urban actions into NDCs. The first focuses on the process and the second on the content, of the NDC revision process: Rajkot, India, and Urban-LEDS project city, has installed a 145kWp solar PV system to help power its Aji water treatment plant Checklist for integrating urban climate actions into NDCs Key Opportunity #A: Engage a diverse range of urban stakeholders in NDC planning In the process of the NDC revision: Key Opportunity #B: Identify concrete policies and actions for integrating human settlements in the NDC, by applying an urban lens. In the content of the NDC revision: Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions 22 through Urban Climate Action Key Opportunity #A: Engage a diverse range of urban stakeholders in NDC planning Key Opportunity #A Engage a diverse range of urban stakeholders in NDC planning by : Sub-opportunities: A1. Engage across sectors of all urban-relevant departments/organisations A2. Engage across all levels of government (national, subnational and local) A3. Ensure fair and inclusive urban stakeholder representation A4. Communicate the NDC revision process in a transparent manner A5. Institutionalise the NDC process beyond this 2020 revision A1. Engage across all urban- e.g. the Ministry of Finance36 or Ministry relevant departments/ of Infrastructure. Having multi-sector organisations representation in the development of NDCs is the foundation to ensuring the inclusion of long- Effective urban climate action needs term urban climate actions, and activation of commitment across all urban relevant sectors economy-wide potentials. including water, housing, transport, finance, energy, etc. to including urban measures in the What this looks like in practise will vary, it might NDC depends on decisions additional to national involve regular convening of ministries at the climate and environment departments. national level or working group of civil servants supporting the NDC development. Shifts from road to rail, or increased mass transit requires leadership from national transport ministries; national housing ministries can Chile’s Updated NDC37: Regarding the incentivise energy efficiency and improved resilience of buildings. reduction of emissions, the application of policies and measures for an effective Re-directing national regulations and and permanent reduction of GHG budgets toward low-carbon infrastructure emissions in Chile over time will require a solutions depends on decisions made within multi-sectoral effort. 35 CUT, 2019 36 These are just examples, each country will have different institutional arrangements and ministries Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions through Urban Climate Action 23 Whilst the Paris Agreement was developed at a The NDC Partnership is frequently global level through national governments, state requested to support coordination and local governments, utilities and the private between different levels of government in sector are key implementers of climate policies, an effort to mainstream climate action at Clear frameworks it is therefore essential that their representatives the local level. They have identified ways to govern fiscal are integrated into development of the NDC transfers, revenue of engaging sub-national governments to process in a structured and continuous manner. collection and include: spending across ties of government A2. Engage across all levels of • Multi-stakeholder consultation at the can empower local government (national, sub- local level, authorities to act on national and local) • The use of local climate plans to climate... inspire national actions, Governance structures and regulatory powers will vary at national, regional, state or local level. • Support to local implementation and Therefore, they will hold quite different convening finance39. powers as well as financial and technological capabilities. National and regional governments tend to have State and local governments need the authority primary authority or influence over two thirds and capacity to control a range of own-source of this urban abatement potential. National revenues. Responsible fiscal decentralisation and state governments have primary authority can enhance their accountability for local service over 35% of urban abatement potential, while delivery and underpins their creditworthiness in local governments have primary authority over order to access capital markets38. 28%. For the rest, collaborative climate action is needed across different tiers of government40. National level enabling policies and in many cases decisions around public sector As outlined in the Climate Emergency, Urban expenditure, plays a key role in urban climate Opportunity Report41 “National governments action -firstly, allocating larger portions of can codify the roles, rights (and duties) of ministerial budgets to sustainable urban subnational governments in law. It is particularly infrastructure and secondly, creating the important to clarify the revenue streams enabling environment for local government to available to municipal governments, and the implement climate action. conditions under which they can use debt financing. In the context of NDCs it is essential to facilitate engagement from all levels and Clear frameworks to govern fiscal transfers, sectors of government, in order to identify revenue collection and spending across ties of those opportunities appropriate for national government can empower local authorities to act government (e.g. road to rail programmes) or on climate change, give confidence to investors sub-national (residential solar water heaters) and lenders looking to finance sustainable urban and allocate financial autonomy accordingly. infrastructure and offer security to national governments that are ultimately liable for subnational debts”. 37 Government of Chile, 2020 38 CUT, 2019 39 NDCP, 2020a 40 CUT, 2019 Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions 24 through Urban Climate Action Case Study Box 1: Kenya’s ‘Whole of Government Approach’. In 2016, Kenya became one of the first African countries to pass climate change legislation in the form of the Climate Change Act. Leaders understood that in order to succeed in boosting climate resilience and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, they would need all hands on deck. They call it a “whole-of- government approach,” and climate change units were created in every governmental ministry, state agency and county government. The Kenyan government seeks to integrate climate change at the national and sub-national levels, including a high-level climate change council, which reports to the president (GIZ Country Case Study). Women and men may have different constraints, A3. Ensure fair and inclusive urban risk, opportunities, and decision-making power, stakeholder representation therefore the need for gender responsive measures are required.43,44 Urban stakeholders outside of government should also be invited to participate and advise on the most effective measures to include in Who are ‘Urban Stakeholders’?: the NDC. It’s important to be inclusive in the This will vary on a country basis but stakeholder process and bring in representatives could be drawn from; city governments from all walks of urban life, housing associations, and local authorities, utilities, private infrastructure and services, different civil society groups, businesses and institutions. sector (e.g. property developers), community organisations (particularly Also assessing how the different needs, those representing vulnerable groups, opportunities and impacts of urban climate such as the urban poor or informal change on men and women and youth have to workers). Private sector and public be considered in the NDC42. Gender differentiated private collaborations within and impacts are clearly visible in urban and human around urban areas (e.g. insurance settlements, particularly in key climate sectors, companies, designers, informal vendors, such as access to energy (costs of electricity manufacturers) are key to ensuring long connection and public lighting), transport, water term investment in e.g. renewable energy, management, waste management, etc. e-mobility, energy efficient buildings. We should not assume that all persons in a household have the same resources (for One role for local government can be to example ability to access finance to purchase adequately reflect and channel inputs from clean stoves in the energy sector or to avail of such a diverse group of stakeholders to national tax incentives for electric cars; or subsidies to decision-making bodies. Another idea could be to build flood barrages for resilience; or control over organise regional NDC workshops and convening land to be able to changing farming practices). dedicated urban working groups to enable this. 41 CUT, 2019 42 UNDP , 2019b 43 UNDP, 2019b Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions through Urban Climate Action 25 We have already seen different countries shape development of their climate policies and NDC engagement processes that suit the governance development. and institutional arrangements that underpin the Case Study Box 2 Inclusive stakeholder processes in Chile: Chile has introduced two innovative solutions to coordinate subnational action to adapt to climate change: Regional Committees on Climate Change (CORECCs for their acronym in Spanish) and regional GHG inventories. The CORECCs have been developed in the context of Chile’s National Action Plan on Climate Change 2017-2022. They are chaired by the regional governor and involve public entities (regional representatives of ministries, regional councils, and municipalities) as well as businesses, citizens, NGOs and academia. To this date (May 2018), 14 out of 15 regions in Chile have already established a CORECC. It is expected that the committees will play a key role in building a bridge between a climate change perspective and regional development plans, regional climate finance and local implementation45. Norway’s Second NDC46: In 2018 Norway held two Talanoa Dialogues47. One between the Minister for Climate and