Why the IPCC's Upcoming Special Report on Cities Matters for S-E Asia

It will have strategies tailored to urban contexts to tackle climate challenges

- Winston Chow and Mukesh Gupta

In September, Typhoon Yagi swept through Vietnam, the Philippines, Northern Thailand, and Laos, leaving a trail of death and destruction in its wake. Millions living in cities across the region watched helplessly as water breached their front doors and flooded their homes.

The South-east Asian region is highly vulnerable to climate change, with millions of people living in low-lying coastal cities. Rapid urbanization in South-east Asia also brings added urgency, with a significant estimated increase of today's urban population from 335 million to 542 million by 2050.

As such, cities such as Bangkok, Manila, and Kuala Lumpur will experience growing demands on infrastructure, housing, and resources, all while facing rising sea levels and more extreme weather events.

But, at the same time, cities also have tremendous potential to develop and implement climate solutions.

Other than the Singapore Green Plan 2030, which is the city-state's blueprint for sustainability, other South-east Asian cities have also taken the lead in urban climate action.

Penang, in Malaysia, has implemented comprehensive green initiatives like the Penang Green Agenda, focusing on waste reduction, renewable energy, and urban biodiversity.

The coastal city of Semarang, Indonesia, has adopted inclusive community-driven approaches to reduce its urban flood risk from flooding and sea level rise, in addition to developing solar and waste-to-energy plants as renewable energy options.

This duality of cities—being at greater vulnerability and risk to climate impacts but also having an influence on stopping the causes of global warming—means that it is critical for policymakers to have the most up-to-date science on what climate adaptation and mitigation actions can work in this context.