Urban Resilience: How Our Cities Must Adapt to Climate Change

Climate Risk Podcast

Hear from Emma Howard Boyd CBE, Chair of the London Climate Resilience Review, as we dive into the challenges of climate adaptation and what it means for our cities.

2023 was not only the warmest year on record, it also marked the warmest 10-year period on record. As we witness first-hand the impacts of a warming climate, including heatwaves, more intense precipitation and increased flooding, the case for building resilience against these risks becomes ever more important. This is particularly so in our cities, where the concentration of populations and economic activity make adaptation non-negotiable.

This episode’s guest has recently led a comprehensive review of the Climate Resilience of London, which takes stock of the city’s preparedness for climate impacts and makes a series of recommendations for how the city needs to bolster its efforts. In this episode, we explore:

• How cities are vulnerable to cascading and interconnected risks, which amplify the impacts of climate change;
• How a collaborative approach to learning and building resilience will be critical in the years ahead;
• And how adaptation and resilience need to be woven through our all our decision making, while paying particular attention to the most vulnerable communities

To find out more about the Sustainability and Climate Risk (SCR®) Certificate, follow this link: https://www.garp.org/scr

For more information on climate risk, visit GARP’s Global Sustainability and Climate Risk Resource Center: https://www.garp.org/sustainability-climate

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Links from today’s discussion:

• Read the final report of the London Climate Resilience Review: https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/environment-and-climate-change/climate-change/climate-adaptation/london-climate-resilience-review
• C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group: https://www.c40.org/
• Thames Estuary 2100 Group report directory: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/thames-estuary-2100-te2100

Speaker’s Bio(s)

Emma Howard Boyd, Chair, London Climate Resilience Review

Emma has been the Chair of the London Climate Resilience Review, leading the delivery of its work since summer 2023. She has had an extensive career in financial services at the forefront of the climate change, environmental and sustainable finance agenda.

Emma is also currently Chair of ClientEarth and a Global Ambassador for Race to Zero and Race to Resilience, and outgoing Chair of the Green Finance Institute. She has been Chair of the Environment Agency and an ex-officio board member of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2016 to 2022.

Emma serves on several boards and advisory committees which include The Major Projects Association, Climate Arc, and the European Climate Foundation. She was the UK Commissioner to the Global Commission on Adaptation from 2018 until its sunset in January 2021.