Climate change and northern cities: risks, challenges and strategy for climate-smart, resilient and sustainable development

Climate change in the Arctic and high-latitude regions is about 2-4 times more intensive than it is observed on average globally. Urbanization is accelerating globally, also in Northern high latitudes. This trend causes transformation in the geosphere, biosphere, pedosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere, affecting the human-environment system over both short- and long-term timescales. Cities represent a complex and highly dynamic interface between Earth components (atmosphere, land, water, etc.) and societal factors (health, social equity, life quality, economy, etc.). At the same time, cities are very sensitive to climate change. This vulnerability is strongly pronounced in the North, especially in the Arctic, a region has direct and indirect impacts on the local livelihoods, infrastructure, water resources, ecology and air quality. Previous studies of urban sensitivity to climate change have mostly focused on lower and mid-latitude cities and rarely considered analysis of Northern/Arctic cities. Due to the specific climatic conditions and societal organization Northern cities embrace many challenges in the advancement of knowledge about physical, chemical, ecological, socio-economic and environmental change, their relationships and implications for the human-environment system. Some of the important issues that require in-depth studies include the effects of urban meteorology such as heat islands and the interactions of stably stratified boundary layers with urban elevated air pollution episodes in a changing climate. In addition, as urbanization progresses and lifestyles globalize, the need for agricultural and industrial products increases. This poses environmental challenges in both cases, local production (unique ecosystems) and transportation to the Arctic (infrastructure development). Moreover, due to the cold weather conditions, high-energy consumption is typical of northern cities. With limited potential for renewable energy generation, adopting sustainable life styles is of particular challenge.

In the Arctic, particularly considering the present status, indigenous communities and population level, the urbanization process involves a large spectrum of settlements of various sizes. In order to understand the social-environmental effects of urbanization under rapid climate change a multiscale approach is necessary in order to be beneficial to the whole Arctic society. In this presentation we are analyzing specific problems of climate change consequences for northern cities including risks, challenges, optimal ways for mitigations and adaptation to climate change and strategy for their climate-smart, resilient and sustainable development.