During the Climate Adaptation Summit 2021, the Mayor of Rotterdam Ahmed Aboutaleb will present the 10-year global program, 1000 Cities Adapt Now, to accelerate and scale adaptation measures in cities. On behalf of global cities and a new coalition of partners, he will present the Joint Statement on Accelerating Climate Adaptation in Cities to world leaders including the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the former and current Secretaries-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon and António Guterres, and the Prime Ministers of India, France and the Netherlands, Emmanuel Macron, Narendra Modi and Mark Rutte.

Want to participate? Summit registration is open ahead of the event on January 25.

“People in cities are facing persistent problems including poverty, inequality, and basic infrastructure deficits, which intersect with the climate crisis and pandemic,” said Rogier van den Berg, Director of Urban Development, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities. “We need to address these interconnected challenges together – by helping cities build resilience to the multiple threats they face. The 1000 Cities Adapt Now global program offers such an approach, and can help put cities on a stronger, safer path that opens up new economic opportunities and higher quality of life for citizens.”

1000 Cities Adapt Now

1000 Cities Adapt Now is an initiative of the Global Center on Adaptation, World Resources Institute, Resilient Cities Network and UN-Habitat. The goal is to speed up climate change adaptation within cities and scale up action to 1,000 cities in the coming decade. The initiative consists of a comprehensive offer focusing on key impact solutions such as urban water resilience and nature-based solutions, transformative capacity building in cities and peer-to-peer learning between cities. 1000 Cities Adapt Now is a global program that also supports a green and just post-COVID-19 recovery – a recovery that helps create new jobs, improve equity and prepare communities to adapt to climate and health threats. The coalition network seeks the commitment of mayors to strengthen the role of cities in improving our environment, climate and society at Climate Adaptation Summit 2021 as part of the leadup to COP26 and beyond.

Mayors Forum at Climate Adaptation Summit 2021

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cities and communities is enormous. But as city leaders address the virus and the economic fallout, they also have a responsibility to prepare for the future. At the Climate Adaptation Summit 2021 on January 25, the Mayors Forum will focus on the need for climate action and more concrete adaptation in cities. The Forum will be opened by the 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations and Chair of the Global Commission on Adaptation, Ban Ki-moon. It will showcase the challenges and solutions cities face, with mayors of Miami, Paris, Accra, Christchurch, Milan, Jakarta, Surat, Beira, Antwerp, Greater Manchester, Tirana, Athens, Khulna, Istanbul, and Rotterdam.

Program and registration to join the event.

Climate Adaptation Summit 2021

Hosted by the Netherlands, the Climate Adaptation Summit 2021 is the first global summit of world leaders dedicated to accelerating action for a climate resilient recovery from COVID-19. Following the work of the Global Commission on Adaptation, chaired by Ban Ki-moon, Bill Gates and Kristalina Georgieva, the summit will launch a comprehensive Adaptation Action Agenda to kickstart a transformational decade, towards COP26 and onwards. 

NOTE TO EDITORS
For more information about 1000 Cities Adapt Now: Tini Tran, World Resources Institute, tini.tran@wri.org, +1 (646) 618-3387
For more information about the Mayors Forum: Ms. Madelon van der Kemp, m.vanderkemp@rotterdam.nl, +31 6 3070 3508
For more information about the Climate Adaptation Summit 2021 and press registration: www.cas2021.com/press