Maghreb cities are adapting to climate change

Context

Climate change is the greatest challenge facing the global community. In the Maghreb, average temperatures are now 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. The continuous rise in temperature over the past 50 years is leading to water shortages, forest fires, heat islands, flooding and desertification. In cities, the warming caused by climate change is above average. Fast-acting measures are important in order to protect the vulnerable population in particular, such as women, children and the elderly, from the immediate effects of climate change. At the same time, ability to adapt and cities' resilience must be boosted.

Objective

Selected Maghreb cities are better equipped to adapt to climate change.

Approach

The project supports Maghreb cities in adapting to the impacts of climate change. To this end, it carries out capacity development measures. This means that it implements capacity development measures by enhancing the skills of experts and managers in municipal administrations.

The cities draw up municipal strategic climate adaptation plans on the basis of climate risk profiles. In the spirit of "Leave No One Behind", they take particularly vulnerable population groups into account. The project then advises the cities on how their strategic plans can be implemented and how they can secure third-party funding to finance the measures.

In cooperation with the non-governmental organisation MedCities, good climate adaptation practices that have already been developed in the two previous phases of the project are being disseminated regionally. They deal with topics such as waste cycle management and energy efficiency. The use of geographical information systems is being practiced with the non-governmental organisation CartONG.

Last update: February 2025