Planning actions of the NUA to address climate change-induced health risks and their implications (2)

2 The New Urban Agenda's focus on climate change-induced health risks

The New Urban Agenda focuses on climate change and the health of the population, noting that they are interlinked and providing a vision for development and concrete means of implementation based on a summary of the issues, providing effective guidance to countries in planning practices to address health risks arising from climate change. The New Urban Agenda notes that cities and human settlements face unprecedented threats from the loss of biodiversity and environmental pollution caused by unsustainable consumption and production patterns and the associated risks from natural and man-made disasters and climate change. Urban centers and their inhabitants around the world, particularly in developing countries, are more vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change and natural and human-made hazards. The New Urban Agenda is dedicated to building inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities and human settlements and seeks to enhance urban resilience through the implementation of disaster risk management systems, climate change mitigation, health and resilience through the promotion of clean energy and healthy lifestyles in harmony with nature. This development vision can mitigate the adverse health impacts of climate change, both directly and indirectly.

In response to these issues and visions, the New Urban Agenda proposes three strategies to address them, namely, building urban governance structures, planning and managing urban spatial development and concrete means of implementation. The implementation of the transformational commitments of the New Urban Agenda requires effective policy frameworks at the national, regional and local levels, including the integration of sustainable urban and regional development concepts as part of integrated development strategies and planning, the establishment of multilevel consultation and public participation mechanisms and the promotion of metropolitan governance policies. The New Urban Agenda calls for the integration of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation and mitigation into urban and regional development and planning processes as considerations and measures and sets out guiding principles for planning and managing urban spatial development in a way that promotes the health of the population in three areas: housing, transport and the environment, including the control of greenhouse gas emissions, the development of spaces, buildings and works, services and infrastructure that respond effectively to climate change, and the promotion of resilient design for climate change. The New Urban Agenda's guidelines include the control of greenhouse gas emissions, the resilient design of spaces, buildings and engineering, services and infrastructure to effectively respond to climate change, and the promotion of healthy lifestyles adapted to nature. In addition, the implementation of the New Urban Agenda requires an enabling environment and multiple means of implementation, emphasizing the importance of financial and fiscal instruments, and encouraging Governments to establish integrated financing frameworks and to make use of multilateral funds, including the Green Climate Fund, the Global Environment Facility and the Adaptation Fund. "Adaptation Fund", "Climate Investment Funds", etc., to access resources for the implementation of climate change adaptation plans, policies, programmes and actions within the framework of statutory procedures.

Source：<https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/waTeo8GvMFyXtcP9co8sEw>

Planning actions of the New Urban Agenda to address climate change-induced health risks and their implications，Planners，2021（7）

Translated by Chen Yan