Towards Resilient and Low-Carbon Cities: New Challenges and Opportunities

Working Paper No. 9

Towards Resilient and Low-Carbon Cities: New Challenges and Opportunities

Author: Anthony G. Bigio

The 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change recognized that many developing countries, while the most vulnerable to climate change, are the least able to make rapid changes. Hence, there is a widespread understanding that emerging and developing market economies (EMDEs) must be part of the solution in a way that doesn’t compromise their economic growth aspirations. With the publication of this paper, the Growth Dialogue hopes to contribute to the policy discussions on the role of urbanization in emerging and developing countries, and to the challenges their cities face in the context of a changing climate. Green Growth approaches have emerged as a desirable development paradigm, but this paradigm has not yet been adequately linked to urban development strategies. This paper aims to assess how relevant the climate change agenda is for cities in EMDEs; how new financial resources can be brought to bear on needed investment priorities; and how urban climate actions can be effectively integrated with sustainable growth scenarios to produce welfare-improving outcomes.