A tropical depression lingered over Taiwan recently, bringing torrential rain like waterfalls. Continuous heavy rain caused floods, severely affecting cities and counties across Taiwan far beyond people’s expectations. They even exceeded the capacity of many urban flood-control measures.
The UN Human Settlements Programme, UN-Habitat, says that all cities around the world are affected by climate change, while 80 percent of cities appear to be vulnerable to earthquakes and 60 percent are threatened by windstorms, floods, tsunamis and other natural disasters.
As the weather becomes more unpredictable, are our cities resilient enough to tackle the challenges?
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at 3pm on Sept. 10 spoke in New York regarding climate change and proposed a vision for next year.
The globe is suffering increasing numbers of climate-change induced natural hazards, Guterres said.
Ice on Greenland has begun to break and the ice caps are melting fast, while carbon concentrations have reached historical highs, wild fires are occurring more often and lasting longer, sea temperatures are rising and threatening ocean life, and land is becoming too barren to produce rice and is unsuitable for human habitation.
Furthermore, shortages of energy and resources make post-disaster recovery in vulnerable areas even more difficult.
Humans are facing a critical moment to take action against climate change.
In response to increasing carbon dioxide concentrations, the Paris Agreement was proposed with the aim of “holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.”
In this regard, many countries are seeking renewable energies to replace conventional fossil fuels and promoting a circular economy. However, many industrial executive officers hesitate to move forward due to the tension between climate action and economic growth.
Guterres pointed out that taking climate action could reduce the cost much more than the temperature rise would cost.
For example, the restructuring of energy resources — replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy — could create new jobs, promote innovation, drive the supply chain, save money and boost profits.
Renewable energies consume less water, generate less pollution, and provide space and time for land to recover and become fertile for food production, creating a favorable environment for sustainable development and more opportunities for industries to thrive.
To battle climate change, technology and innovation are vital. The government, stakeholders and individuals should work together and contribute multi-level and cross-domain efforts.
The government is responsible for identifying risks and opportunities, as well as making policy to accommodate global trends and guide the country to work toward sustainable development.
Insurance and investment from stakeholders should shift to renewable energies.
Urban planning and infrastructure should focus on sustainability and resilience. People should make it their moral duty to ensure that the vulnerable become resilient to climate change issues.
Moreover, empowering women and encouraging young leaders could all contribute to addressing climate issues in different areas.
Guterres emphasized that humans have no time to waste and should take every action to fight against climate issues.
Drawing on the speech by the UN secretary-general and thinking about Taiwan’s urban future regarding sustainable growth, climate change issues could be seen as an opportunity for transition.
A sustainable and resilient city must achieve harmonious interactions between humans and nature from a spatial perspective and enhance urban resilience by accommodating change.
Of course, changes to a city are not limited to times of acute shock, but also include chronic stresses, such as an aging society, increased criminality, a broadened gap between the rich and poor, as well as environmental, social, economic and other perspectives. Hence, cities should have more comprehensive considerations while planning for sustainable and resilient strategies.
As President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) indicated in her National Day address in October last year, Taiwan would endeavor to promote sustainability and expand comprehensive and cross-domain collaborations regarding issues of regional development, environmental protection, medical care, religious freedom, market freedom and multiculturalism to create a favorable environment for sustainable development.
In other words, climate change might not drag down the economy, but it might be an opportunity that could allow the nation and its cities to be more resilient.
Chen Chih-wei is chairman of the Institute of Urban Diversity and Mobility, and sits on the Executive Yuan’s National Council for Sustainable Development.
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