As climate hazards escalate, cities stand at the frontline of both crisis and opportunity. The ISOCARP-RTPI Cyber Agora #13 “Does COP Matter for Planners?” on 23rd January, brought together leading urban planners, climate experts, and policymakers to discuss the relevance of COP29 outcomes for planners. With around 100 participants, the timely discussion focussed on multilevel governance, urban transport, water resilience, and vulnerability mapping, with the critical role of planners in translating climate commitments into actionable urban strategies. 

Opening Remarks  

Celebrating ISOCARP’s 60th anniversary, Elisabeth Belpaire (President of ISOCARP) reflected on ISOCARP’s long commitment to sustainability, climate resilience and mitigation. Calling for mainstreaming climate discussions into planning, she highlighted ISOCARP’s strengthened role in climate advocacy, particularly its involvement with the Local Governments and Municipal Authorities (LGMA) at COP.  

Beatrice Crabb (RTPI) reinforced the message that planners, alongside other built environment professionals, are crucial in tackling the climate crisis. She stressed the need for greater collaboration across disciplines and governance levels, urging planners to embrace leadership roles in sustainability and climate action. 

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The Role of Cities in Climate Governance 

Yunus Arikan, Director of Global Advocacy at ICLEI and focal point for LGMA at the UNFCCC provided an insightful overview of the increasing role of cities in global climate negotiations. He highlighted that spatial planning was officially recognised in COP discussions on mitigation strategies. “Cities are not just shaped by mayors; they are living organisms where planners must work alongside policymakers to ensure sustainable urban futures,” he said. Increasing recognition of cities within UNFCCC negotiations has opened pathways for multilevel governance. 

A key challenge remains climate finance. During the discussion, Olafiyin Taiwo (Planners for Climate Action and RTPI) raised concerns about the role planners can play in securing critical financial resources and providing the necessary technical support to leverage budgets. Yunus Arikan called for planners to engage actively in climate governance at all levels, and cooperate between local governments and private investors to bridge the financial gap.

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Decarbonizing Urban Transport 

Teodora Serafimova from SLOCAT assessed that urban transport accounts for 16% of total GHG emissions and is one of the fastest-growing sources of CO₂ emissions globally.  One of the major challenges, she noted, is that half of the world’s population still lacks access to public transport, especially in developing countries, which struggle to attract climate finance due to political and economic instability.  One of the key outcomes of COP29 is the $300 billion climate finance agreement for developing countries, expected to grow into a $1.3 trillion annual investment by 2035. However, she raised concerns about the vague targets and unclear climate targets of these funds. 

Addressing urban planning strategies, Teodora Serafimova highlighted the “Avoid-Shift-Improve” framework, avoiding car dependency, shifting to low-carbon transport, and improving energy efficiency. The systemic transport reform can potentially reduce up to 60% of transport emission cost efficiently. 

The following discussion, moderated by Martina Juvara (ISOCARP) addressed public resistance to transport reform and the wide belief that switching to electric vehicles is enough to tackle emissions. Teodora Serafimova acknowledged individual interventions, but systemic changes are essential for meaningful climate progress. She also saw the potential of 15-minute city or proximity planning, despite of the resistance from automotive, real estate, and construction sectors, as well as deeply ingrained car ownership preferences. She emphasised that transitioning to low-carbon transport is a long-term process, cities must start investing in low-emission zones and prioritizing active mobility and public transport in their urban planning strategies. 

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Water Resilience in Climate Adaptation 

Thomas Rebermark from the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) gave insight into the intersection of water management and urban climate resilience. He explained that water is not a sectoral issue but a cross-cutting element that brings all aspects of climate adaptation. In COP29, he observed that water diplomacy has gained traction as a central component of global climate action. The increasing frequency of water crises has pushed governments to prioritise integrated water resource management in urban policy. He urged planners to integrate water-sensitive urban design into cities. 

Liz Sharp from the University of Sheffield expanded on Thomas Rebermark’s points, particularly on the financial and governance challenges that hinder adoption of climate-resilient water systems. She noted that water investments are often seen as costly, rather than essential. “Water adaptation is not a cost—it’s an investment in the future of our cities,” she explained, emphasizing the need for long-term planning in water infrastructure. Both experts called for a comprehensive approach that includes financial investment, governance reform, and the adoption of innovative tools to enforce urban resilience. 

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Loss and Damage: Vulnerability Mapping  

Cerin Kizhakkethottam and Lee Lambert from UN-Habitat highlighted the urgent need for data-driven climate resilience planning. Cerin Kizhakkethottam introduced the UN-Habitat RISE-UP flagship programme and the groundbreaking tool Multilayered Vulnerability Assessment (MVA) and the interactive platform Urban Vulnerability Atlas designed to help cities quantify climate risks and inform decision-making in urban resilience. With urban areas facing billions of dollars in annual climate-related damages, the major challenge in financing urban resilience projects is that many cities struggle to present clear, data-backed cases to investors. “We have a hard limit to how much we can adapt,” Cerin Kizhakkethottam warned, pointing to the $2.8 trillion loss and damage suffered globally in the last 19 years, especially in the least developed countries and small island developing states. 

Lee Lambert presented the Urban Vulnerability Atlas, which provides spatial insights into climate risks, and the MVA standardises vulnerability assessments, enabling cities to develop bankable climate adaptation projects. “Without compelling, accessible data, cities struggle to access critical climate finance,” Lambert explained. 

In the discussion, Tjark Gall (ISOCARP) touched on the Loss and Damage Fund, with Cerin Kizhakkethottam highlighting that sub-national governments have been invited to access these funds. However, without standardised vulnerability data, cities may struggle to meet the fund’s rigorous application requirements.

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Concluding Reflections: Call for Action 

Concluding the webinar, Tijana Tufek-Memišević (ISOCARP) reflected on the key points of the speeches, highlighting the importance of overcoming resistance from the real estate and automobile industries in transformative urban mobility solutions, mainstreaming water management into climate adaptation strategies, and data-driven approaches to resilience planning. 

Elisabeth Belpaire (President, ISOCARP) urged for systemic solutions, confronting the alarming costs of loss and damage already amounting to $8.2 trillion globally. She highlighted the increasing recognition of spatial planning in climate negotiations and the potential of COP30 to drive greater urban action.  

Olafiyin Taiwo concluded with a call for stronger interdisciplinary collaboration, urging planners to take a leading role in shaping climate policies. 

With a growing global engagement of urban planners, ISOCARP remains committed to empowering planners to translate global climate commitments with local action, positioning cities and regions at the forefront of climate solutions. 

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