GREATER ROLE: Despite being the biggest contributors to climate change, cities have had little say in global climate negotiations, write Gianna Gayle Herrera Amul and Maxim Shrestha

CITIES consume two-thirds of the world’s energy and represent 70 per cent of global carbon emissions.

Approximately 54 per cent of the total world population was said to have lived in cities or urban regions last year. Asia houses about 53 per cent of the 3.9 billion urban dwellers.

The Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2014) noted that the risks and negative impacts of climate change are expected to affect urban populations and local economies disproportionately.

…Gianna Gayle Herrera Amul is senior analyst and Maxim Shrestha is associate research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.