Summer 2003, the severe heat wave that affected Europe (15,000 excess deaths over August in France, nearly 1,100 of those in Paris) taught our cities that adaptation and preparedness are not an option but a necessity. How are we putting the lesson into practice?
A new study attempts to verify if and in which cases cities can constitute proxies to study the effects of long-term climate impacts on plants and animal species. Some peculiar conditions of urban centres, such as high CO2 concentrations, are hard to replicate experimentally; on the other hand, urban variables and characteristics could be misleading for the ecological research.
Cities as ecosystems? The benefits of this approach are manifold, including water purification, improved public health, reduced disaster exposure, enhanced resilience and social justice. But to move cities – and so the planet – into a sustainable future, this approach must become more integrated and pragmatic, and applied also in the global south, says on Nature Xuemei Bai, professor at the Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University in Canberra.
Smart city technologies have a high, and largely unrealized, potential to improve quality of life. The idea behind smart cities is to use technology and
OECD cities are increasingly fragmented and more people are moving to low-density suburbs. A new set of urban sprawl indicators applied in 1,156 urban areas
From immediate emergencies to slower onset problems, Small Island States are those most affected by the combined impacts of climate change and the degradation of oceans’ health. Sitting at the international negotiations they claim the keywords for the future: consistency, ambition. And urgency.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted a resolution that sets the target of cutting carbon dioxide emissions in shipping by 50% before 2050, and the complete decarbonization
The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy has grown over the past two years, having merged its European and global networks in 2016,
If the emissions associated with the trade of goods and services between cities and the rest of the world are considered, then cities’ emissions are
Last week the IPCC “Cities and Climate Change Science Conference: Fostering new scientific knowledge for cities based on science, practice and policy“ (CitiesIPCC) met its
