Africa’s cities and urban areas confront a multitude of interlinked and complex challenges as aresult of climate change. The most pressing climate- and human-induced issues are:

The City of Tshwane hosted the 2nd African Capital Cities’ Sustainability Forum last 31 May 2016. Below is the opening speech by Executive Mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa. “Our gathering today and entire initiative of African Capital Cities Sustainability Forum constitute a re-incarnation and a living embodiment of the tribulations that authored the history of our continent.” … Continued

According to a report titled ‘The Adaptation Finance Gap Report 2016,’ which was just released by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the cost of adapting to climate change in developing countries could rise to between US$280 and US$500 billion per year by 2050, a figure that is four to five times greater than previous estimates. Focusing … Continued

On the 16th of May 2016, ICLEI Secretary General and Mayor Sharif delivered interventions at the 2nd World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments. Sharif highlighted the new and innovative concepts which have emerged around urban development, such as the right-to-the-city and the need for a territorial-approach. The Habitat III Zero Draft of the New Urban … Continued

The Paris Climate Package, including the Paris Agreement and its related decisions on implementation, opens a new era of universal, ambitious and inclusive action to tackle climate change and cope with its effects. Through the Paris Agreement, national governments commit to advance on all aspects of climate change and will strive to limit global warming … Continued

Addressing the causes of climate change was – until the inception of the Urban-LEDS project in 2012 – a low priority for the majority of municipalities in South Africa. Accordingly, creating low emissions development strategies presents a significant challenge, as it requires that officials divert their attention from service delivery and crisis management, toward topics that they at first may … Continued

A total of ten entities from South Africa, Tanzania and Rwanda take part in this year’s Earth Hour City Challenge 2015-2016. Comprising of cities, secondary cities, municipalities and districts, participants from the region stand to represent the diverse context which nonetheless drive a common vision towards sustainable development. In respect to this, pilot editions of Earth … Continued