Funding is a key barrier to cities' climate plan progress: report
Source: Smart Cities Dive | Katie Pyzyk
About 43% of global cities lack a plan for adapting to climate change issues, yet 93% say their people and infrastructure are at risk from climate change, according to a report from nonprofit CDP that assembled self-reported environmental data from 800 cities worldwide. In the U.S., where 169 cities reported data, 40% do not have a climate adaptation plan.
Funding is one key obstacle, with 25% of reporting cities saying budgetary constraints are a main barrier to their making progress on climate adaptation measures.
CDP reports a 17-time increase in cities disclosing their data in 2020, compared with the first report in 2011. Data reporting is just the first step on the journey, according to Katie Walsh, CDP North America head of cities, states and regions. "The next step after you identify risk is actually developing an adaptation plan. We want all cities that are identifying risks to have associated adaption plans. The 60% number says that we're on our way," she said.