Environment and mayors (municipalities) and one initiated by Norwegian environmental organisations and the Parliament. A4. Communicate the NDC revision process in a This could include the timelines for the revision transparent manner process, the line ministry/organisation in charge and contact details, potential workshops The NDC revision and submission process is for engagement – or if there are no specific country-driven and governed by the UNFCCC engagement opportunities, then alternatives framework, and therefore in reality each country for submitting recommendations or opinions will be facilitating their domestic process actively solicited from urban groups. slightly differently. Whether driven by a national government department or dedicated national/ Convening urban-focused workshops can international expert, the NDC process should be enhance ambition and enable collaboration. communicated somewhere. Ensuring communication around the NDC revision process will support transparency, participation and broader buy in. 44 See further more detailed studies on the role of gender in NDC development in UNDP 2019b and UNDP 2016 45 GIZ, 2018a 46 Government of Norway, 2020 Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions 26 through Urban Climate Action Case Study Box 3: Communications in the Peruvian NDC: Peru set up an ambitious whole-of-society process called Dialoguemos NDC (“let’s talk about the NDCs”). After a successful first phase of national consultations, a second one has been launched at the local level. This process should inform the government in its NDC enhancement process. As of late July 2019, local consultations had been organised in the regions of Junín, Ucayalí, Arequipa and Peruvian Amazon. Peru as a following step after the Dialoguemos programme, Peru has requested support in establishing agreements with local governments on NDC implementation. These will aim at identifying financial resources for implementation. Following the communication strategy prepared early on in the process, several actions in this regard were adopted, such as: Formation of the Multi-Sectoral Communications Team (Grupo de Trabajo Multisectorial, GTM); Creation of the GTM-NDC newsletter with press releases and other communication materials, photographs and videos; Setting up of a NDC website; Carrying out a national study on perceptions of climate change by citizens, to be used as baseline for strengthening the sectoral communications regarding the NDC48. A5. Institutionalise the NDC national government. Coordinated discussions process beyond 2020 are needed between city and national levels to ensure data collection and indicators are aligned The NDC revision process is due every 5 and realistic. years and therefore a clear policy space needs to be carved out for articulating how this will be achieved across all levels and Moldova’s Updated NDC49: Identify sectors of government at a country level. monitoring indicators, including gender- Institutionalisation of the process is necessary to disaggregated ones, to monitor the provide a framework for continuously developing implementation of adaptation actions at urban mitigation and adaption opportunities the community/city level. and developing strategies for implementing sustainable urban infrastructure. When planning urban climate action within the Mechanisms need to be implemented to account NDC, it is necessary to consider how to link for existing sub-national and national urban data collection from urban areas through sub- climate actions, and ensure they add up to national government to the national level in the long-term climate objectives. Policy continuity long term, to demonstrate contribution towards is also important to influence long term urban NDC targets. Many cities have already developed investment plans. a GHG inventory or resilience tracking tools, however harmonising and standardising data Often the implementation of data collection collection is still not consistent, which makes and Monitoring, Reporting and Verification aggregation at a national level challenging – (MRV) (in the context of the transparency although it is possible. frameworks under the UNFCCC) falls on sub- 47 These are inclusive, participatory and transparent dialogues and articulated in Paris Decision 1/CP.21 48 GIZ, 2018b Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions through Urban Climate Action 27 Case Study Box 4: Integrating data systems in Indonesia50: The Sign-SMART database is used to collate the National GHG Inventory, and is a simplification of the widely accessible IPCC 2006 method. The system assists in facilitating coordination of the relevant ministries and agencies. Through this web-based system, data on the activities of relevant agencies, including from the sub-national levels, can be delivered to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry. It combines a top-down approach (using national aggregated data with national ministries/ institutions involvement) with bottom-up data (using sub-national aggregated data with involvement of local government units (LGUs). Indonesia is also piloting the Global Protocol for Community- Scale Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories (GPC) which was jointly developed by ICLEI, the World Resources Institute and C40. When used by cities, it allows consistency making comparisons between cities more accurate, and makes it possible to aggregate local, sub-national, and national government GHG emissions data to allow for more credible and meaningful reporting. Furthermore, the GPC provides methodology to estimate city-induced emissions comprising both direct and indirect emissions resulting from activities within the city boundaries. GPC is a consumption based GHG inventory which accommodates transboundary emissions. Under the Urban-LEDS II project a collaboration is underway with the national government of Indonesia to harmonise these two reporting frameworks to further enhance the national-reporting framework of Indonesia and align it with global reporting frameworks. It is also necessary to build capacity of local government to engage in the NDC process and to implement the targeted actions and reporting outlined within it. Update NDC Chile51: In 2020, Chile Lao PDR 1st NDC52: “Capacity building will develop a ‘Strategy for “Capacity on Sustainable and integrated urban Development and Climate Empowerment” planning for the implementation of and will begin its implementation in 2021, transport focused NAMAs”. with the aim of strengthening the sectoral, national and subnational capacities of citizens and organisations (public and private, from academia and civil society), to achieve national mitigation and adaptation targets. 49 Government of the Republic of Moldova, 2020 50 ICLEI Southeast Asia Secretariat 51 Government of Chile, 2020 52 Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 2015 Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions 28 through Urban Climate Action Key Opportunity #B: Identify concrete policies and actions for integrating human settlements in the NDC Key Opportunity #B: Identify concrete policies and actions for integrating human settlements in the NDC by: Sub-opportunities: B1. Build on existing city climate and resilience plans and actions that are already contributing to NDC targets B2. Assess alignment with existing urban policy B3. Prioritize key urban climate opportunities B3.1 Key Mitigation opportunities B3.2 Key Adaptation opportunities B4. Outline a clear finance strategy for each urban mitigation and adaptation opportunity B5. Allocate responsibility, time frames, monitoring frameworks and budgets B6. Evaluate technology options that may enhance decarbonisation and resilience of urban environment A key starting point is to review the initial NDC, B1. Build on existing city climate and identify whether urban climate actions and resilience plans and have been included, and if so, can they be actions that are already strengthened? contributing to NDC targets If there is no specific reference to urban Cities play a critical role in the achievement of mitigation or adaptation, consider which relevant climate actions and many cities are already sectors referred to in the NDC, have specific contributing to NDC targets. Most probably, each urban relevance (e.g. transport, buildings, country can identify cities that have outstanding infrastructure, land use planning) which could leadership and results to drive ambition and be enhanced to include more ambitious urban implementation of climate action. climate priorities and actions. Almost 10,000 cities and local governments have Consider opportunities for urban climate action set emissions reduction targets as well as a in an integrated manner that could reap both strategy on how to deliver on their commitments, mitigation and adaptation benefits. a repository can be found here (Global Covenant Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions through Urban Climate Action 29 of Mayors53, Non-State Actor Zone for Climate accounting, transparency, and recognition) to Action Climate Action54 and Carbon Disclosure demonstrate any progress towards national Project ‘A Cities’55). These cities provide targets. Looking to actions occurring at city motivation, reference and experiences for level highlights opportunities for replication national peers and national context specific and scaling up. These experiences are indeed suggestions on how to scale up action. particularly relevant not only in the definition of NDCs but also in the subsequent design of It is important to ensure city level actions evidence-based national policies to spur climate are being captured in the NDCs (in terms of action. Case Study Box 5: Building on local action in the Dominican Republic: As part of its NDC update process, the Dominican Republic is looking for detailed information on local climate actions currently being implemented by subnational governments and non-state actors. This will allow the country to monitor progress and enable increased ambition in national targets. The Dominican Republic is also planning to establish sub-government structures and bodies to set local targets and oversee NDC implementation56. Japan’s 1st NDC: “Promotion of activities based on action plans of local governments”. B2. Assess alignment with existing For those countries that do not mention urban urban policy issues in their NDCs, this doesn’t mean that they do not have policies in place or do not address In determining new policies and actions to this issue. enhance NDC ambition, it is important to consider whether the new policies overlap with Aligning a national NDC target with sectoral existing policies and targets, as the extent of urban-relevant strategies or policies (e.g. such overlap would limit ambition57. transport master plan, building codes) provide an opportunity to mutually reinforce objectives and Whilst national climate strategies tend to be raise awareness. considered in the development of NDCs, there are many urban-relevant policies. 