About the programme

To date, the C40 Climate Action Planning Framework has played a key role in helping global cities commit to limiting global heating to 1.5°C. While creating a Climate Action Plan (CAP) is an important step in addressing the climate crisis, cities must proactively integrate CAPs into all aspects of city administration. 

The Jameel C40 Urban Planning Climate Labs, established by C40 and Community Jameel, aid cities in incorporating CAPs throughout all municipal functions, serving as a driving force for ambitious and deliverable climate action.

Why urban planning? 

Urban planning sets the strategic framework for city growth and rejuvenation, influencing how urban space is used and the design of the city layout. This includes:

  • Building density and structure.
  • The mix of uses, services, and how people connect to urban infrastructure.
  • Public spaces and street network organisation.
  • Green and blue infrastructure, such as areas with porous surfaces.
  • Construction limits and protective measures in vulnerable areas.

Decisions in urban planning have significant influence over how people live and move around a city, which impacts cities’ greenhouse gas emissions. They also affect how climate risks, like floods and heat islands, impact a city. As city administrations have considerable responsibility for urban planning, integrating climate action and emissions, climate risk, and vulnerability data from cities’ CAPs into urban planning policies is crucial.

Failing to control urban expansion onto climate-vulnerable land, especially in fast-growing Asian cities, could have dire consequences. Without bold action, there’s a risk of continuing with unsustainable development patterns, fuelling carbon-intensive societies. Sustainable, inclusive, and resilient urban planning offers a chance to mitigate and adapt to climate risks for decades.


Programme activities

The Jameel C40 Urban Planning Climate Labs are piloting this programme in the South Asia and MENA (Middle East and North Africa) Regions, supporting the integration of climate action in the new master plan of Chennai, India, and the urban planning regulations of Amman, Jordan. 

Based on experiences and lessons from the pilots, knowledge products on how best to mainstream climate action in urban planning will be developed and shared with other C40 cities regionally and globally. It is the shared ambition of C40 and Community Jameel to make a significant positive impact on how cities integrate climate action planning with urban planning.

Climate Action Guide for Urban Planners

New resource

This new guide from the Jameel C40 Urban Planning Climate Labs will support urban planners from cities around the world to play their full part in tackling the climate crisis.

It is available in Arabic, English, French, Portuguese (BR) and Spanish.

© Rosanna Wan – C40 Cities

Partners

Community Jameel logo

Community Jameel advances science and learning for communities to thrive. An independent, global organisation, Community Jameel launched in 2003 to continue the tradition of philanthropy and community service established by the Jameel family of Saudi Arabia in 1945. Community Jameel supports scientists, humanitarians, technologists and creatives to understand and address pressing human challenges. The work enabled and supported by Community Jameel has led to significant breakthroughs, including the Jameel Clinic‘s discovery of the new antibiotics halicin and abaucin, critical modelling of the spread of COVID-19 by the Jameel Institute at Imperial College London, and a Nobel Prize-winning experimental approach to alleviating global poverty championed by the co-founders of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL).