Catalyzing Urban Climate Resilience

This publication discusses the activities and findings from the second phase of the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN), a program supported by the Rockefeller Foundation. Changes in climatic conditions represent one of the greatest challenges facing humanity over coming decades. Climate change poses special concerns for the rapidly growing cities of Asia, where large populations, rapid urbanization, extensive poverty and social marginalization, and an already high level of exposure to climatic extremes create risks for large numbers of people. The impacts of climate change are likely to be particularly severe for poor and marginalized populations.

The ACCCRN program represents a unique initiative to understand and support urban areas in building climate resilience. The program’s work in cities in India (Surat, Indore, and Gorakhpur), Indonesia (Bandar Lampung and Semarang), Vietnam (Da Nang, Can Tho, and Quy Nhon), and Thailand (Hat Yai and Chiang Rai) provides practical insights into the processes and outcomes that contribute to urban climate resilience. The ACCCRN program was a new and innovative approach for program partners. City representatives worked with diverse local stakeholders in novel ways to ensure that outcomes were directly relevant. 

This report begins by presenting the overall conceptual framework that ISET and partners have developed through the program. It then describes the communication of climate information; the applied approaches to shared learning; the implementation of supporting vulnerability analyses, sector studies, and pilot projects; and the resilience planning processes and outcomes that were the key activities of the second phase.