Cities, Climate Change and Green Growth

Cities and Green Growth | Compact Cities | Cities and Climate Change
Cities at the Frontlines of Adaptation | Future flood losses | Publications | Related Programmes

Cities are home to over half of the world’s population and characterise many of today’s environmental challenges. Cities can also be catalysts for environmental policy solutions. National, regional and local policy makers have pursued urban development through initiatives that seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and increase resource efficiency while beginning to steer their economies out of the global financial crisis. In co-ordination with national, regional and local governments, the OECD has been working to bridge the divide between achievement of ambitious environmental goals and economic development. Based on rigorous analysis, our peer-reviewed recommendations illustrate how cities can deliver cost-effective policy responses to global economic and environmental challenges simultaneously, addressing climate change while striving to achieve green growth.

‌‌‌‌‌‌ Cities and Climate change-Policy Perspectives ‌

This Policy Perspectives explores how enabling policy frameworks at the national level can support critical urban action to combat climate change. Read the key messages.

Cities and Green Growth

The OECD Green Cities Programme seeks to better understand the concept of green growth in cities; the potential of urban policies for urban and national green growth; and to inform national, sub-national and municipal governments as they seek to address economic and environmental challenges by pursuing green growth.

The programme contributes to the OECD’s horizontal work on green growth, initiated at the request of Ministers of the 34 countries who signed a Green Growth Declaration in 2009, thereby committing to strengthen their efforts to pursue green growth strategies as part of their responses to the crisis.

Green Growth in Cities

Green Growth in Cities presents the OECD Green Cities Programme’s main findings and policy recommendations, and provides a preliminary approach to measuring green growth in cities. The report draws on findings and evidence from in-depth urban level green growth studies [Paris-IDF (France), Chicago (United States), Stockholm (Sweden) and Kitakyushu (Japan)] and two national level studies on urban green growth (China and Korea). It also draws on data from the OECD Metropolitan Database and the conceptual framework, Cities and Green Growth. The report’s recommendations are primarily addressed to policy makers in OECD countries. Numerous findings and recommendations are nonetheless valuable for non-member countries, notably for those with high levels and rates of urbanisation.

Urban Green Growth in Dynamic Asia

How can urban green growth models be adapted to the unique development context of Asian cities? OECD has launched the Urban Green Growth in Dynamic Asia project to explore ways to achieve green growth in fast-growing cities in Asia.

The project is composed of three elements:

a synthesis report published in November 2016U
case studies of Bangkok (Thailand), Bandung (Indonesia), Hai Phong (Viet Nam) and Cebu (Philppines)
and knowledge sharing events and activities.

The Urban Green Growth in Dynamic Asia project is a key vector of the OECD Knowledge Sharing Alliance (KSA), which promotes mutual learning processes between OECD and emerging and developing economies.

Compact City Policies

Compact cities are not simply dense cities. Instead, they encompass a wider set of characteristics, including dense and proximate development patterns, built-up areas linked by public transport systems, and accessibility to local services and jobs. Compact City Policies: A Comparative Assessment (2012) offers a comprehensive understanding of the compact city concept, its role in today’s urban contexts, and the potential outcomes of compact city policies.

Cities and Climate Change

‌‌ISBN Number:
9789264063662
Publication Date:
29/11/2010

The OECD book, Cities and Climate Change, shows how city and metropolitan regional governments can work in tandem with national governments to respond to climate change. Urban policies can contribute to a global greenhouse gas mitigation agenda and reduce the overall cost of emissions abatement, due to the impact of lifestyles, spatial form and transportation choices on greenhouse gas emissions, and the opportunity to serve as policy laboratories. Local-level financing deserves attention: urban revenue sources can be greened, such as through congestion charges and reforming property taxes that favour sprawl, and new financial instruments are needed, such as simplified, multisectoral urban involvement in the Clean Development Mechanism, Joint Implementation and carbon markets, as well as generally greater access to international and domestic capital markets. National policies and enabling frameworks can leverage existing local policy experiments, accelerate policy responses and learning, mobilise resources, and support harmonised local greenhouse gas inventory methods.

Cities at the Frontlines of Vulnerability and Adaptation

Urban action is a cornerstone of efforts to limit or avoid climate impacts on infrastructure, people and economies. With their in-depth knowledge of the local landscape, urban policymakers are at the frontlines of efforts to adapt and reduce vulnerabilities to climate change. Focusing on the economic costs and benefits of action, we have identified strategies to increase cities’ contribution to adaptation in both developed and developing countries. Our research has informed government action on adaptation with the following tools:

A conceptual framework for impact and benefit assessment at urban scale, an assessment of global port city vulnerability and response options, and two case studies (Copenhagen and Mumbai)
An investigation of strategies to integrate adaptation at city scale in development co-operation and planning in developing countries.

Future Flood Losses in Major Coastal Cities

Climate change combined with rapid population increases, economic growth and land subsidence could lead to a more than 9-fold increase in the global risk of floods in large port cities between now and 2050. Future Flood Losses in Major Coastal Cities, published in Nature Climate Change, is part of an ongoing OECD project to explore the policy implications of flood risks due to climate change and economic development.

