COP31 Holds Its First High-Level Dialogue on Cities: UN-Habitat Chief Says Housing Must Sit at the Heart of Climate Action, With Up to 3 Billion People Lacking Adequate Housing
Leaders at the 31st UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye, held a high-level dialogue on urban resilience, adaptation and climate action on November 12. It was the first time a UN climate conference had dedicated such a dialogue at its leaders' summit.
Anacláudia Rossbach, Executive Director of UN-Habitat, delivered remarks on behalf of UN Secretary-General António Guterres. "Housing is climate action. Urban planning is climate action. Access to basic services is climate action," she said. Countries had made important climate commitments and it was now time to deliver, she said, and a large part of the answer lies in cities, where decisions on housing, transport, land and basic services shape both emissions and people's ability to withstand climate shocks. Prioritising adequate housing, transforming informal settlements and strengthening urban resilience must be central to climate action.
According to the United Nations, up to three billion people lack adequate housing, while more than one billion live in informal settlements, often exposed to floods, landslides and extreme heat. A new UN-Habitat analysis found that 80 per cent of national climate plans now contain well-developed urban measures, up from 50 per cent in the previous round, while cities need about $4.5 trillion in climate investment each year through 2030 and current financing covers only about one-fifth of that.
The dialogue was convened by the COP31 Presidency and UN-Habitat and drew more than 1,000 participants, including heads of state and government, mayors and climate finance leaders. More than 100 national leaders endorsed the Antalya Compact for Energy Efficient Buildings, setting two targets for 2035: a 25 per cent cut in the operational energy intensity of the global building stock, and faster take-up of efficient electric systems in buildings. COP31 President Murat Kurum said climate action has to deliver where people live.
(Source: United Nations)
Source: United Nations
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：土耳其 Antalya 天际线（资料图）。Sharon Hahn Darlin 摄，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The skyline of Antalya, Türkiye (file photo). By Sharon Hahn Darlin, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