53 https://www.globalcovenantofmayors.org/our-cities/ 54 https://climateaction.unfccc.int/views/total-actions.html 55 https://www.cdp.net/en/cities/cities-scores#cbb37401d648375c9a32619279b03418 56 NDCP, 2020a 57 WRI, 2017 Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions 30 through Urban Climate Action Myanmar’s inclusion of ‘sustainable urban development’ in their INDC58 was a progressive foresight for a country that in 2015 had a 70% rural population and contributed only 0.4%59 to global GHG emissions. This inclusion could be attributed to three main aspects. Firstly, there was incipient political awareness of the up and coming challenges of urbanisation (during 2012–2015, the vehicle fleet alone in the Yangon Region grew 37%60). Secondly, at the time of the INDC development, various policy processes were underway including the National Environmental Policy, the Roadmap for the National Urban Policy, as well as the National Climate Change Policy, Strategy, and 6 sectoral plans. One which focusing on Resilient, inclusive and sustainable cities and towns61. Therefore, active drafting teams and consultations with, for example, township (district) representatives, were already underway, which the INDC could draw on. And thirdly, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation developing the INDC had a resident Chief Technical Advisor on climate change, with background on urban development and planning, which ensured issues of urban climate change were also reflected. The on-going NDC revision process indicates that urban issues remain prominent, insofar that it builds on the existing Climate Change Policies and Strategies adopted in 2019, in which the urban pillar is very structured and detailed. In the urban context, this is particularly pertinent plans (as part of the Sendai Framework) and in relation to national and local urbanisation of course SDG 11 aiming to make cities and policies, such as National Urban Policies (NUPs), human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and Disaster Response or Disaster management sustainable. The Climate Emergency, Urban Chile’s 2nd NDC63: “By 2030, the National Opportunity report62 finds that only Policy for Disaster Risk Reduction Colombia, Fiji, Indonesia, Mongolia, 2019-2030 will be fully implemented, Rwanda, South Sudan and Tonga have and its content will be harmonised with both NUPs and NDCs that address this the Sendai Framework for Disaster issue, although many more countries Risk Reduction, the Paris Agreement have NDCs and NUPs that speak to urban and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable adaptation and resilience. Development. This policy instrument will also be reviewed by 2023”. 58 INDC: Intended Nationally Determined Contribution. Government of Myanmar (2015) 59 CAIT WRI, including LULUCF 60 https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/189083/mya-urban-transport.pdf 61 http://myanmarccalliance.org/mcca/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/MCCMP_ENG_READY-TO-PRINT_27-May-2019.pdf 62 CUT, 2019 63 Government of Chile, 2020 Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions through Urban Climate Action 31 B3. Prioritize key urban climate Other cross-cutting issues for increasing urban opportunities climate action include focusing on developing For the purposes of this guide, the opportunities policy, legal, and institutional frameworks that for urban climate action have been presented enable climate action by local governments; in terms of mitigation and adaptation, from a establishing climate funds that local sectoral perspective. governments can apply to as a way to provide them with access to international climate However, considering the inter-relationships resources; developing guidance for local level between mitigation and adaptation benefits climate action planning; or establishing an MRV when prioritising urban climate actions can mechanism that allows for consolidated national leverage even greater opportunity and long- level reporting on progress that includes local term resilience. actions and so on. For example the reduction of food loss and Such policy measures are completely waste represents a cross-cutting opportunity appropriate to include in an NDC, and some in the context of climate action, as it addresses countries have made the links between focusing both adaptation and mitigation objectives on both mitigation and adaptation measures. with its collective contributions towards enabling more productive, resilient and low- Opportunities have been presented sectorally emission food systems64. Or combining water across mitigation and adaptation as this in a efficiency measures and innovative urban water natural entry point into the NDC process, and management systems will both decarbonise many cities are currently working in this manner. water consumption and maintain a healthier However, in the long-term looking more cross- water supply. sectorally at urban issues would be beneficial. Many nature based solutions (such as bio- B3.1 Key urban mitigation opportunities retention, restoration of ecosystems) exist to address key hazards in urban areas, and urban Whilst NDCs are often organised sectorally, forests act as both carbon sinks and as a applying an urban and human settlement lens means of responding to the urban heat island can realise new opportunities to the selection effect. Or conservation of urban watersheds and of suitable sectoral options e.g. decarbonising coastal mangroves. Just a few examples of of transport in cities (mass transit, cycling, interventions that enhance both mitigation and walking all enabled by density) will differ to adaptation decarbonising transport in rural areas. Urban areas present a unique opportunity to Costa Rica’s NDC65: “commits to having capitalise on intelligent spatial planning to in every city, by 2020, and every coastline reduce emissions. Thinking in mid-to long-term county in the country, a land use plan planning horizons for climate change at an urban which considers vulnerabilities to climate level is important in the spatial planning process, change and measures for increasing as patterns of settlement can be “locked in” for foreseeable future adaptation and mitigation”. 64 FAO, 2017 65 Government of Costa Rica, 2015 Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions 32 through Urban Climate Action Half of the mitigation potential comes from However, many rapidly developing cities lack decarbonising urban electricity66. A sizable share the financial, technological, institutional and of emissions could be further avoided through governance capacity required for effective city-level mitigation options, such as spatial mitigation70. The appropriate options will planning (to ensure connectivity, accessibility, need to be discussed as part of an inclusive mixed land-use, and an appropriate level of stakeholder process and be based on best density), improving transit options, increasing available technical evidence (e.g. city-wide and co-locating employment and residential marginal cost abatement, or city level analyses). densities, and increasing green spaces67. Urban mitigation priorities may vary across developing, rapidly urbanising, and developed In cities, modern renewables can provide thermal countries, and the profile of urban areas and energy buildings, water & process heating, human settlements in that country context and cooling68,69. The greatest potential for also need to be considered. A variety of urban mitigating greenhouse gas emissions may lie in mitigation opportunities (including both policies measures taken in the rapidly developing cities in and measures) that have been identified across industrialising countries. literature/experts, include, for example: Table 1 Urban climate mitigation opportunities presented sectorally (based on GIZ71, CUT 72, REN2173) URBAN CLIMATE MITIGATION OPPORTUNITIES District heating & cooling; energy efficiency; clean energy procurement; decarbonisation of electricity supply (nationally and/or locally) through decentralised and renewable energy options; remove short lived climate Energy pollutants (black carbon, HFCs); fuel switching, more efficient cooking and water heating in residential buildings; indoor plants can improve air quality; Green building codes; green roofs, facades and vertical gardens; retrofitting existing buildings; reduced use of Buildings materials in building construction; sustainable building materials procurement; more efficient space heating and cooling in all buildings; … Mass transit; smart shared transport; a shift from using private cars to public transport, cycling and walking; more efficient and electric vehicles; electric charging points; Reduction of traffic by creation of walkable Transport & Mobility compact mixed-use neighbourhoods; provision of public transport system; safe bicycle network; and promotion of efficient and electric vehicles; remove short lived climate pollutants (black carbon); logistics improvement; using green infrastructure to protect transport lines while storing carbon; Improved cement production processes; waste prevention; waste separation recycling, reuse; improving solid Materials & Waste waste management; 3R (reduce, reuse, and recycle) and circular economy strategies; Reduce food waste and loss; waste-to-energy; methane capture and utilisation; Reduction of land consumption through compact urban design (e.g. establishing climate friendly building codes, densification where appropriate, designation of protected areas and restricted zones for settlements); Urban Planning NBS e.g. hybrid or green infrastructure, urban forests, parks, green corridors ; blue carbon ecosystems (mangrove forests, seagrass areas); Energy efficiency of water and wastewater treatment plants and the use of renewable energies; waste Water & Sewage reduction; water reuse; NBS e.g. hybrid to green infrastructure: sustainable urban drainage (SuDs), bioswales, ponds, urban wetlands; 66 CUT, 2019: Primarily by generating electricity from non-emitting technologies such as solar, wind, hydro, nuclear, biomass and geothermal power – as well as carbon capture and storage technologies. 