Flooding and extreme heat are the most widespread impacts of climate change facing cities across all continents, new data insights reveal.

A non-profit which runs the world’s environmental disclosure system for companies, cities, states and regions, CDP, released the data saying that 83 percent of the world’s cities are reporting significant climate hazards. This represents a rise on 80 percent in 2022 – with over half of cities (56 percent) already being significantly impacted by these hazards.

Maia Kutner, CDP Director for Cities, States and Regions told Cities Today that while the data is not necessarily surprising or unexpected, climate hazards are overwhelmingly reported to be expected to increase in intensity and frequency in the future.

“Vulnerable populations are those most exposed to the highest percentage of hazards,” she said. “Community engagement and education is the most frequent adaptation action reported in response to climate hazards – perhaps surprising that this is ahead of targeted climate action planning which comes second.”

Of the 1,131 cities reporting their environmental data through CDP-ICLEI Track in 2023, more than four fifths (83 percent) said they face significant climate hazards.

However, Kutner did say that there were some positive trends in the data, including:

• More than 4/5 (86%) of the top 5 hazards reported by cities globally are already being addressed through climate action, plans or both
• Despite being the second most reported climate hazard, urban flooding is the hazard most expected to decrease in frequency and intensity
• Cities are increasingly reporting more data on climate hazards, enhancing understanding and knowledge exchange of climate-related issues faced by cities around the world.
• And global investment in addressing climate change has continuously increased over the past decade reaching an all-time high of nearly US$1.3 trillion per year in 2021-2022.

“Despite this progress, data from cities disclosing to CDP-ICLEI track shows that the demand for climate finance in cities in increasing year on year,” she said. “In 2023, more than 700 cities reported over 2,500 projects in need of financing or funding – representing a 63 percent increase from 2021.”

She added that key efforts to meet this demand include:

• Strengthening multilevel governance (a key initiative in this regard is CHAMP – the Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships)

• Accelerating private sector involvement by supporting cities in developing the enabling conditions for private sector investment and expanding the deployment of new financial instruments aimed at crowding-in the private sector.

• Designing more fit-for-purpose international and national financing mechanisms that can de-risk and incentivise capital mobilisation for city climate actions in low-income countries

• And closing the standardised data gap on local climate investments needs and opportunities with more robust, accurate, and timely project disclosure, helping to identify replicable solutions and pointing out target areas for investment and technical assistance.