We live in an urban world: more than 55 per cent of the world population lives in urban areas today and this number will grow to 68 per cent by 2050. Cities are particularly vulnerable to Climate Change as the concentrate large populations and a centres for the national economy and social-economic development. In order to build the climate resilience of the national population and economy, building resilient cities and human settlements is essential. National Adaptation Plans are the most important process to articulate the adaptation needs and priorities of countries, and therefore countries should comprehensively address urban and human settlement issues in National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) at the formulation and implementation stage.

The guide primarily targets decision-makers at the national level working on NAPs, both within and outside UNFCCC focal point ministries, while it also targets a broader set of stakeholders at the national and sub-national levels who are interested in NAPs or who may be involved in their implementation. This guide has been developed to address the support countries require to enhance the coverage of human settlement/urban issues within the broader national effort to formulate and implement NAPs. The supplement also offers advice on how adaptation efforts at the urban level can be scaled up and better integrated into national efforts.

Urbanization is one of the global megatrends of our time, unstoppable and irreversible. In 30 years, two-thirds of the world’s population will live in urban areas; 90 per cent of this urban growth will take place in less developed regions such as East Asia, South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. These are regions where capacity and resources are already constrained, and development challenges are ever more complex and concentrated. Urbanization in such areas is largely unplanned, fuelling the continuous growth of informal settlements, the physical manifestation of urban poverty and inequality. Currently home to some 1 billion people, informal settlements are where the impact of climate change is most acute and where resilience must be strengthened.

Climate Change is big news all over the world. Ironically, water usually finds mention in the footnotes even though it is arguably the principal adverse fall-out of changing climate patterns and extreme weather events. Since 2008, more than half of the world’s population already lived in cities. This figure continues to grow, particularly in Africa and Asia, and coastal urban centres receive a disproportionate share of this growth. Urbanization can be a positive force, however safe, adequate, and predictable water supplies are a necessary feature of sustainable urban development.

This document provides a contextual understanding of the challenges and opportunities of climate change in relation to human settlements in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). It is a collection of initial thoughts in response to the call of Small Island Developing States for “the strengthening of the long-standing cooperation and support provided by the international community” and “enabling strong, genuine and durable partnerships at the sub-national, national, sub-regional, regional and international levels” (UNGA 2014).

The “Quick Guide for Policy Makers on Pro-Poor Urban Climate Resilience in Asia and the Pacific” focuses on the need to enhance understanding of the region’s key urban stakeholders on climate change, discusses how it affects efforts to realize sustainable urban development, and explores what actions can be taken to synergize continued commitments to poverty reduction alongside urban climate resilience. It is argued that there are significant overlaps between climate change vulnerability and urban poverty, and that climate change resilience and poverty reduction efforts need not be a trade-off.

Through examples which span the region, the Quick Guide illustrates pro-poor approaches to urban climate resilience that are holistic, flexible and participatory and that can be effective tools to foster inclusive and sustainable development - an essential task for policy makers in meeting the key urban challenges in the Asia-Pacific region in the twenty-first century.

This report was developed for city planners to better understand, assess and take action on climate change at the local level. Specifically targeted to the needs of planners and allied professionals in low and middle-income countries where the challenges of planning for climate change are particularly high.

The guide's strategic,values based planning framework: - promotes a participatory planning process that integrates local participation and good decision-making. - provides practical tools for addressing climate change through different urban planning processes. - supports the "mainstreaming" of climate change actions into other local government policy instruments.

This publication is a call to action for cities to address Climate Change. It presents information and practical case studies of what cities can do to respond to one of today's leading challenges in 12 key messages.

It takes the view that climate change presents cities with an opportunity to review urban policy and local strategies which would lead to more sustainable, livable and vibrant cities.

There are a number of key areas of local government competencies that city officials may want to target when implementing carbon trading projects; including town and urban planning, infrastructure development, service provision, waste management, energy provisioning and transportation.

It is the objective of this tool to provide environmental, planning and development officials at the local government level with clear guidance on how to develop Clean Development Mechanism and Verified Emission Reduction projects.

This tool provides local policy-makers and major stakeholders with a methodology to plan for climate change. These plans must address both mitigation (e.g., reducing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere) and adaptation (responding to the impacts of climate change). If they are to be effective, local plans for climate change (both adaptation and mitigation) require the involvement of a variety of stakeholders and a specific focus on the most vulnerable groups.

This report was developed for city planners to better understand, assess and take action on climate change at the local level. Specifically targeted to the needs of planners and allied professionals in low and middle-income countries where the challenges of planning for climate change are particulalrly high.

The guide's strategic,values based planning framework: - promotes a participatory planning process that integrates local participation and good decision-making. - provides practical tools for addressing climate change through different urban planning processes. - supports the "mainstreaming" of climate change actions into other local government policy instruments.