One Planet Summit: Three climate actions for a resilient urban future

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Two years ago, more than 180 countries gathered in Paris to sign a landmark climate agreement to keep global temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius.

Tomorrow, on December 12, 2017, exactly two years after the signing of the historic Paris Agreement, the government of France will be hosting the One Planet Summit in Paris to reaffirm the world’s commitment to the fight against climate change.

At the summit, mayors from cities around the world, big and small, will take center stage with heads of state, private sector CEOs, philanthropists, and civil society leaders to discuss how to mobilize the financing needed to accelerate climate action and meet the Paris Agreement goals.

Why must we bring city leaders to the table for climate discussions? 

Cities are home to more than half of the world’s population, and account for more than 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions.  It is cities that stand at the forefront against rising threats of natural disasters. In other words, the climate challenge is very much an urban challenge.  


Cities are also a key part of the climate solution. The decisions of cities today will make or break the world’s climate action toward a resilient future. 

[Download report: Investing in Urban Resilience]

At the One Planet Summit, the World Bank Group and its partners will be highlighting some of the decisions cities are making—and the actions they are increasingly taking—to build resilience to climate change and disaster risks  and foster climate-smart growth, particularly in these three areas:

 

  1. Resilient cities
  2. Hydromet (hydrological + meteorological) services
  3. Disaster risk finance and climate insurance
New or renewed climate initiatives for urban resilience will also be launched at the summit, including: There’s more to look forward to at the One Planet Summit. Watch Ede Ijjasz-Vasquez (@Ede_WBG) and Sameh Wahba (@SamehNWahba), Senior Director and Director of the World Bank’s Social, Urban, Rural and Resilience Global Practice, as they provide a preview of what to expect for the world’s cities at the One Planet Summit in Paris.
 

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Authors

Ede Ijjasz-Vasquez

Former Regional Director, Africa, Sustainable Development Practice Group

Sameh Wahba

Regional Director, Sustainable Development, Europe and Central Asia, The World Bank

Lalit Kumar Dashora
December 11, 2017

Much needed initiative, which is need of the hour. In many developing countries hydro-meteorological services (provision of weather, climate and hydrological information) are inadequate to meet societal needs. This hydro-meteorological "service gap" has arisen due to insufficient resourcing of the infrastructure required to provide these crucial services. The under-resourcing of developing country hydro-meteorological infrastructure may be attributed to a variety of causes; civil unrest, natural and economic disasters, and even something as simple as a lack of understanding by government and community as to the important contribution hydro-meteorological services can make to the national economy and to a citizen’s quality of life.
Experience also shows that natural hazards do not respect national borders. Meteorological and hydrological data and information generated at a national level are also valuable at regional and global levels for assisting vulnerable communities in neighboring countries, to respond to effectively to hazards. We need to "think regionally and act locally".

Aurora Reonal Bigol
December 19, 2017

In the development of a community needs more learning and study of what can be the possible way to improve their livelihood of the people. Environment, as I see in my country are the landslides, the floods and many calameties we are facing. Yes we want the future to be the best for all of us. But they are neglecting to plant more trees
Beacuse trees can hold hundred thousands of gallons of water. The other will follows like agriculture and infrastructure. Please mother earth needs more trees. One of the funded of the World Bank project is the repair of the road in the front of my farm house in Del Rosario, Oas Albay. Even they concrete. Still the erosion never can stop it. Beacuse no one trees are planted in the upland areas. I am very must happy that the World Bank are supporting to develop every community and end of poverty. Philippines is one of the recipient of this. First environment are the things to be done all over the planet. Thank you!