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Webinar addresses how cities are responding to climate change

23.04.2021

In the latest installment of Sister Cities International’s Global Conversation Series on City Resiliency, partners examined experiences and best practices of cities adapting to climate-related risks and the importance of accelerated climate action, emphasizing the need for embracing inclusive engagements. The event was moderated by Leroy Allala, President and CEO of Sister Cities International, a recent addition to the Mountain Partnership.

Opening the webinar, Kristopher King, Executive Director of the Charleston Preservation Society, asked audiences to consider why historic preservation is part of the resiliency conversation. He explained that Charleston, South Carolina, is one of the most historic cities in the United States of America but that it is grappling with issues of over-development, over-tourism, sea level rise and flooding. To address this, Charleston is planning and implementing a variety of interventions, from raising historical buildings to constructing a sea wall. “Charleston is going through a rapid evolution. While preservation is about the details, it is really about the future of the city and the people that live here,” said King. The City of Charleston is working on developing a resilient, sustainable economic model that will support residents, looking to create more diversity and vitality.

Next, Rosalaura Romeo, Programme Officer of the Mountain Partnership Secretariat at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, provided an overview of the Mountain Partnership and of the issues affecting people living in mountain areas around the world. “In mountains, climate change is driving food insecurity, threatening to erode and reverse gains made toward ending hunger and malnutrition. Alliance, joint initiatives and exchange of information are key to finding solutions,” said Romeo. She ended her intervention with a discussion of the Living Chapel as an example of an initiative that brings people of all backgrounds together to develop a common vision for a better future and find solutions together to achieve it.

The final speaker, Tiffany Wise-West, Sustainability and Climate Action Manager for the City of Santa Cruz, California, shared a number of projects that the city is investing in to address the effects of climate change. From protecting the city’s four miles of coastline from sea level rise, to addressing threats to infrastructure from storms, Santa Cruz is actively adopting action plans and developing policy interventions to ensure a continued high quality of life in the community. Wise-West said, “Equity is paramount in terms of climate adaptation.” To achieve equity, Wise-West underlined how the city is engaging its culturally vibrant and diverse community in planning the city’s vision for the future. Meanwhile, through the Sister Cities network, Santa Cruz has developed an asynchronous peer exchange platform with Shingu, Japan, for students to discuss climate issues.

This event was organized in collaboration with ADEC Innovations and the Global CEO Alliance to build capacities and increase awareness, as well as preparedness, on science-based and data-driven planning mechanisms to identify vulnerabilities and potential impacts, and post-event responses.

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Photo by Tobias Jelskov on Unsplash