Editing IPCC:AR6/WGII/Chapter-6 (section)

=== 6.1.2 Points of Departure ===

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The AR5 conceptualised cities and settlements as complex interdependent systems that could be engaged in supporting climate change adaptation (Revi et al., 2014 8.8.2). Effective municipal governance systems and cooperative multi-level governance supported adaptation action. The AR5 report expressed ''medium confidence'' that governance interventions can help develop synergies across geographical and institutional scales. Urban areas face challenges of infrastructure investment and maintenance, land use management, livelihood creation and ecosystem services protection. AR5 also considered how urban localities can encourage incremental and transformative adaptation, build resilience and support sustainable development. The assessment identified the need for multi-level and multi-partner action in rapidly growing cities where institutions and infrastructure are still not established to meet the growing demands of the cities. However, there was only ''medium confidence'' that adaptation action was happening in the AR5 review period.

The framing of ‘key economic sectors and services’ in AR5 focused primarily on three infrastructural areas (energy, water services, transport) and on primary and secondary economic activities (including recreation and tourism, insurance and financial services). Cities, settlements and key infrastructure are also referred to in the IPCC special reports released since AR5. The Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C ( [[#IPCC--2018|IPCC, 2018]] ) examines impacts of global warming on urban systems and infrastructure in the context of advancing sustainable development and eradicating poverty. It highlights the risks facing residents of unplanned and informal urban settlements, many of which are exposed to a range of climate-related hazards (Sections 3.4.8 and 4.4.1.3). The Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C also identifies green infrastructure, sustainable land use and planning, and sustainable water management as key adaptation options that can reduce risks in urban areas (SPM C2.4; C2.5), and highlights ‘urban and infrastructure’ as one of four system transitions required to limit warming to 1.5°C to create an enabling environment for adaptation ( [[IPCC:Wg2:Chapter:Chapter-4#4.3.3|Section 4.3.3]] ). Innovative governance arrangements that go beyond formal ‘government’ and political arrangements and that include non-state actors, networks and informal institutions were identified as important in addressing climate change and implementing responses to 1.5°C-consistent pathways (Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C [Sections 4.4.1 and 5.6.2]). In addition, the Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C mentions, with ''high confidence'' , the climate-related health effects of urban heat islands, urban heatwaves and increasing risks from some vector-borne diseases (illnesses caused by pathogens and parasites in human populations) (SPM B5.2). The report also notes both trade-offs and important co-benefits of sustainable development in pursuit of climate resilient development pathways that achieve ambitious mitigation and adaptation in conjunction with poverty eradication and efforts to reduce inequalities (SPM D6).

The Special Report on Oceans and Cryosphere (SROCC) similarly emphasizes the role governance plays in reducing disaster risk, through planning, and zoning ( [[#IPCC--2019b|IPCC, 2019b]] ). It identifies vulnerability factors such as poverty, which can undermine resilience and sustainable development in urban communities ( [[#IPCC--2019b|IPCC, 2019b]] SPM C3.1,and [[IPCC:Wg2:Chapter:Chapter-2#2.3|Section 2.3.2]] ) The SROCC report shows that the emerging climate-related challenges are impacting the accessibility and availability of vital resources and blurring the public and private boundaries of risk and responsibility (Cross-Chapter Box 3). According to the SROCC report, new governance arrangements are emerging to address these challenges, including participatory and networked structures, and institutions linking formal and informal networks involving state, private sector, Indigenous and civil society actors (Cross-Chapter Box 3). The SROCC report calls for place-specific action because there is no single climate governance panacea for the ocean, coasts and cryosphere (Cross-Chapter Box 3). The SROCC report highlights evidence of the importance of inclusivity, fairness, deliberation, reflexivity, responsiveness, social learning, the co-production of knowledge, and respect for ethical and cultural diversity in climate-related urban decision making (Cross-Chapter Box 3). In addition, the Special Report on Climate Change and Land notes that urbanisation can intensify extreme rainfall events over the city or downwind of urban areas and have can significant consequences for heat island effects on loss of food production, posing additional risks to the food system ( [[#IPCC--2019b|IPCC, 2019b]] SPM A5.3 and Cross-Chapter Box 4 in Chapter 2).

An additional research bridge between AR5 and AR6 was the IPCC Cities and Climate Change Science conference held in Edmonton, Canada, in March 2018 (Prieur-Richard, Walsh and Craig, 2019). This generated a ‘Global Research and Action Agenda on Cities and Climate Change Science’ (Prieur-Richard, Walsh and Craig, 2019), which highlights six topical research areas where more evidence is needed to inform action: finance; informality; uncertainty; urban planning and design; built and green/blue infrastructure; and sustainable consumption and production. These areas are addressed in specific sections of this chapter or as cross-cutting themes. The Cross-Working Group Box URBAN in this chapter provides a linkage with perspectives from Working Group III.

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