202 ■ CITIES AND CLIMATE CHANGE
City Anticipated impacts, knock-on
effects
Reinforcing local conditionsSingapore Economic infrastructure (port,
airport, petrochemical plants,
refi neries in coastal areas); water
supply becomes threatened
(water is already purchased from
Malaysia), increase in the spread
of vector-borne disease, energy
demand
Land reclamation in the low-lying
island state (addition of 10% to
preexisting area)Source: Authors’ compilation.
TABLE 8.3, continued
Our fi ndings support the hypothesis that climate change eff ects add to already
existing inequalities and vulnerabilities that are connected to high dependency
on scarce resources. Th ese eff ects are not limited by far to coastal or deltaic cities
alone. Clearly, eff ects need to be seen in connection with “reinforcing” local con-
ditions and factors. Crucial across all cities is the issue of water scarcity, especially
where existing supplies are running into defi cits (Cape Town, Delhi, Pune, and
São Paulo) and are leading to distributional confl icts.
City Adaptation Capacity and Response
Th is section examines the state of adaptation planning and action in the
selected cities. First, we examine national-level actions. Th en we examine the
city or regional scale. Here our descriptions focus primarily on cases where
local action plans have been approved, implemented (Cape Town and Singa-
pore), or about to be approved (Delhi and São Paulo). Th is is complemented by
information on the national-level experience for all eight cases.
We adopt three focal points for the discussion of responses. First, what
action do cities take? Second, who are the main actors? Th ird, what tools and
instruments are prescribed and used to implement adaptation action?
Actions
Our fi rst question examines motivations for adaptation as well as the fi elds of
urban policy in which cities decide in favor of dedicated action. We also explored
what types of responses have been initiated in the sample cities (table 8.4).
Looking at national-level strategy and action-plan preparation, the city
responses are largely driven by the will to comply with international commit-