q4.qmd

# Q4. Adapting to Impacts?

## Question: What strategies do cities employ to adapt to the impacts of climate change?  

## Query result: 4.5.3. Cities, Settlements and Infrastructure (Page 105-106)   

IPCC, 2023: Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Section 4: Near-Term Responses in a Changing Climate > 4.5 Near-Term Mitigation and Adaptation Actions > 4.5.3 Cities, Settlements and Infrastructure

URL: [https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/](https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/)

*Cite: IPCC, 2023: Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report
of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, H. Lee and J. Romero (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland,
184 pp., doi: 10.59327/IPCC/AR6-9789291691647.*

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## Content: 

### 4.5.3. Cities, Settlements and Infrastructure 

Urban systems are critical for achieving deep emissions
reductions and advancing climate resilient development,
particularly when this involves integrated planning that
incorporates physical, natural and social infrastructure (high
confidence). Deep emissions reductions and integrated adaptation
actions are advanced by: integrated, inclusive land use planning
and decision-making; compact urban form by co-locating jobs and
housing; reducing or changing urban energy and material consumption;
electrification in combination with low emissions sources; improved
water and waste management infrastructure; and enhancing carbon
uptake and storage in the urban environment (e.g. bio-based building
materials, permeable surfaces and urban green and blue infrastructure).
Cities can achieve net zero emissions if emissions are reduced within
and outside of their administrative boundaries through supply chains,
creating beneficial cascading effects across other sectors. (high confidence) {WGII SPM C.5.6, WGII SPM D.1.3, WGII SPM D.3; WGIII SPM C.6, WGIII SPM C.6.2, WGIII TS 5.4, SR1.5 SPM C.2.4}

Considering climate change impacts and risks (e.g., through climate
services) in the design and planning of urban and rural settlements
and infrastructure is critical for resilience and enhancing human
well-being. Effective mitigation can be advanced at each of the design,
construction, retrofit, use and disposal stages for buildings. Mitigation
interventions for buildings include: at the construction phase, low-emission construction materials, highly efficient building envelope
and the integration of renewable energy solutions; at the use phase,
highly efficient appliances/equipment, the optimisation of the use
of buildings and their supply with low-emission energy sources;
and at the disposal phase, recycling and re-using construction
materials. Sufficiency155 measures can limit the demand for energy
and materials over the lifecycle of buildings and appliances. (high
confidence) {WGII SPM C.2.5; WGIII SPM C.7.2}

Transport-related GHG emissions can be reduced by demand-side
options and low-GHG emissions technologies. Changes in urban form,
reallocation of street space for cycling and walking, digitalisation
(e.g., teleworking) and programs that encourage changes in consumer
behaviour (e.g. transport, pricing) can reduce demand for transport
services and support the shift to more energy efficient transport
modes (high confidence). Electric vehicles powered by low-emissions
electricity offer the largest decarbonisation potential for land-based
transport, on a life cycle basis (high confidence). Costs of electrified
vehicles are decreasing and their adoption is accelerating, but they
require continued investments in supporting infrastructure to increase
scale of deployment (high confidence). The environmental footprint of
battery production and growing concerns about critical minerals can
be addressed by material and supply diversification strategies, energy
and material efficiency improvements, and circular material flows
(medium confidence). Advances in battery technologies could facilitate
the electrification of heavy-duty trucks and compliment conventional
electric rail systems (medium confidence). Sustainable biofuels can offer
additional mitigation benefits in land-based transport in the short and
medium term (medium confidence). Sustainable biofuels, low-emissions
hydrogen, and derivatives (including synthetic fuels) can support
mitigation of CO2 emissions from shipping, aviation, and heavy-duty
land transport but require production process improvements and cost
reductions (medium confidence). Key infrastructure systems including
sanitation, water, health, transport, communications and energy will
be increasingly vulnerable if design standards do not account for
changing climate conditions (high confidence). {WGII SPM B.2.5;
WGIII SPM C.6.2, WGIII SPM C.8, WGIII SPM C.8.1, WGIII SPM C.8.2,
WGIII SPM C.10.2, WGIII SPM C.10.3, WGIII SPM C.10.4}

Green/natural and blue infrastructure such as urban forestry, green
roofs, ponds and lakes, and river restoration can mitigate climate change
through carbon uptake and storage, avoided emissions, and reduced
energy use while reducing risk from extreme events such as heatwaves,
heavy precipitation and droughts, and advancing co-benefits for health,
well-being and livelihoods (medium confidence). Urban greening can
provide local cooling (very high confidence). Combining green/natural
and grey/physical infrastructure adaptation responses has potential
to reduce adaptation costs and contribute to flood control, sanitation,
water resources management, landslide prevention and coastal
protection (medium confidence). Globally, more financing is directed
at grey/physical infrastructure than green/natural infrastructure
and social infrastructure (medium confidence), and there is limited
evidence of investment in informal settlements (medium to high
confidence). The greatest gains in well-being in urban areas can be
achieved by prioritising finance to reduce climate risk for low-income and marginalised communities including people living in informal
settlements (high confidence). {WGII SPM C.2.5, WGII SPM C.2.6, WGII
SPM C.2.7, WGII SPM D.3.2, WGII TS.E.1.4, WGII Cross-Chapter Box FEAS;
WGIII SPM C.6, WGIII SPM C.6.2, WGIII SPM D.1.3, WGIII SPM D.2.1}

Responses to ongoing sea level rise and land subsidence in low-lying
coastal cities and settlements and small islands include protection,
accommodation, advance and planned relocation. These responses
are more effective if combined and/or sequenced, planned well ahead,
aligned with sociocultural values and development priorities, and
underpinned by inclusive community engagement processes. (high
confidence) {WGII SPM C.2.8}