Your Excellency, Prime Minister Ngute of Cameroon,
Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director, UN Habitat,
Dignitaries, colleagues, friends,
The science is clear: we are putting extreme pressure on the planet. The evidence we see with our own eyes is clear: the damage we have caused is harming human health, peace and prosperity. The triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution is all around us, affecting every aspect of our lives in every country. Heatwaves and storms. Food insecurity. Dirty air and water bodies choked with the chemicals and detritus of our way of life.
And the science is also clear that most of this human influence happens in our cities. Urban areas account for over 70 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions. Unsustainable production and consumption in cities spreads its impacts out into nature, which then sends the impacts back with interest. Even an optimistic target of limiting global warming to a 1.5 degrees Celsius increase in global temperatures could cause global shifts that leave cities facing the challenges of sea level rise, an increase in tropical cyclones, more storm surges and heatwaves. This puts people and infrastructure at risk.
But cities have also demonstrated leadership in making ambitious commitments for climate mitigation and adaptation. They have used their influence and jurisdiction to cut emissions, through urban planning and design, regulating polluting sectors and investing public funds in sustainable solutions. The solutions don’t only slow the triple planetary crisis outside of cities. They bring the benefits into cities. Climate action, for example in industry and transport, improves urban air quality. Bringing nature back into cities reduces the need for mechanical cooling, better handles stormwater, provides clean drinking water, and increases green space for recreation.
Friends, all of these solutions are crucial, particularly in Africa, which has been hit hard. We must prioritize them in a green COVID-19 recovery.
When UN Secretary-General António Guterres recently launched the “Our Common Agenda” report, he stated clearly that a green, sustainable and fair COVID-19 recovery is critical to setting the world on course toward a 1.5°C pathway. In this recovery, we have an opportunity to reflect and reset how we live in, interact with and rebuild our cities.
The creation of green and resilient cities is central to the African Union’s Recovery Action Plan. But we need to do more. The African continent is experiencing rapid growth and urbanization, leading to more infrastructure investments, often exceeding the planning capacity of African cities. This puts a few key sectors on the spot - including energy, buildings and transport - in addressing the impacts of urbanization and delivering solutions for a green COVID-19 recovery.
The future of our planet depends on national, regional and local governments and organizations, communities, academic institutions, the private sector and all relevant stakeholders working together to create sustainable, carbon-neutral, inclusive cities and towns.
This is also an opportunity to attract investment opportunities for sustainable cities, harnessing public spending to incentivize private investment and work in collaboration with national and international development finance institutions to help reduce perceived risks for private investment.
Pandemic recovery measures that back green solutions for healthy and climate-resilient systems need to be focused on decarbonization. This means backing solutions that work with nature and recognizing the value in solutions that already exist. We must prioritize actions that help those who are the most vulnerable in our cities, including guaranteeing safe shelter and urban accessibility. We must work to strengthen the capacities of local governments, spur multi-level governance and pursue a green, resilient and inclusive economic recovery.
Friends, we can steer growth towards a low-carbon, resilient pathway and advance the Sustainable Development Goals, but only if we act now.
As I mentioned, focusing on energy, transport and buildings is particularly important. They are part of the backbone that help our cities function, but they are also amongst the most resource- and carbon-intensive sectors. All societies require energy services to meet basic human needs but the associated emissions are a major cause of climate change.
Whilst transport contributes substantially to air pollution and produces 23 per cent of global energy-related CO2 emissions. 72 per cent of these emissions come from road vehicles. In Africa cement production is expected to more than triple in, while steel production could increase more than six-fold.
Many cities are are aleady doing a lot by using renewable energy sources, prioritizing sustainable transport such as investing in bike lanes, sidewalks and public transport and taking steps to ensure cleaner production techniques and offering regulations and incentives to limit emissions.
As emphasized in UNEP’s Integrated Guidelines for Sustainable Neighbourhood Design, good urban design is also essential to create sustainable places on all fronts: places that are socially just, environmentally responsible and thriving. Designing more sustainable and livable neighbourhoods requires the integration of natural and artificial systems. Connectivity is key. Urban planners need to be empowered to design with mixed-use green density where jobs, dwellings, people and nature coexist. Because planning and designing in accordance with nature enhances the resilience of a city. Equal collaboration between sectors is key to addressing cross-cutting issues
Looking at cities, we often see that essential urban functions are managed in isolation. The predominant urban development model is outdated, not in tune with the different trends. But the pandemic highlighted the need to collaborate for human health and the environment across sectors.
In order to address the challenges of air pollution and carbon emissions we need to work together and develop holistic joint solutions. Furthermore, integrating urban systems creates more effective management of resources between sectors and a greater urban systems performance at less cost. Smart technologies can help cities meet the challenges of efficiency and systems integration.
So, on World Habitat Day, we need to recognize that cities are both part of the problem and part of the solution of the triple planetary crisis. We must rethink how they are designed, how they are built, how we live in them and how they are managed. If we do this, we slow the triple planetary crisis and make our cities better, greener and safer places to live.
Thank you.
Executive Director