67 UNEP, 2019 68 REN 21, 2019 69 UNEP, 2019 70 University of Cambridge and ICLEI (2014) 71 BMZ (forthcoming June 2020) 72 CUT, 2019 73 REN 21, 2019 Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions through Urban Climate Action 33 Examples of NDCs where urban mitigation has been included Transport Suriname’s 2nd NDC74 has added Transport and Infrastructure (from it’s first NDC); “Transport is a large and growing source of emissions. With more than two thirds of the population living in and around the capital, Paramaribo, the combined challenge of increasing resilience of urban infrastructure and reducing transport emissions defines Suriname’s approach to the sector. A combination of investment and regulation is included as a contribution.” China’s NDC75: “To develop a green and low-carbon transportation system, optimising means of transportation, properly allocating public transport resources in cities, giving priority to the development of public transportation and encouraging the development and use of low-carbon and environment-friendly means of transport”. Japan’s 1st NDC76: Urban related measures in transport sector include “promotion of public transport, modal shift to railway, energy consumption efficiency improvement of railways, promotion of car sharing” Building Codes Uganda’s NDC77: “Ensuring that land use plans and building codes reflect the need to make public and private buildings more climate resilient” Malawi’s NDC78: “Increase use of soil-cement stabilised block and rice husk ash blended cement to around 10% of current cement production…develop and implement climate related building codes/standards. Revise existing building standards in line with climate change” Energy Cameroon’s NDC79: “Construction of a national 225 kv line to interconnect all cities, cross- country power grid (between adjacent cities)” Japan’s 1st NDC80: “Promotion thermal insulation in renovation of existing houses; Promotion of nationwide campaigns (thorough promotion of Cool Biz/Warm Biz, repair of local government buildings). (Non-energy) reduction of municipal solid waste incineration” 74 Government of The Republic of Suriname, 2019 75 Government of China, 2016 76 Government of Japan 2016 & 2020 77 Government of Uganda, 2015 78 Government of Malawi, 2017 79 Government of Cameroon, 2016 80 Government of Japan 2016 & 2020 Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions 34 through Urban Climate Action B3.2 Prioritize key urban adaptation and Therefore, where available, the results of resilience opportunities national, regional and local climate data and risk Urban climate adaptation and resilience assessments need to be reflected in an NDC, measures are very context specific and vary and several countries have done so through the depending on regional and local climate hazards, inclusion of specific coastal resilience or urban the geography (coastal, inland, mountains), the adaptation content. Various NDC’s have outlined vulnerability of communities, and many more urban adaptation and resilience measures: factors. Liberia’s NDC81: “Building of coastal defence walls to reduce the vulnerability of urban coastal areas. Develop and implement Coastal Zone policy, strategy and management plan. As 70% of the population and thus the major human concentration are on the coast, this planning measure involves cities.” Fiji’s NDC82: “There is a need for strengthening the role of local governments in building resilience: Review the town plan regulations to facilitate the enforcement of zoning and buffer zones for coastal areas, river banks, high risk areas and mangrove areas” Dominica’s NDC83: “Vulnerability of human settlements in Dominica to existing weather and climate change can be viewed in terms of risks from coastal processes, inland flooding, and landslides. A consistent feature of human settlements in Dominica is the vulnerability of roads and buildings to storm surge flooding and landslides”. Singapore’s NDC84: “Extensive roadside tree planting contributes to moderating temperatures in the heart of the city. Over 300 parks and a network of park connectors provide relief from the hot urban tropical climate. Large freshwater bodies surrounded by forested catchments help to ameliorate the urban island heat effect and conserve our rich natural heritage of flora and fauna. Singapore will continue efforts to safeguard its biodiversity despite an urban environment”. Japan’s NDC85: “considers the promotion of measures for energy efficiency and conservation/ renewable energy in [the] water business…low-carbonisation of cities by improving urban thermal environments through measures against the urban heat island effect” 81 Government of the Republic of Liberia, 2018 82 Government of Fiji, 2016 83 Government of Dominica, 2016 84 Government of Singapore, 2016 85 Government of Japan 2016 & 2020 Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions through Urban Climate Action 35 If not done already, an in-country process (depending on hazards and vulnerabilities) including relevant urban stakeholders to analyse and then identify actions for different hazards and vulnerabilities, and subsequently urban-relevant sectors of the economy, and identify and prioritize urban adaptation and potential prioritisation of the most vulnerable resilience measures across key sectors will communities in cities identify the most appropriate opportunities. Table 2 below, as an example, takes 5 sectors- In order to be able to implement adaptation urban infrastructure, water, land use planning, actions it is necessary be able to assess coastal & maritime sector, and energy– vulnerabilities (e.g. poverty, informality) and also populated with indicative options outlined in to assess what is needed to create readiness/ literature. capacity to address adaptation in terms of finance, governance, data/information, planning. Other sectors could include health, tourism, and more broadly considering how adaptive capacity A potential approach could be to firstly to extract relates to disaster risk management. the most pressing regional climate impacts Table 2 INDICATIVE EXAMPLE: The key urban adaptation opportunities for selected sectors, that have been identified across literature86: Hazards Rising temperatures Drought Intense precipitation Coastal hazards exacerbate urban heat flooding, landslides, soil islands & amplify heat erosion Sea level rise, storm waves surge, coastal erosions SECTOR MEASURES MEASURES MEASURES MEASURES Urban Infrastructure Optimisation of building Optimise operational Optimise site selection; Careful site selection Schools; hospitals; orientation & building water consumption hazard proof housing of new developments; housing; transit; roads fabric; passive ventilation and reuse; Modify and infrastructure; stringent building codes; etc. design; Mitigating radiant processing techniques; include green and brown NBS: coastal sand load; Reducing internal Set incremental water drainage; upgrade dunes and mangrove air temperature; manage recycling targets; informal settlements; ecosystems as buffers. working hours seasonally; rainwater harvesting; NBS: permeable NBS: urban forests; parks, watershed management; pavements; urban trees, grey-to-green or integrated water resource wetlands to gather excess hybrid infrastructure. management rain. Water Supply & Water security and water Set water consumption Flood barriers; Protection & restoration Discharge management: NBS targets for industry; Sustainable Urban of mangroves or coastal measures can address Identify alternatives for Drainage Systems (SUDS) marshland and/or urban heat and water high water consuming ; urban wetlands to gather mangroves; SUDS management such as industrial processes ; excess rain; bioswales; urban green areas and integrated water resource green dykes; wetlands, which improve management of the area water flow and cool down surrounding the urban areas. area. 86 Such as: IAEA (2019), FAO (2017), Kapos et al (2019), Kennedy et al (2019), Davis et al (2015), Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (2019). Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions 36 through Urban Climate Action Land Use Planning Provision of cool spaces Increased urban tree Watershed management Protection & restoration during heat waves; cover and green spaces; to reduce volume and of coastal marshland, introduce green canopies, water protection flow of water; ‘Bio- mangroves and sand green corridors for air activities in urban retention’ (green space, dunes; protection of flow across the city, green source watersheds; green roofs, bio swales); coral reefs and sea grass spaces and green roofs to integrated water resource urban wetlands to gather areas. Zoning policies reduce heat island effect. management of the area excess rain; bioswales; designating some surrounding the urban green dykes; renature areas as off-limits for area rivers to regain natural construction. and better managed river flow. Coastal & Maritime NBS measures, such as Integrated water resource Businesses and Construction of sea Ports, residential, urban green areas and management and housing associations/ walls; monitoring of transport, industry wetlands, reduce heat integrated coastal zone developers to consider water levels; community island effect in urban management. historical & future flood based early warning coastal areas maps; keep up to date systems; Protection & atlas of flood-prone restoration of mangroves areas, Integrated water and sand dunes. resource management Optimise site selection of and integrated coastal production, transport and zone management, warehousing facilities. green dykes, coastal Integrated water ecosystem restoration resource management and management. Upland and integrated coastal ecosystem management. zone management. Energy Wind: consider extreme Wind: Modify turbine Raise elevation of backup Site selection & location temperature ranges in design and blade diesel generators e.g: raise dykes and other turbine material and coatings; Increase the protective embankments lubricant selection frequency of blade Electricity grid: adjust cleaning & maintenance wind loading standards Wind: enhance resource Solar PV: install cooling to projected future assessment and site facilities to reduce Thermal power: Reuse conditions; re-route selection according to efficiency losses: Install wastewater, recover lines across open reas changing conditions passive cooling (natural evaporated water in or along roads; cut back air flows) for photovoltaic recirculating systems; vegetation regularly to panels or apply active Improve wet cooling; safe distance; Invest in cooling by forced air or install dry cooling better storm & hurricane liquid coolants forecasting tools; Consider placing cables Electricity grid: Consider underground higher temperatures in design; manage underneath vegetation to keep it at a distance from cables; consider placing cables underground Or alternatively consider taking any urban and ice, solar power to overheating or dust climate challenges listed in the NDC to identify storms, where thermal & nuclear power are potential response measures, and then allocate more vulnerable to sea level rise, or drought,. the action to the relevant sector it relates to. Therefore, it’s essential to go through this ‘hazards – impacts – measures’ within each Key hazards and measures will differ within sector. sectors. Take the energy sector, where wind turbines are more vulnerable to storms Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions through Urban Climate Action 37 It is also important to consider the adaptative capacity and vulnerability of communities, particularly those more marginalised. The Spectrum of Urban Adaptive Capacity (from the IPCC 5th Assessment report) suggests that 1 billion urban dwellers live in urban areas with very little capacity to adapt to climate change and another 1.5 billion live in urban centres with only some capacity. Few live in urban centres with climate resilience87. Roughly one billion people live in slums or informal settlements, many of which are located in areas vulnerable to climate hazards – their vulnerability compounded by inter-linked socio-economic, ecological, and infrastructure conditions. For these people, climate risks are intensified by lack of housing, services, and infrastructure; environmental degradation due to unsustainable urban development; and lack of integrated planning88. Sex-disaggregated and gender sensitive data should also be considered to take into account gender differentiated conditions. B4. Outline a clear finance strategy Framing climate actions within the NDC in such for each urban mitigation and a way that they have the greatest opportunities adaptation opportunity for attracting finance (e.g as bankable projects, or ambitious climate projects) depending on Finance is a key pillar of the Paris Agreement what kind of finance (public/international/ and NDCs89, and identifying how actions will be private) or instrument (grant/loan/risk financed is critical for reaching implementation. mitigation/equity), would be a strategic step Mobilisation of innovative finance also underpins towards increasing implementation. the efforts to enhance ambition. Financing requirements to increase urban mitigation Where NDCs are conditional on financial and adaptation actions within NDCs will support, the financial strategy could encourage require a substantial shift in both long-term innovative local leaders to try to mobilise national budget expenditure as well as better international resources. Sustainable urban collaboration between all public and private climate actions articulated in NDCs offer sector actors in order to mobilise finance that opportunities to attract finance across public enables impacts at the local level . A city’s ability and private finance institutions, and through to make climate-smart investments, particularly international climate finance92. in emerging economies, often relies on the reallocation of existing budgets and the ability to raise revenue90.91 87 Satterthwaite et al., 2020 88 Kapos, 2019 89 In particular 2.1 (c) of the Paris Agreement Making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development. 90 IFC, 2018 91 See C40s City Finance Facility report on investment and revenue opportunities for municipalities 92 The NDC Partnership has developed the Climate Finance Explorer which filters out climate funds and those that sub-nationals are able to apply for: http://ndcpartnership.org/toolbox/climate-finance-explorer. Many of the multilateral banks have also set up specific NDC related support facilities. Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions 38 through Urban Climate Action Finance mechanisms supporting sub-national climate action aligned with NDCs Many International Climate Finance mechanisms are supporting activities by national and sub- national government that are aligned with NDCs, therefore articulating urban climate action within the NDC is a means of attracting finance. Examples of explicit reference of international climate finance alignment with NDC: In the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Investment Criteria Indicators Policy Document (Section 2.5, Point 10). ‘Project proposals should clearly describe how the proposed activities align with the country’s NDC and other relevant national plans, and how the funding proposal will help to achieve the NDC or these plans by making progress against specific targets defined in national climate policies and strategies, such as nationally appropriate mitigation actions and national adaptation plans’93. More specifically relating to urban projects, technical GCF guidelines state ‘projects dealing with cities and climate change will be considered under the following sectors listed: Decarbonisation of the energy sector; Improving energy efficiency in building stocks; mobility and transport; urban form; adaptation to climate change, materials and material flow, improving waste management, urban water and sanitation94. The Clean Technology Centres & Networks (CTCN) Theory of Change framework requires projects to demonstrate that: “Environmentally sound technologies are developed, transferred and deployed for low-carbon and resilient development in developing countries in response to National Determined Contributions, National Adaptation Plans and national plans” 95 The Adaptation Fund also requires consistency with national sustainable development strategies, such as national communications and national adaptation programmes of action and other relevant instruments96. Some of the major climate funds are recognising that gender equality is important for the increased impact of funding and the achievement of adaptation and mitigation objectives. The GCF and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) have established gender policies recognising the importance of gender in the impact of and access to funding97. An example of gender mainstreaming for an urban climate action comes from a Sustainable Urban Transport project in Vietnam where Sustainable Urban Transport where targets were set for women to make up 20 percent of the construction workforce and 30 percent of station employees. The transit system establishment dedicated waiting areas for women on platforms, shop space for women-owned businesses, and women- only carriages with additional seating for children and storage space for prams/shopping. Efforts to target women metro users included the installation of secure street lighting and security cameras98. 93 GCF, 2019a 94 GCF, 2019b 95 CTCN, 2020 96 Adaptation Fund, 2009 97 UNDP, 2016 98 UNDP, 2016 Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions through Urban Climate Action 39 The scale of investment for the urban climate Secondly is for the NDC process to facilitate a intervention will affect which financial discussion across all key ministries (e.g. housing, instruments are appropriate – large urban transport, finance, etc.) to allocate financial infrastructure investments such as metro resources in a systematic manner that can systems will require support from national level leverage urban climate action in the long-term. ministries, whereas smaller localised energy efficiency retrofits can be managed by local It is necessary to ensure that these subnational government. Infrastructure (for example) can responsibilities are matched with commensurate be financed by government revenues directly, authorities and resources, thereby creating through debt, or through leveraging private enabling environment at the local level for local sector resources through privatisation of service and regional governments to deliver on shared delivery or through various forms of Public national climate commitments. Private Partnerships (PPPs). Thirdly, national policy direction influences Various opportunities for mobilising finance investment decisions. Consider the nature and for urban climate action exist. Firstly, to format of the NDC as a means of potentially collate – where available - a pipeline of climate guiding private sector investments, and if compatible urban infrastructure projects e.g. possible, to involve important national, regional mass transit, charging stations, wind farms and local industry in the process. etc., in the NDC and articulate the financing needs. In fact, 66% of country support requests Ambitious targets on mitigation can be for financial support through the NDCP relate achieved with the help of investments in e.g. to developing bankable projects and pipelines green buildings and retrofitting or investing primarily in energy, infrastructure, disaster risk in low carbon mobility options. There is also management and resilience interventions, and the potential to establish a national climate water and sanitation99. fund using international and national climate resources, to which a local government can apply. The Republic of the Marshall Islands has indicated financing needs through the NDC Partnership to construct seawalls in vulnerable residential areas, and Ethiopia has requested technical assistance for proposal development of fundable projects on land rehabilitation projects100. 