An evidence-based approach to accelerate climate action

Bangladesh is the world's seventh most climate risk-affected country and pays an exorbitant cost of around $1 billion exacted annually by tropical cyclones and a high level of air pollution that cost 9 per cent of the country's GDP. As the devastation of climate change continues to exacerbate, one-third of agricultural GDP could be lost by 2050 and around 13.3 million people may become internal migrants over the next 30 years, with women bearing the brunt of the burden. Bangladesh's 2021 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) update outlines actions to address rising GHG emissions, and to remain below average per capita emissions for developing countries. However, while Bangladesh has a robust domestic climate policy framework that focuses on resilience, implementation challenges still persist.

This is where cities come in as it is critical that we must prioritise work on climate change resilience and consider it a major municipal task.

Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh has a population of over 20 million and is a bustling hub of commercial, academic, and cultural activities. The city remains severely affected by air pollution, water logging, inefficiencies in the current waste disposal system, and traffic congestion and witnesses a daily influx of about 2,000 migrants. However, Dhaka's infrastructure is under severe pressure because of frequent waterlogging and extreme temperatures, which has led to the city being precariously placed in the endeavour for climate action.

TIPPING THE SCALES: Dhaka is highly vulnerable to natural disasters, and climate change is expected to exacerbate the situation with altered rainfall patterns, and increased temperatures. The city's topography makes it particularly susceptible to flooding, which poses a significant threat.

Dhaka is also reportedly one of the worst-affected cities in the world in terms of urban heat. Increasing land surface temperature is a serious threat to the residents of the city. Low-income groups and labourers are disproportionately affected by urban heat, which has led to health risks and reduced economic productivity. As the climatic conditions become more suitable, the incidence of dengue in Dhaka is increasing. Humidity in the range of 60 to 80 per cent, maximum temperature between 25°C and 35°C, and rainfall between 200-800 mm create ideal conditions for mosquitoes. Weather data between 1976 and 2019 indicate Dhaka is experiencing falling humidity levels, rising temperatures, and heavier summer rainfall. These together with factors like urbanisation are increasing the risk of the spread of dengue in Dhaka city.

These risks not only impact the local population, but also the natural and urban systems of the city. Therefore, it is important to understand the potential impacts of climate change on the city and its urban systems. Additionally, whilst the city does not have any direct impact from sea-level rise, climate change-induced sea level rise elsewhere in Bangladesh has become a main driver of human migration to the city from different parts of the country. The migrant population puts additional pressure on the urban services provided by Dhaka. The influx of migrants, trying to escape flooding in the coastal areas, to densely-populated Dhaka, is putting added pressure on the city's urban services, as many of these migrants live in informal settlements with inadequate facilities, making them vulnerable to several risks

Implementing climate change solutions at scale: In the light of these challenges, the city urgently needs to start its resilience-building journey by assessing its climate risk and vulnerability as well as defining implementable resilience and mitigation activities based on localised data. With extreme weather events becoming more and more common, the city is recognising the need to be climate-ready and as such has developed an evidence-based action plan that is aligned to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.

Climate action plans serve as a collaborative roadmap for city governments and their partners to navigate the challenges of environmental change. These plans go beyond emission reduction, encompassing strategies for adaptation, sustainability, and local development. By aligning with existing goals and empowering partnerships, they provide a framework for tackling the climate crisis while ensuring long-term prosperity for cities and their residents.

The development of the Climate Action Plan (CAP) for Dhaka is an important step in this direction and encapsulates the collective effort of the city to shape a sustainable and resilient future.

Dhaka's action plan has set an ambitious target to cut 70.6 per cent of city-wide emissions by 2050, as compared to the levels in 2021-22 along with a roadmap that addresses the unique climate challenges facing the city. It also shows the way forward for improving climate adaptation and mitigation policies and actions.

To meet the stated emission reduction objective, the city will attempt to attain 85 per cent renewable energy share in the power grid by 2050, as well as transfer 95 per cent of industrial fossil fuel use to low-carbon electricity. The city also plans to encourage greater adaptation of electric mobility in all vehicle categories by 2050. Furthermore, Dhaka will also aim to increase waste recycling, composting and bio-methanation of 100 per cent wet waste, along with 100 per cent of wastewater treatment to either adopt anaerobic treatment with biogas capture or well-managed efficient aerobic treatment by 2050. Sectoral KPIs have also been developed to track the progress of the execution of the strategies outlined in the climate action plan.

Dhaka is committed to taking tangible, positive steps towards making infrastructure, nature and communities more resilient to the impacts of climate breakdown. To manage the impacts of urban growth, Dhaka is increasing urban green space by 70 per cent and public toilet access by 80 per cent, ensuring millions more residents will have access to recreational areas and clean and sanitary bathroom facilities. The city is also developing 16 parks, three playgrounds, rainwater harvesting facilities, and improving pavements and cycling routes. The green spaces will increase climate resilience to heat waves and flooding, reduce greenhouse emissions, and create areas that are both equitable and accessible. It is estimated that 60 per cent of the project beneficiaries will be women, children and low-income residents; the city has considered women's safety and designated women's corners and single-sex toilets in every park.

Migrants, often displaced by climate impacts, regularly find themselves living in informal settlements. However, tensions with locals sometimes arise, increasing green space means that new areas will be opened up for residents to mix, mingle and break down social barriers. By the end of 2022, Dhaka North City Corporation aims to provide green spaces that are accessible within a 15-minute walk for 20 per cent of the population.

Dhaka has been a C40 City since 2006 and is one of the original 40 members. Subsequently, Dhaka City Corporation was divided into North (DNCC) and South (DSCC) in 2011 and DSCC also became a C40 member in 2018. Since then, both city corporations have signed the Deadline 2020 with an objective to reduce their sectoral emission by 50 per cent by 2030 and emission neutrality by 2050. GHG emissions inventory and future pathways modelling has been conducted for Dhaka city. They are currently in the process of implementing their CAPs.

Dhaka's extensive and ambitious CAP process was aided by C40's technical assistance, where ICLEI South Asia is providing on-ground support for the delivery of this project. Extensive work has been done to include identification exercises on existing city climate targets, plans, policies, data, programmes and regulatory mechanisms for conducting climate risk and vulnerability assessments.

In 2018, Dhaka's GPC-compliant GHG emission inventory was developed utilising C40's City Inventory Reporting and Information System (CIRIS) tool. However, a new and updated GHG inventory has been prepared for Dhaka North and South cities for the fiscal year 2021/22. This helps to better understand sectoral emissions and define mitigation goals and strategies.

Translating ambitious climate plans into action will require advancing reforms. Developing a 'Climate Action Plan' provides local governments with an opportunity to address both climate change adaptation challenges and mitigation potential simultaneously. The Climate action plan process is based on the premise that mainstreaming of climate action planning is the key to developing a vision of a climate-resilient city. The success of the plan lies in the collective responsibility of implementing the prioritised actions, which would also ensure mainstreaming environmental sustainability in city development.

The climate crisis affects us all. As one of the most adversely impacted cities in the world where climate change has led to an increase in the spread of infectious respiratory, waterborne, and mosquito-borne diseases, the time for concrete action is now. A robust Climate Action Plan will be the key for Dhaka to shift to a trajectory of resilience and prosperity from one of vulnerability. Bolstering resilience in line with the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C warming target hinges on scaling up adaptation resources, particularly through the establishment and expansion of locally-led adaptation hubs as a critical programme.

Atiqul Islam is mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and Shruti Narayan is C40 managing director for Region