Responding To Climate Change In Asian Cities

The role of cities in addressing climate change is increasingly recognised in international arenas, including the Sustainable Development Goals, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the New Urban Agenda. Asia is home to many of the countries that are most vulnerable to climate change impacts and, along with Africa, will be the site of most urban population growth over the coming decades. Bringing together a range of city experiences, Responding to Climate Change in Asian Cities provides valuable insights into how cities can overcome some of the barriers to building climate resilience, including addressing the needs of vulnerable populations. The chapters are centred on an overarching understanding that adaptive urban governance is necessary for climate resilience. This requires engaging with different actors to take into account their experiences, vulnerabilities and priorities; building knowledge, including collecting and using appropriate evidence; and understanding the institutions shaping interactions between actors, from the national to the local level. The chapters draw on a mix of research methodologies, demonstrating the variety of approaches to understanding and building urban resilience that can be applied in urban settings. Bringing together a range of expert contributors, this book will be of great interest to scholars of urban studies, sustainability and environmental studies, development studies and Asian studies.

This volume explores how climate change impacts interact with poverty and vulnerability to increase the risk for urban residents in Southeast Asia. It combines knowledge from both academic literature and action research to explore the creation of climate resilient urban governance that is both inclusive and equitable. The book contains contributions from researchers in different cities in Southeast Asia involved with the major research project Building Urban Climate Change Resilience in Southeast Asian Cities (UCRSEA). The authors respond to three urgent questions: How does climate change interact with poverty and vulnerability to create risk for urban residents in Southeast Asia? What does knowledge, from both academic literature and action research, tell us about creating climate resilient urban governance that is both inclusive and equitable? How can we strengthen the agency of individuals, groups and institutions to improve economic, physical and social well-being in urban areas, particularly in response to climate change? The book hopes to answer to current challenges posed by climate change. In the volume, the authors discuss how the agency of individuals, groups and institutions can be strengthened to improve economic, physical and social well-being in urban areas, particularly in response to climate change.

This volume explores how climate change impacts interact with poverty and vulnerability to increase the risk for urban residents in Southeast Asia. It combines knowledge from both academic literature and action research to explore the creation of climate resilient urban governance that is both inclusive and equitable. The book contains contributions from researchers in different cities in Southeast Asia involved with the major research project Building Urban Climate Change Resilience in Southeast Asian Cities (UCRSEA). The authors respond to three urgent questions: How does climate change interact with poverty and vulnerability to create risk for urban residents in Southeast Asia? What does knowledge, from both academic literature and action research, tell us about creating climate resilient urban governance that is both inclusive and equitable? How can we strengthen the agency of individuals, groups and institutions to improve economic, physical and social well-being in urban areas, particularly in response to climate change? The book hopes to answer to current challenges posed by climate change. In the volume, the authors discuss how the agency of individuals, groups and institutions can be strengthened to improve economic, physical and social well-being in urban areas, particularly in response to climate change.

Half of the world’s inhabitants now live in cities. In the next twenty years, the number of urban dwellers will swell to an estimated five billion people. With their inefficient transportation systems and poorly designed buildings, many cities—especially in the United States—consume enormous quantities of fossil fuels and emit high levels of greenhouse gases. But our planet is rapidly running out of the carbon-based fuels that have powered urban growth for centuries and we seem to be unable to curb our greenhouse gas emissions. Are the world’s cities headed for inevitable collapse? The authors of this spirited book don’t believe that oblivion is necessarily the destiny of urban areas. Instead, they believe that intelligent planning and visionary leadership can help cities meet the impending crises, and look to existing initiatives in cities around the world. Rather than responding with fear (as a legion of doomsaying prognosticators have done), they choose hope. First, they confront the problems, describing where we stand today in our use of oil and our contribution to climate change. They then present four possible outcomes for cities: ”collapse,” “ruralized,” “divided,” and “resilient.” In response to their scenarios, they articulate how a new “sustainable urbanism” could replace today’s “carbon-consuming urbanism.” They address in detail how new transportation systems and buildings can be feasibly developed to replace our present low efficiency systems. In conclusion, they offer ten “strategic steps” that any city can take toward greater sustainability and resilience. This is not a book filled with “blue sky” theory (although blue skies will be a welcome result of its recommendations). Rather, it is packed with practical ideas, some of which are already working in cities today. It frankly admits that our cities have problems that will worsen if they are not addressed, but it suggests that these problems are solvable. And the time to begin solving them is now.

The role of cities in addressing climate change is increasingly recognised in international arenas, including the Sustainable Development Goals, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the New Urban Agenda. Asia is home to many of the countries that are most vulnerable to climate change impacts and, along with Africa, will be the site of most urban population growth over the coming decades. Bringing together a range of city experiences, Responding to Climate Change in Asian Cities provides valuable insights into how cities can overcome some of the barriers to building climate resilience, including addressing the needs of vulnerable populations. The chapters are centred on an overarching understanding that adaptive urban governance is necessary for climate resilience. This requires engaging with different actors to take into account their experiences, vulnerabilities and priorities; building knowledge, including collecting and using appropriate evidence; and understanding the institutions shaping interactions between actors, from the national to the local level. The chapters draw on a mix of research methodologies, demonstrating the variety of approaches to understanding and building urban resilience that can be applied in urban settings. Bringing together a range of expert contributors, this book will be of great interest to scholars of urban studies, sustainability and environmental studies, development studies and Asian studies.

This book presents good practices in Asia and ASEAN countries for effectively promoting advances in response to climate change, which can help to achieve sustainable development in Asia and around the world. As a proposal, the aim is to influence the discussions at COP 21 by providing a positive agenda with concrete actions from an Asian perspective. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 describes the greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction scenario from an Asian perspective and in line with global 2 ° targets. Based on modeling analysis, the studies demonstrate the theoretical potentials and send the policymakers at COP 21 the positive message that “Asia can reach the target.” As Asian countries vary in terms of their economic strength, country-specific scenario studies for the two giants China and India as well as for Japan and Vietnam are introduced to show the different approaches for each country. Part 2 shows successful examples of how modeling analysis are reflected in actual policy development, which provides practical guidelines to help policymakers develop their own roadmaps with stakeholder dialogue, not only in Asia but also in other regions of the world. The Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA) roadmap development in Thailand as well as the Iskandar Malaysia project show at the country and city level how researchers and policymakers are working closely to succeed. Part 3 focuses on a number of sector-specific activities including transportation, forestry, capacity development, and inventory work in Asia. Rather than discussing the Low Carbon Society (LCS) concept in detail, the respective chapters highlight unique, concrete, and practically applicable examples from Asia, showing how Asian countries are addressing climate change mitigation issues in a collaborative manner, an approach that can be replicated in other regions. While the ultimate goal of this book is to facilitate international climate regime making, local government and international organizations (United Nations, World Bank, and others) officers, researchers, international NGO/NPOs, consultants, students (particularly those studying international relationships or environmental studies), as well as reporters will find this book useful in broadening their understanding of low-carbon development in Asia.