Parte del Focus "Pathways to ecological transition"
a cura di Benedetta Giudice
PhD student, URD-DIST/Politecnico di Torino
Recife, one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable cities, stands as a laboratory of urban climate governance and ecological transition in Brazil and the Global South. Through its Local Climate Action Plan (PLAC), the city integrates mitigation, adaptation, and climate justice, providing transferable lessons for other urban contexts. Situated in a region where climate impacts manifest as floods, droughts and heatwaves, Recife’s vulnerability is intensified by low-lying coastal geography and dense informal settlements. Despite these risks, the city became the first in Latin America to declare a climate emergency in 2020 and commit to carbon neutrality by 2050. The PLAC, developed with ICLEI and UN-Habitat support, articulates strategies across mitigation, adaptation, sanitation and mobility, aligning local action with the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda.
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