This document is one of a series synthesizing the most pertinent findings of IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) for specific economic and business sectors. It was born of the belief that the cities sector could make more use of AR5, which is long and highly technical, if it were distilled into an accurate, accessible, timely, relevant and readable summary.

Key findings include:

many emerging climate change risks are concentrated in urban areas
climate change impacts on cities are increasing
the world’s urban population is forecast almost to double by 2050, increasing the number of people and assets exposed to climate change risks
steps that build resilience and enable sustainable development in urban areas can accelerate successful climate change adaptation globally
the greatest potential for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions may lie in rapidly developing cities in industrialising countries.