99 NDCP, 2020b 100 NDCP, 2020a Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions 40 through Urban Climate Action Case Study Box 6: Support for sub-national finance related issues within NDC: Through the Climate Action Enhancement Package (CAEP) Mexico is planning to develop an investment package of strategic measures for its NDC, including some (federal) state-level projects. These will result in a pipeline of bankable projects that could be submitted to the Green Climate Fund or other financiers.101 A combination of systematically incentivising and timeframes and monitoring plan. It is lower carbon options, increasing public important to clearly allocate responsibilities for investments on adaptation and ensuring impacts government, public and other stakeholders to reach the local level can act as an enabler for be able to monitor progress from the various enhanced climate action. institutions. One of the research outcomes of the 2018 IPCC This allocation and responsibility applies at each Cities conference was to develop frameworks level of government – from national ministries and tools to integrate climate considerations to local governments. It is essential to spell out into fiscal and financial decision-making at the that any sub-national responsibility must be city scale. Whilst NDCs can help with leveraging matched with commensurate authorities and financing (in terms of obtaining and structuring resources, to avoid devolution of responsibility the money needed) for urban climate action, it without devolution of capacity. will be the responsibility of local government to consider the best funding options (how you pay Such involvement at the same time requires back the financing and the money needed for local level alignment of plans and actions operation and maintenance)102,103. towards shared national goals, the active participation in such a process through preparation of quality inputs and the target and B5. Allocate responsibility, indicators setting for monitoring local action is time frames, budgets, and essential for collaborative climate action. monitoring Take the case of the second NDC submitted by Include a set of concrete actions, along with Suriname in 2019 (Case Study Box 7) where an their respective financing needs and sources, NDC Project Pipeline including budget, type of in the NDC is a necessary starting point. To finance, timeline and responsibility, has been move towards implementation of these actions included in the annex of their revised NDC: also requires allocation of responsibility 101 NDCP, 2020a 102 See C40 Finance Facility Report Explainer: How to finance urban infrastructure,2019 for more details 103 Further resources: Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance : and Climate Investment Opportunities in Cities report by the International Finance Corporation and the MDB Joint report on multilateral development banks climate finance. Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions through Urban Climate Action 41 Case Study Box 7104 Suriname, Second NDC, NDC Project Pipeline Sector Name Lead MDA Duration Start/End Location Objective Finance Revenue Types of Finance (million generation/ USD) Non-Revenue generation Energy Demonstrate Ministry of Natural 5 years 2020 - 2025 >200 villages Promote renewable 80 Revenue Capital (Funds or sustainable Resources (MNR) situated in energy (RE) by generating physical assets) Grants business and Dept. for Rural the hinter more to the suitable and subsidies, equity and models Energy Supply land (exact electrification of concessional loans (DEV) location >200 villages in (TBD) the interior by the replacementof existing use of diesel by solar supply and solar/hybrid systems Norway’s 2nd NDC (not in 1st): The Ministry of Climate and Environment has the overarching cross-sectoral responsibility for coordination and implementation. The Ministry of Finance is responsible for the tax schemes and the other ministries are responsible for policies in their respective sectors. Further details on institutional arrangements are found in Norway’s 7th National Communication, Chapter 4.1.3. “Local governments are responsible for implementing policies and measures at the local level, for example through waste management, local planning and some transport measures. In 2009, guidelines were introduced for climate and energy planning in the municipalities. New guidelines describing how the municipalities and counties can incorporate climate change adaptation work into their planning activities are currently being developed.” B6. Evaluate technology And identify any opportunities for technological options that may enhance leapfrogging – e.g. transitioning directly decarbonisation and resilience to decentralised energy systems – and of the urban environment the enablers required to implement these. Understanding technology end users, and Technology features in NDC development technology access and cultural norms across both in terms of identifying technological gaps male and female citizens is important in terms of (including capacity) as well as considering e.g. public transport or energy. technological breakthroughs. It is essential to consider the role of technology to implement The NDE Report106, which assesses the key urban climate actions as both an enabler technology support requests across Technology (gathering observation, data, modelling, and Needs Assessments and NDCs, reveals that scenarios at the city level105), and to create new technology needs are most frequently identified disruptive opportunities to respond to climate in the areas of low emission energy supply, change. energy efficient cities and infrastructure and 104 Government of The Republic of Suriname, 2019 105 World Climate Research Programme (2019) 106 NDE Germany (2017) Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions 42 through Urban Climate Action low emission mobility and transportation. In The Clean Technology Centres & Networks the field of adaptation, most technology needs (CTCN) offers technical assistance to national are identified in the areas of climate compatible and sub-national governments for climate agriculture and forestry, water management, activities articulated in their NDC. disaster prevention and meteorological measurement technology and climate simulation. CTCN Jakarta example of sub-national support for urban climate action: The Jakarta Research Council, on behalf of the Provincial Government of Jakarta, requested support from the CTCN in building the capacity of stakeholders and decision makers with regard to flood management, as well as to evaluate the best technologies and methods for flood reduction and climate resilient infrastructure in Jakarta. In line with their NDC, which states an aim to reduce risks on all development sectors by 2030 through local capacity strengthening, improved knowledge management, convergent policy on climate change adaptation, and disaster risks reduction, and application of adaptive technologies107. A hydrodynamic flood model was developed and tailored for Jakarta in the context of climate change, local capacity was built in using the model, along with policy recommendations108. The revision of NDCs provides an opportunity to consider how new disruptive, or existing Moldova’s Updated NDC109: Promote technologies might enhance the decarbonisation climate-friendly solutions at municipality of urban environment. Innovations are growing level and infrastructure resilience projects around online shared mobility platforms, smart through innovative technologies that will cities and digitisation, and building technologies. contribute to reducing vulnerability to Evaluating technology options as well as the climate change and improving the quality required needs and capabilities (potentially of life. with assistance from CTCN) that may enhance decarbonisation and resilience of urban environments, can be done at a sub-national level. 