Cairo is perceived as the most equipped to handle climate risks among 10 cities surveyed, with over a third of respondents (37%) rating it as "very prepared", according to a new report by Economist Impact.
The report, titled “Resilience from the ground up: assessing city-level approaches to climate risk and adaptation”, is supported by Zurich Insurance Group.
The report says that the relative confidence in Cairo’s readiness may be attributed to its long-standing efforts to address key climate challenges such as water scarcity. The city has made substantial progress in securing its water future by ensuring access to drinking water and sanitation for all residents. Another factor may be Cairo’s prolonged experience facing these challenges, which may have lessened residents’ concerns about their potential impacts.
How prepared do you consider your city to be to handle climate-related risks? (% of respondents, by city)?
-
|
City
|
Very prepared
|
Underprepared
|
Not at all prepared
|
Don’t know
|
|
Cairo
|
37
|
55
|
6
|
2
|
|
Dubai
|
25
|
71
|
2
|
2
|
|
Source: “Resilience from the ground up: assessing city-level approaches to climate risk and adaptation” report
|
A key barrier to efforts to contribute to climate resilience is a lack of concern about the risks posed by climate change. In the 10 cities surveyed, nearly one in five respondents (18%) is not taking any action as they do not perceive climate change to be a significant threat. 28% of those surveyed in Dubai hold this perception while the proportion in Cairo is 23%. This is possibly due to these cities’ long-standing experience in addressing their specific climate risks, primarily, heat stress in Cairo and Dubai.
The survey solicited opinions from 500 respondents each in Amsterdam, Cairo, Cape Town, Dubai, Jakarta, Madrid, Mumbai, New York City, Sao Paulo and Tokyo.
It explores the state of climate resilience at the individual and community levels.The findings are based on a literature review, a general population survey, and an expert interview programme conducted by Economist Impact between May and September 2024.