This book addresses the complexity of urbanization, impacts of climate change and climate change adaptation for the metropolitan region of Santiago de Chile, with a special focus on the most pressing issues of natural hazards, water and energy supply. The book exemplifies a conceptual approach for the development of adaptation measures, their evaluation and implementation in a decision support framework at the science-policy interface. It builds on scientific analyses of social and natural scientists, a participatory process with local authorities and a mutual learning network between large agglomerations in Latin America. The book is written for scholars of urban management, climate change, planning, governance and hazard research, as well as practitioners in local, regional and international organizations concerned with climate change, climate change impacts, and adaptation in metropolitan regions. While the regional focus is on Latin America the concepts and lessons learned are applicable and relevant to megacities around the world.​

This book showcases experiences from research, field projects and best practice in climate change adaptation in countries in the Latin American region, focusing on managing vulnerability and fostering resilience. It includes a selection of papers presented at a specialist symposium on climate change adaptation held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in November 2016.Consistent with the need for more cross-sectoral interaction among the various stakeholders working in the field of climate change adaptation in Latin America, the book documents and disseminates the wealth of experiences in the region. It is divided into two main parts: Part 1 addresses the current and future impacts of climate change on fauna, flora and landscapes, while Part 2 is concerned with the socio-economic aspects of climate change adaptation, analyzing some of the main problems prevailing in this vulnerable region and examining ways to address them.

This volume brings together, for the first time, a wide-ranging and detailed body of information identifying and assessing risk, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in urban centres in low- and middle-income countries. Framed by an overview of the main possibilities and constraints for adaptation, the contributors examine the implications of climate change for cities in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and propose innovative agendas for adaptation. The book should be of interest to policy makers, practitioners and academics who face the challenge of addressing climate change vulnerability and adaptation in urban centres throughout the global South. Published with E&U and International Institute for Environment and Development

This book deepens the understanding of the broader processes that shape and mediate the responses to climate change of poor urban households and communities in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Representing an important contribution to the evolution of more effective pro-poor climate change policies in urban areas by local governments, national governments and international organisations, this book is invaluable reading to students and scholars of environment and development studies.

This paper discusses the possibilities and constraints for adaptation to climate change in urban areas in low- and middle-income nations. These contain a third of the world's population and a large proportion of the people and economic activities most at risk from sea-level rise and from the heatwaves, storms and floods whose frequency and/or intensity climate change is likely to increase. Section I outlines both the potentials for adaptation and the constraints. Section II discusses the scale of urban change. Section III considers direct and indirect impacts of climate change on urban areas and which nations, cities and population groups are particularly at risk. This highlights how prosperous, well-governed cities could generally adapt, but most of the world's urban population lives in cities or smaller urban centres ill-equipped for adaptation. A key part of adaptation concerns infrastructure and buildings - but much of the urban population in Africa, Asia and Latin America lack the infrastructure to adapt. Most international agencies have long refused to support urban programmes, especially those that address these problems. Section IV discusses innovations by urban governments and community organizations and in financial systems that address such problems, including the relevance of recent innovations in disaster-risk reduction for adaptation. It notes how few city and national governments are taking any action on adaptation. Section V discusses how local innovation in adaptation can be encouraged and supported at national scale, and the funding needed to support this. Section VI considers the mechanisms for financing this and the larger ethical challenges that achieving adaptation raises - especially the fact that most climate-change-related urban (and rural) risks are in low-income nations with the least adaptive capacity, including many that have contributed very little to greenhouse-gas emissions.

Governments and civil society in Latin America and the Caribbean should be well informed about the potential costs and benefits of combating climate change, their policy options over the next decades, and the global context for these policy decisions. At the same time, the global community needs to be better informed about the unique perspective of the Latin American and Caribbean region: problems the region will face, its potential contributions toward combating global warming, and how to maximize this potential while continuing to maintain growth and reduce poverty. This book, a companion volume to Low Carbon, High Growth: Latin American Responses to Climate Change, seeks to help fill both these needs.