What does COP-28 mean for cities?

Subject: Environment

Section: Int convention

Context:

The 28th Conference of Parties (COP-28) in Dubai has also discussed cities and their future.

COP-28 : Linkage With Cities

When the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) initiated the COP in 1995, 44% of people lived in cities.
Currently, 55% of the global population is urban and this is expected to reach 68% by 2050.
The urban world today consumes nearly 75% of primary energy and is responsible for roughly 70% of CO2 (76% of total GHG) emissions.
Hence, the desired results of the Paris commitments are not possible without addressing urban issues.
City representatives have been arguing for multi-level green deal governance and for revising the governance and regulation of energy and climate action.
Some European city groups have been staunchly advocating for direct actions in cities.
Various groups argued for formally recognising the role of subnational governments in global climate change negotiations, accelerating and scaling up climate action by working across all levels of governance and sectors, and providing direct financing and technical assistance to cities and regions.
This will require an ‘out of the box’ imagination as it would mean transgressing the authorities of federal governments.
The efforts of city governments should be formally recognised in COP decision documents.

Role Of Global South?

The cities of the Global South are far more vulnerable than their western counterparts.

Issues:

The city leaders are hardly empowered.
The major employment is in the informal sector.
Adaptation is key as most cities are vulnerable to climate induced disasters.
The pent up drive to attract investments to cities has further widened the gap between the rich and the poor.
In most countries, and in India particularly, 40% of the urban population live in slums.
Pollution is a major contributor in reducing life expectancies and social and economic inequities are quite inherent in their systems.
So, to ensure fair participation in climate action plans and to claim loss and damage compensation, etc., there has to be a radical shift in the processes governing the cities.
One of the ways of achieving progress can be through:
- creating a climate atlas of these cities, mapping them and identifying hotspots.

Exclusion in NDCs:

During the preparation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans, cities find themselves excluded from the process of climate action plans.
There is hardly any representation of city leaders and civil society groups in this process.