107 First Nationally Determined Contribution of the Republic of Indonesia, November 2016 108 https://www.ctc-n.org/technical-assistance/projects/hydrodynamic-modelling-flood-reduction-and-climate-resilient 109 Government of the Republic of Moldova, 2020 Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions through Urban Climate Action 43 Next Steps We endeavour to use all available networks to ensure this support is available to the broadest This guide makes the case for ‘why’ it is possible number of Member States through important, and ‘how’ it is possible, to increase partners and the UNFCCC. the urban content and human settlements in NDCs. It highlights the opportunities from urban In parallel we will continue to collect more climate action through engaging inclusively evidence and experience on how to strengthen across a broad spectrum of urban-relevant urban issues in NDCs and improve guidance ministries and organisations. continuously by building a community of practice to support the NDCP partnership and others to Critical is that these guiding words are translated strengthen technical assistance in this area. into action, therefore we at UN-Habitat will be working actively with Member States to support the application of the opportunities and recommendations outlined within this guide. The landscape of mangrove forest, city in Teluk Bintuni Regency, West Papua Province, Indonesia ©Shutterstock Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions 44 through Urban Climate Action Reference Material & Resource Guide Adaptation Fund (2009), Operational Policies and Guidelines, Annex Davis, M., Krüger, I. Hinzmann, M. (2015). Coastal Protection and 1. Available at: http://www.adaptation-fund.org/wp-content/ SUTS-Nature Based Solutions, Policy Brief No. 4, November 2015. uploads/2015/01/OPG%20ANNEX%201.pdf Ecologic Institute. Available at: https://www.ecologic.eu/sites/files/ publication/2017/2723-recreate-pb-nature-based-solutions.pdf African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) (2017), Bank, Inter-American Development Bank Group, Islamic Save Food for a better Climate: Converting the food loss and waste Development Bank, World Bank Group (2019), 2018 Joint Report challenge into climate action, Rome 2017. Available at: http://www. on Multilateral Development Banks Climate Finance. Available at: fao.org/3/a-i8000e.pdf https://publications.iadb.org/en/2018-joint-report-multilateral- development-banks-climate-finance GIZ (2018a), (in cooperation with UNDP) Implementing National Climate Policies through Subnational Climate Action in Chile. Available Ballard, S., Porro, J., Trommsdorff, C. (2018), Water and Wastewater at: https://www.ndc-cluster.net/system/files?file=migrated_ Companies for Climate Mitigation (WaCCLiM). A Roadmap to a document_files/190318_gpd_parisabkommen_chile_rz.pdf Low-Carbon Urban Water Utility: An international guide to the WaCCliM approach. Available at: https://wacclim.org/wp-content/ GIZ (2018b), (in cooperation with UNDP) Paving the way for success: uploads/2018/12/2018_WaCCliM_Roadmap_EN_SCREEN.pdf A comprehensive Participatory Process for NDC Implementation in Peru. Available at: https://www.transparency-partnership. Bongardt, D. et al., Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (2019), net/system/files/migrated_document_files/190318_gpd_ Sustainable Urban Transport: Avoid – Shift – Improve (A-S-I) (Bonn parisabkommen_peru_rz.pdf and Eshborn, Germany: GIZ, 2019). Available at: https://sutp.org/files/ contents/documents/resources/L_iNUA/ASI_TUMI_SUTP_iNUA_ GIZ (forthcoming June 2020), Recover green: Higher NDC-Ambition April%202019.pdf through Collaborative Climate Action BMZ (forthcoming June-July 2020): Climate Change Mitigation in GIZ (2017), Sectoral implementation of nationally determined Cities contributions (NDCs), Briefing Series: Finance, Transport, Transparency, Energy Efficiency with a focus on buildings, Forestry Clean Technology Centres and Networks (CTCN) (2020), CTCN and Land Use Change, Energy Supply, Agriculture. Available at: Monitoring & Evaluation System, Monday, March 30, 2020. Available https://www.transparency-partnership.net/documents-tools/ at: https://www.ctc-n.org/resources/ctcn-monitoring-evaluation- briefing-series-sectoral-implementation-nationally-determined- system contributions-ndcs Coalition for Urban Transitions (CUT) (2019), Climate Emergency, GIZ (2018), Multi-Level Climate Governance – Supporting Local Urban Opportunity. World Resources Institute (WRI) Ross Center for Action.Available at: https://collaborative-climate-action.org/multi- Sustainable Cities and C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. London level-climate-governance-supporting-local-action/ and Washington, DC. Available from: https://urbantransitions.global/ urban-opportunity/ GIZ, ICLEI and UN-Habitat (2018), Talanoa and Beyond: Raising Ambition with Cities and Regions, Joint Policy Briefing Note, UN- C40 (2019), The future of urban consumption in a 1.5°C World, Habitat submission to the UNFCCC Talanoa Dialogue, April 2018. Headline Report. Available at: https://www.arup.com/perspectives/ Available at: https://ndcpartnership.org/news/talanoa-and-beyond- publications/research/section/the-future-of-urban-consumption- raising-ambition-cities-and-regions in-a-1-5c-world Global Covenant of Mayors, (2019) Climate Emergency, Unlocking C40 and Arup (2016), Deadline 2020: How Cities will get the job done. the Urban Opportunity Together. Available at: https://www. Available at: https://www.c40.org/researches/deadline-2020 globalcovenantofmayors.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/2019- GCoM-Aggregation-Report.pdf C40 and McKinsey Centre for Business and Environment (2017), Focused Acceleration A strategic approach to Climate Action in cities Government of Chile (2020), Chile’s Nationally Determined to 2030. Available at: https://www.c40.org/researches/mckinsey- Contribution. Update 2020. Available at: https://www4.unfccc.int/ center-for-business-and-environment sites/ndcstaging/PublishedDocuments/Chile%20First/Chile’s_ NDC_2020_english.pdf C40 Cities Finance Facility (2019), Explainer: How to finance urban infrastructure. Available at: https://www. Government of China (2016), Enhanced Actions on Climate Change: c40knowledgehub.org/s/article/Explainer-How-to-finance-urban- China’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions. Available infrastructure?language=en_US at: https://www4.unfccc.int/sites/NDCStaging/pages/Party. aspx?party=CHN Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions through Urban Climate Action 45 Government of Costa Rica (2015), Costa Rica’s Interned Nationally Government of The Republic of Suriname (2019), (Second) Nationally Determined Contribution. Available at: https://www4.unfccc.int/ Determined Contribution 2020. Available at: https://www4.unfccc. sites/ndcstaging/PublishedDocuments/Costa%20Rica%20First/ int/sites/ndcstaging/PublishedDocuments/Suriname%20Second/ INDC%20Costa%20Rica%20Version%202%200%20final%20ENG.pdf Suriname%20Second%20NDC.pdf Government of Dominica (2016), Intended Nationally Determined Government of Uganda, Ministry of Water and Environment (2015), Contribution (INDC) of the commonwealth of Dominica. Available at: Uganda’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution. Available at: https://www4.unfccc.int/sites/ndcstaging/PublishedDocuments/ https://www4.unfccc.int/sites/ndcstaging/PublishedDocuments/ Dominica%20First/Commonwealth%20of%20Dominica-%20 Uganda%20First/INDC%20Uganda%20final%20%2014%20 Intended%20Nationally%20Determined%20Contributions%20(INDC). October%20%202015.pdf pdf Green Climate Fund (2019a), Investment Criteria Indicators, 28 Government of Fiji (2016), Fiji’s Intended Nationally Determined February 2019. Available at: https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/ Contribution. Available at: https://www4.unfccc.int/sites/ default/files/document/investment-criteria-indicators.pdf ndcstaging/PublishedDocuments/Fiji%20First/FIJI_iNDC_ Final_051115.pdf Green Climate Fund, (2019b), Simplified Approval Process (SAP) Technical Guidelines, Cities and Climate Change, 06 June 2019. Government of Japan (2016 and 2020), Submission of Japan’s Available at: https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/ Nationally Determined Contribution. Available at: https://www4. document/sap-technical-guidelines-cities-and-climate-change.pdf unfccc.int/sites/NDCStaging/Pages/All.aspx ICLEI (2017), Boosting subnational climate action through new Government of Norway (2020), Update of Norway’s nationally climate governance. Available at: http://e-lib.iclei.org/wp-content/ determined contribution.Available at: https://www4.unfccc.int/ uploads/2017/11/20171101_cCR-report_final-web.pdf sites/ndcstaging/PublishedDocuments/Norway%20First/Norway_ updatedNDC_2020%20(Updated%20submission).pdf ICLEI (2019), Resilient Cities, Thriving Cities: The evolution of urban resilience. Available at: http://e-lib.iclei.org/publications/Resilient- Government of the Republic of Cameroon (2016), Intended Nationally Cities-Thriving-Cities_The-Evolution-of-Urban-Resilience.pdf Determined Contribution. Available at: https://www4.unfccc.int/ sites/ndcstaging/PublishedDocuments/Cameroon%20First/ IPCC (2018), Global Warming of 1.5°C. An IPCC Special Report on the CPDN%20CMR%20Final.pdf impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (2015), strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, Intended Nationally Determined Contribution. Available at: https:// sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty. [Masson- www4.unfccc.int/sites/ndcstaging/PublishedDocuments/Lao%20 Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, H.-O. Pörtner, D. Roberts, J. Skea, P.R. Shukla, People%27s%20Democratic%20Republic%20First/Lao%20PDR%20 A. Pirani, W. Moufouma-Okia, C. Péan, R. Pidcock, S. Connors, J.B.R. First%20NDC.pdf Matthews, Y. Chen, X. Zhou, M.I. Gomis, E. Lonnoy, T. Maycock, M. Tignor, and T. Waterfield (eds.)]. In Press. Government of the Republic of Liberia (2018), Intended Nationally Determined Contribution. Available at: https://www4.unfccc.int/ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), (2019), Adapting the sites/ndcstaging/PublishedDocuments/Liberia%20First/INDC%20 Energy Sector to Climate Chang. Available at: https://www.iaea. Final%20Submission%20Sept%2030%202015%20Liberia.pdf org/publications/12338/adapting-the-energy-sector-to-climate- change Government of the Republic of Malawi (2017), Intended Nationally Determined Contribution. Available at: https://www4.unfccc. International Finance Corporation (2018), Climate Investment int/sites/ndcstaging/PublishedDocuments/Malawi%20First/ Opportunities in Cities: An IFC Analysis. Available at: https://www.ifc. MALAWI%20INDC%20SUBMITTED%20TO%20UNFCCC%20REV.pdf org/wps/wcm/connect/topics_ext_content/ifc_external_corporate_ site/climate+business/resources/cioc-ifc-analysis Government of the Republic of Moldova (2020), Updated Nationally Determined Contribution of the Republic of Moldova. Available at: Kapos, V., Wicander, S., Salvaterra, T., Dawkins, K., Hicks, C. (2019), The https://www4.unfccc.int/sites/ndcstaging/PublishedDocuments/ Role of the Natural Environment in Adaptation, Background Paper for Republic%20of%20Moldova%20Second/MD_Updated_NDC_final_ the Global Commission on Adaptation. Rotterdam and Washington, version_EN.pdf D.C.: Global Commission on Adaptation. Available at: https://cdn.gca. org/assets/2019-12/RoleofNaturalEnvironmentinAdaptation_V2.pdf Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, (2015), Myanmar’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution. Available at: Kennedy, M.; Fox-James, L.; Capizzi, P.; Brown, A.; Dethier, S., (2019), https://www4.unfccc.int/sites/ndcstaging/PublishedDocuments/ ‘Case Studies on Integrating Ecosystem Services and Climate Myanmar%20First/Myanmar%27s%20INDC.pdf Resilience in Infrastructure Development: Lessons for Advocacy’, WWF and Arup, Washington DC, 2019. Available at: https:// Government of Singapore, (2016), Singapore’s Intended Nationally c402277.