As a former mayor, I know cities are key to winning the battle against climate change.
Cities produce around 70% of global carbon emissions through traffic congestion, manufacturing, and poorly insulated homes and workplaces. In the lower-income world, rapidly growing cities produce ever-increasing amounts of domestic and industrial waste without proper disposal infrastructure in place.
Compounding this, the effects of COVID-19, conflicts, and climate change itself — the “triple C” of contemporary crises — are often felt most acutely in urban areas, straining their resources and damaging their environment further.
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About the author
Maimunah Mohd Sharif
Maimunah Mohd Sharif is the executive director of UN-Habitat. Sharif has re-positioned UN-Habitat as a thought leader in sustainable urbanization and as an agency that advocates for the implementation of the New Urban Agenda to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and the nationally determined contributions to the Paris Agreement. Prior to this appointment, Sharif was the mayor of the City Council of Penang Island, Malaysia. In 2011, she became the first woman to be appointed president of the Municipal Council of Seberang Perai.