Eleven additional cities sign up to global adaptation charter

Eleven more cities signed up today to the Durban Adaptation Charter–a global agreement between mayors to mainstream climate change adaptation–at ICLEI’s Resilient Cities congress in Bonn, Germany.

Led by the Mayor of Bonn, Jürgen Nimptsch, the 11 cities representing 15 million constituents, signed up to promise to integrate climate adaptation into urban planning and bolster their resilience against climate risks. These new cities now take the total number of signatories of the Charter to 1,100.

“The signing reflects the high importance of local climate action to address climate change adaptation and we hope that the 1,100 signatories will multiply in order to ensure the readiness of cities worldwide to adapt to climate change,” said Gino Van Begin, Secretary General, ICLEI.

The Charter, which was developed and adopted during the COP17 UN Climate Summit in Durban, South Africa, in 2011, calls for mainstreaming adaptation as a key informant of all local government development planning while recognising the needs of vulnerable communities and ensuring sustainable local economic development.

“Durban is renowned internationally for its work on climate change to prioritise adaptation as its primary climate change objective,” said Debra Roberts, Deputy Head, Environmental Planning and Climate Protection, eThekwini Municipality/Durban, South Africa. “That’s quite unlike most of the cities around the world which generally start off with a mitigation focus.”

Roberts added that being host of COP17 provided a unique opportunity to take up the importance of advocating climate change at the local level and launching the Charter in the international arena and is proud to see the Charter gathering momentum with new signatories.

The Charter offers cities a channel of opportunity to leverage funding sources and partnerships. During the Charter’s implementation guidance workshop held in Durban last March, city officials further identified potential governance mechanisms, the need for implementation support and for appropriate mechanisms for documenting progress.

Rolando Golez, Mayor of Dumangas, Philippines, reiterated further support to the Charter, stating that the Charter has been fully integrated in urban planning, zoning, and all aspects of urban governance in his city.

More than 40 mayors and city officials gathered at the Resilient Cities congress that serves as a platform to review and advance the Durban Adaptation Charter. The 11 cities which signed the Charter are: Bonn, Germany; Kathmandu, Nepal; Seoul, South Korea; North Vancouver, Canada; Cochin, India; Linköping, Sweden, Tevragh-Zeina, Mauritania; Seferihisar, Turkey; Shimla, India; Matale, Sri Lanka; and Pekalongan, Indonesia.