Bonn – Rapid urbanisation increases the climate risk for billions of people. But a series of initiatives around the world are bolstering the resilience of cities, towns and villages.

The statistics are already well known: more than half the world’s population now live in cities, and a further 2.5 billion people are expected to join them by 2050. At the same time, the impact of climate change – from extreme storms to sea level rise – are putting urban dwellers at risk, especially those living in marginalised, informal settlements like slums or along coastal areas. Desertification for its part is reducing the amount of arable land needed to feed the growing urban population, explains the UN's climate change agency. 

To combat these threats to sustainable development, initiatives around the world are working to build resilience and address the growing climate-related risks posed to inhabited areas. A new UN report has compiled a summary of some of the most prominent global and regional programmes, structured around five opportunities for action offered by them: learn, access technical support, commit, finance and unite.