Read the communiqué

Table of projections for cities in 2050: optimistic scenario

Table of projections for cities in 2050: pessimistic scenario

Publications & Reports

Green Cities

OECD (2013), Green Growth in Cities, OECD Green Growth Studies, OECD Publishing, Paris.
OECD (2013), Green Growth in Stockholm, Sweden, OECD Green Growth Studies, OECD Publishing.
OECD (2013), Green Growth in Kitakyushu, Japan, OECD Green Growth Studies, OECD Publishing.
OECD (2013), "Urbanisation and Green Growth in China", OECD Regional Development Working Papers, No. 2013/07, OECD Publishing.
OECD (2013), "Cities and Green Growth: The Case of the Chicago Tri-State Metropolitan Area", OECD Regional Development Working Papers, No. 2013/06, OECD Publishing.
Merk, O., et al. (2012), "Financing Green Urban Infrastructure", OECD Regional Development Working Papers, No. 2012/10, OECD Publishing.
OECD (2012) Kamal-Chaoui , L. and M. Plouin, Cities and Green Growth: Case Study of the Paris/Ile-de-France Region, OECD Regional Development Working Papers 2012/02, OECD, Paris.
OECD (2011) Hammer, S., L. Kamal-Chaoui, A. Robert and M. Plouin, Cities and Green Growth: A Conceptual Framework, OECD Regional Development Working Papers 2011/08, OECD, Paris.
OECD (2011) Kamal-Chaoui, L., F. Grazi, J. Joo and M. Plouin, The Implementation of the Korean Green Growth Strategy in Urban Areas, OECD Regional Development Working Papers 2011/02, OECD, Paris.
OECD (2011) Proceedings of the OECD Roundtable for Mayors and Ministers, May 25, 2010, Paris
OECD (2010), , OECD, Paris.
Clapp, C., A. Leseur, O. Sartor, G. Briner and J. Corfee-Morlot (2010), “Cities and Carbon Market Finance: Taking Stock of Cities’ Experience with CDM and JI”, OECD Environment Working Paper 29, OECD, Paris, full report, executive summary.
OECD (2010), “Cities and Green Growth”, Issues Paper for the 3rd Annual Meeting of the OECD Urban Roundtable Of Mayors And Ministers, OECD, Paris.
Corfee-Morlot, J., Kamal-Chaoui, L.,Donovan, M.G., Cochran, I., Robert, A. and Teasdale, P.J. (2009), “Cities, Climate Change and Multilevel Governance”, OECD Environment Working Paper 14, OECD, Paris.
Kamal-Chaoui, Lamia and Alexis Robert (eds.) (2009), “Competitive Cities and Climate Change”, OECD Regional Development Working Paper, OECD, Paris.
OECD (2009), The Economics of Climate Change Mitigation: Policies and Options for Global Action Beyond 2012, OECD, Paris.
OECD (2009), “Green Cities: New Approaches to Confronting Climate Change”, Proceedings from the workshop held in Gran Canaria, Spain on 11 June 2009, OECD, Paris.
OECD (2008), “Competitive Cities and Climate Change”, Proceedings from conference held in Milan on 9-10 October 2008, OECD, Paris.
OECD (2006), Competitive Cities in the Global Economy, OECD, Paris.
OECD Metropolitan Reviews and OECD National Urban Policy Reviews : chapters on urban responses to environmental, climate change and green growth challenges (e.g. Reviews of Guangdong, Venice, Toronto, Korea, Poland).

Vulnerability and Adaptation

Carmin, J., D. Dodman and E. Chu (2013), "Urban Climate Adaptation and Leadership: From Conceptual Understanding to Practical Action", OECD Regional Development Working Papers, No. 2013/26, OECD, Paris, doi: 10.1787/5k3ttg88w8hh-en.
OECD (2010), , OECD, Paris.
Hallegatte, S., N. Ranger, S. Bhattacharya, M. Bachu, S. Priya, K. Dhore, F. Rafique, P. Mathur, N. Naville, F. Henriet, A. Patwardhan, K. Narayanan, S. Ghosh, S. Karmakar, U. Patnaik, A. Abhayankar, S. Pohit, J. Corfee-Morlot, J., C. Herweijer (2010), "Flood Risks, Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Benefits in Mumbai", OECD Environment Working Paper 27, OECD, Paris.
OECD (2009), Integrating Climate Change Adaptation into Development Co-operation: Policy Guidance, OECD, Paris.
Hallegatte, S., N. Patmore, O. Mestre, P. Dumas, J. Corfee-Morlot, C. Herweijer, R. Muir Wood (2008), “Assessing Climate Change Impacts, Sea Level Rise and Storm Surge Risk in Port Cities: A Case Study on Copenhagen”, OECD Environment Working Paper 3, OECD, Paris.
Hallegatte, S., F. Henriet, and J. Corfee-Morlot (2008), “The Economics of Climate Change Impacts and Policy Benefits at City Scale: A Conceptual Framework”, OECD Environment Working Paper 4, OECD, Paris.
Nicholls, R., S. Hanson, C. Herweijer, N. Patmore, S. Hallegatte, J. Corfee-Morlot, J. Chateau, and R. Muir-Wood (2008) “Ranking Port Cities with High Exposure and Vulnerability to Climate Extremes: Exposure Estimates”, OECD Environment Working Paper 1, OECD, Paris. Executive Summary. Supplemental scenario data.
OECD (2008), OECD Environmental Outlook to 2030, OECD, Paris.
Hunt, A., and P. Watkiss (2007), “Literature Review on Climate Change Impacts on Urban City Centres: Initial Findings”, OECD, Paris.