Lea Ranalder: Cities become key element of national climate strategies

More than 80% of new national climate plans, known as NDC 3.0, include cities as an important and structured element of climate action policy.

Report informs that Lea Ranalder, a member of UN-Habitat's climate change and urban environment team, said this at a press conference dedicated to UN-Habitat's new report on the urban component of national climate plans, "Urban Content in NDC 3.0: Cities in Focus," held as part of WUF13 in Baku.

According to her, of more than 140 submitted national climate plans, around 80% already contain a well-developed urban component, while in the previous generation of such documents the figure stood at about 49%.

"National climate plans, updated every five years, define countries" commitments on climate change mitigation and adaptation, and also include issues of climate finance and practical implementation measures," she said.

According to her, the analysis showed that cities are increasingly viewed not as a supporting element, but as one of the key mechanisms for implementing climate strategies.

"About half of the plans consider cities through specific sectors - transport, energy, waste management and water infrastructure," she added.