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/publications/1263/files/original/ Determined Contribution (NDC) and accompanying information. Case_Studies_on_Integrating_Ecosystem_Services_and_Climate_ Available at: https://www4.unfccc.int/sites/ndcstaging/ Resilience_in_Infrastructure_Development_Lessons_for_Advocacy. PublishedDocuments/Singapore%20First/Singapore%20INDC.pdf PDF?1587564144 Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions 46 through Urban Climate Action New Climate Institute (2018), Climate Opportunity: More Jobs, Better The Urban Land Trust (2016), The benefits of green infrastructure Health, Liveable Cities. Available at: https://www.c40.org/researches/ for heat mitigation and emissions reductions in cities. Available at: climate-opportunity-more-jobs-better-health https://www.tpl.org/sites/default/files/Benefits%20of%20GI%20 for%20heat%20mitigation%20and%20emissions%20reductions%20 NDC Partnership (NDCP) (2019), Dialoguemos NDC: A Participatory in%20cities.pdf Process for NDC Implementation in Peru, Case Study. April 2019. Available at: http://ndcpartnership.org/case-study/dialoguemos- UNDESA (2019), World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision ndc-participatory-process-ndc-implementation-peru (ST/ESA/SER.A/420). United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. New York: United Nations. NDC Partnership (NDCP) (2020a), Insight Brief: Engaging subnational Available at: https://population.un.org/wup/Publications/ governments in climate action Lessons learned from the NDC Partnership, Voïta, T., March 2020. Available at: http://ndcpartnership. UNEP (2019), Emissions Gap Report 2019, United Nations org/sites/default/files/Local%20Mainstreaming%20Final%20 Environment Programme, Nairobi. Available at: http://www. March%202020.pdf unenvironment.org/emissionsgap NDC Partnership (NDCP), (2020b), Understanding NDC Financing UNFCCC, 2018a (FCCC/PA/CMA/2018/3/Add.2). Decision 17/CMA.1 Needs, April 2020. Available at: https://ndcpartnership.org/sites/ Ways of enhancing the implementation of education, training, public default/files/Understanding%20NDC%20Financing%20Needs%20 awareness, public participation and public access to information Insight%20Brief.pdf so as to enhance actions under the Paris Agreement. Available at: https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/CMA2018_03a02E. New Climate Institute (2018), Non-State and Subnational Action pdf Guidance, Guidance for integrating the impact of non-state and subnational mitigation actions into national greenhouse UNFCCC, 2018b, (FCCC/PA/CMA/2018/3/Add.1) Decision 4/ gas projections, targets and planning. Available at: https:// CMA.1Further guidance in relation to the mitigation section of climateactiontransparency.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/ICAT- decision 1/CP.21 Available at: https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/ Non-State-and-Subnational-Action-Guidance-July-2018.pdf resource/cma2018_03a01E.pdf National Designated Entity (NDE) Germany (2017), The National UN-Habitat (2015), Guiding Principles for City Climate Action Designated Entity (NDE) Germany Report: Identified technology Planning. Available at: https://unhabitat.org/guiding-principles-for- needs in TNAs and (i)NDCs An introduction to the Technology Needs climate-city-planning-action Database (TND) and analysis of technology needs identified by developing countries. Hans, F., Röser, F., Anica, A., Hagemann, M. , UN-Habitat (2017), Sustainable Urbanisation in the Paris Agreement, Becker, C., Oppelt, D. Available at: https://newclimateinstitute.files. Comparative Review of Nationally Determined Contributions for wordpress.com/2017/10/nde-germany_tnd-briefing-paper_final.pdf Urban Content. Available at: https://unhabitat.org/sustainable- urbanization-in-the-paris-agreement REN, (2019), Renewables in Cities 2019 Global Status Report. Available at: https://www.ren21.net/reports/cities-global-status- UN-Habitat (2016), Addressing Climate Change in National Urban report/ Policy, A policy guide for Low-Carbon and Climate Resilient Development. Available at: https://www.uncclearn.org/sites/default/ Rockstrom, J., Gaffney, O., Rogelj, J., Meinshausen, M., Nakicenovic, N., files/inventory/addressing_climate_change_in_national_urban_ and Schellnhuber, H. J. (2017), A Roadmap for Rapid Decarbonization. policy.pdf Science, 355 (6331): 1269–1271. Available at: http://pure.iiasa.ac.at/ id/eprint/14498/ UNDP (2019a), Pathway for Increasing Nature-based solutions in NDCs, A Seven-Step Approach for Enhancing Nationally Determined Rogelj, J., den Elzen, M., Höhne,N., Fransen, T., Fekete, H., Winkler, Contributions through Nature-based Solutions. Available at: https:// H., Schaeffer, R., Sha, F., Riahi K, and Meinshausen, M. (2016), Paris www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/climate- Agreement Climate Proposals Need a Boost to Keep Warming Well and-disaster-resilience-/pathway-for-increasing-nature-based- Below 2C. Nature, 534 (7609): 631–639. Available at: https://www. solutions-in-ndcs.html nature.com/articles/nature18307 UNDP (2016), Gender Equality in National Climate Action: Planning Satterthwaite et. al (2020), Building Resilience to Climate for Gender-responsive Nationally Determined Contributions. Available Change in informal settlements, 21st February 2020 One at: https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/ Earth Review. Available at: https://www.cell.com/action/ womens-empowerment/gender-equality-in-national-climate- showPdf?pii=S2590-3322%2820%2930050-6 action--planning-for-gender-.html Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (2019). Voluntary UNDP (2019b), Gender Analysis and Nationally Determined guidelines for the design and effective implementation of ecosystem- Contributions (NDCs), Short Guidance for Government Stakeholders. based approaches to climate change adaptation and disaster risk Available at: https://www.ndcs.undp.org/content/ndc-support- reduction and supplementary information. Technical Series No. programme/en/home/impact-and-learning/library/gender- 93. Montreal, 156 pages. Available at: https://www.cbd.int/doc/ analysis-and-ndcs--short-guidance-for-government-stakehol.html publications/cbd-ts-93-en.pdf Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions through Urban Climate Action 47 UNDP (2019c), The Heat is On Taking Stock of Global Climate Cleugh, M. Cohen, S. Colenbrander, D. Dodman, S. Dhakal, R. Dawson, Ambition, NDC Global Outlook Report. Available at: https://reliefweb. J. Espey, J. Greenwalt, P. Kurian, B. Lee, L. Leonardsen, V. Masson- int/report/world/ndc-global-outlook-report-2019-heat-taking- Delmotte, D. Munshi, A. Okem, G.C. Delgado Ramos, R. Sanchez stock-global-climate-ambition Rodriguez, D. Roberts, C. Rosenzweig, S. Schultz, K. Seto, W. Solecki, M. van Staden, and D. Ürge-Vorsatz (Eds.). 11 pp. WCRP Report No. UNFCCC (2019), Cities Are Where the Climate Battle Will Largely 3/2019. Available at: https://futureearth.org/2019/09/20/global- Be Won or Lost. Article 11th October 2019. Guterres speech at C40 research-and-action-agenda-on-cities-and-climate-change- Summit. Available: https://unfccc.int/news/guterres-cities-are- science-published/ where-the-climate-battle-will-largely-be-won-or-lost World Resources Institute (2017), Enhancing NDCs by 2020: University of Cambridge and ICLEI (2014), Climate Change: Achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement. Available at: https:// Implications for Cities: Key Findings from the Intergovernmental Panel www.wri.org/publication/ndc-enhancement-by-2020 on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report. Available at: https:// www.cisl.cam.ac.uk/business-action/low-carbon-transformation/ World Resources Institute and UNDP (2019a), Enhancing NDCs: A ipcc-climate-science-business-briefings/pdfs/briefings/IPCC_ guide to strengthening national climate plans by 2020. Available at: AR5__Implications_for_Cities__Briefing__WEB_EN.pdf www.ndcs.undp.org/content/dam/LECB/docs/pubs-reports/undp- wri-ndcsp-ndc-enhancement-report-2019.pdf World Bank Group (2011), Guide to Climate Change Adaptation in Cities. World Bank, Washington, DC. Available at: https:// World Resources Institute and UNDP (2019b), Scaling Up Ambition: openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/27396 Leveraging Nationally Determined Contributions and Long-Term Strategies to Achieve the Paris Agreement goals. Input Document World Climate Research Programme (2019), Global Research and for the G20 Climate and Sustainability Working Group. Available Action Agenda on Cities and Climate Change Science - Abridged at: https://www.ndcs.undp.org/content/dam/LECB/docs/pubs- Version. Prieur-Richard, A.H., B. Walsh, M. Craig, M.L. Melamed, reports/undp-ndcsp-wri-g20-lts-report-2019.pdf M. Colbert, M. Pathak, S. Connors, X. Bai, A. Barau, H. Bulkeley, H. Solar water heaters save electricity and money – here installed on Groutville Care Homes in KwaDukuza, South Africa, as a pilot project implemented by Urban-LEDS A better quality of life for all in an urbanizing world UNITED NATIONS HUMAN SETTLEMENTS PROGRAMME P.O. Box 30030, Nairobi 00100, Kenya T: +254-20-76263120 E: unhabitat-climate@un.org www.unhabitat.org Disclaimer: The sole responsibility for the content of this publication lies with the authors. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union. The European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.