Brazil's Insight on Climate Change Adaption

A new report from the World Resources Institute illustrates how Brazil is preparing its cities to deal with climate change.

1 minute read

December 4, 2014, 11:00 AM PST

By Maayan Dembo @DJ_Mayjahn


85 percent of all Brazilians live within a city. Moreover, more than 50 million people in the country (or about 26 percent of the population) live in the 463 Brazilian coastal cities that are in danger of rising sea levels. Already, Brazil is facing intense rains and flooding, scorching temperatures, and droughts in different parts of the sprawling country.

According to Heather McGray and Katerina Elias-Trostmann of The City Fix, a team of researchers from the World Resources Institute's Ross Center for Sustainable Cities visited three of Brazil's major state capitals: Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, and Brasilia. In their trip, they highlighted three main themes from adaption policies that officials are undertaking right now to mitigate the impacts of climate change: mobilizing networks and resources, leveraging governance and people, and harnessing data and tools.

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