The Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund is a partnership among the U.S. Agency for International Development, the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, the Asian Development Bank and the Rockefeller Foundation to help build resilience against the impacts of extreme weather events and weather-related changes that affect the urban poor in medium-sized Asian cities. The fund provides supplemental grants for investment projects, technical assistance and other support. Its total $150 million in grants is leveraging more than $1 billion in investments from public, private and municipal sources.

INCORPORATING ADAPATION MEASURES IN URBAN PLANNING

As cities in Asia grow, they become more vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change from population density, poor infrastructure and proximity to hazard-prone coastal and river areas. Targeting 25 cities in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines and Vietnam, the fund promotes inclusion of climate change as a key element in city planning and infrastructure development. This means considering objectives such as lowering greenhouse gas emissions and incorporating adaptation measures into city-wide and sectoral planning.

SUPPORTING PROJECTS THAT BUILD RESILIENCE

According to the Asian Development Bank, roughly 55 percent of Asia’s 3.7 billion people are expected to be living in urban centers by 2030. Secondary cities, which are seeing some of the fastest population growth, are among the least prepared to tackle new climate change challenges. Projects will focus on investments in solid waste management; drainage and flood management; ecosystems strengthening and services; water management; protecting livelihoods; educating and raising awareness; enhanced surveillance, early warning systems and emergency management; health systems and services; housing and transportation systems; and low carbon, resilient development.

PROVIDING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR INVESTMENT PROJECTS

The Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund helps to prepare projects and receives input from the private sector so that project proposals are investment-ready. It also helps governments and civil society better use scientific and economic data at the sub-national level to assist in decision-making and support project development.

STRENGTHENING ADAPTATION KNOWLEDGE AND NETWORKS

The fund raises awareness on adaptation and resilience and promotes learning through peer networks in the selected cities. Activities encourage sharing lessons learned and instituting monitoring and evaluation systems for adaptation projects. With this network, participating cities are able to identify urban adaptation strategies, build related institutional capacity and enable multi-stakeholder engagement to implement initiatives and assess the local impacts of climate change.

PARTNERS

The United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, the Asian Development Bank and the Rockefeller Foundation.