Joint expert meeting of WGII and WGIII: Human settlement, water, energy and transport infrastructure - mitigation and adaptation strategies

Cities and other human settlements are at the forefront of climate change. As large emitters of GHG emissions, they significantly contribute to climate change. Simultaneously, due to their concentration of population and infrastructure assets, cities are especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Infrastructure investments in the near future will determine the emission paths of cities in the long-run. Hence, cities are a point where adaptation is necessary and mitigation is possible, in a context of sustainable development.

While urban planning is referenced in IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) at times, there is no comprehensive survey on the role which urban planning can play in adaptation and mitigation, let alone a quantitative overview of the possible contributions of different measures and their costs. Encompassing strategies for urban areas are not discussed. Neither are there estimates on current GHG emissions related to infrastructure. If infrastructure is mentioned, only case studies are presented, stating nothing about general applicability. AR4 states that a credible assessment on general adaptation prospects and on mitigation in the transport sector is limited due to the number and scope of available studies of mitigation potential and cost. This expert meeting will further explore issues related to human settlements and infrastructure as an input to the AR5 process.