Toolkit

Beating the Heat
A Sustainable Cooling Handbook for Cities
This handbook was launched at COP26 and provides case studies from cities around the world that demonstrate how to sustainably tackle the urban heat island effect.
With growing populations – predominantly in the tropics – and rapid urbanization, the impact of global warming is felt most acutely in cities. Research shows that the world’s cities are heating up at twice the global average rate due to the urban heat island effect – a phenomenon where urban areas experience higher temperatures than outlying areas due to a combination of diminishing green cover, heat gain and thermal properties of the materials commonly used in urban surfaces, as well as waste heat from human activities (such as industrial processes, transport and air conditioning).
This guide by UNEP offers planners an encyclopedia of proven options to help cool cities sustainably, providing improved health and productivity, economic benefits, and reduced power usage and emissions. The guide’s 80 supporting case studies and examples demonstrate the effectiveness of the strategies outlined and can help cities find an approach best suited to their unique contexts.
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UrbanShift Annual Report
UrbanShift's inaugural annual report serves as an inspiring portfolio of the program's first year in action as well as a handbook for our strategy to achieve sustainable, low-carbon growth in more than 23 cities across three continents.

Transforming Pune, one neighborhood at a time
Pune's Chief Knowledge Officer talks about some of the inspiring initiatives – from electric buses to urban farms – that the Pune Smart City Corporation is implementing to make the city smarter, greener and more resilient.

Unlocking investment in nature for a just urban transformation
Organized in parallel to the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, this webinar highlighted the findings of UNEP's latest "State of Finance for Nature" report and explored what's needed to accelerate the financing of urban nature.

Cities call for increased investment to halt and reverse nature loss
At the Biodiversity COP in Montreal, mayors from 15 cities called for increased direct funding for urban nature-based solutions and ecosystem restoration projects, backed by UrbanShift, UNEP, GEF, ICLEI, C40, and other partners.