Resource information
Cities have long held a central place of
importance in society as hubs of commerce, culture, and
political power. Because of climate change, however, the
clustering together of large numbers of people and high
levels of economic activity also creates vulnerabilities. In
Romania, where the urbanization rate is roughly 55 percent,
the Government of Romania has commissioned this advisory
services report from the World Bank to explore how to
operationalize an urban climate strategy within the
structure of the European Union's new 2014-2020
operating program. This report presents the results for the
rapid assessment of the current state of (and opportunities
for improved) urban climate planning in Romania; what is
known about how cities in Romania contribute to climate
change; and how cities in Romania will be affected by
climate change. To complete this rapid assessment, the World
Bank team relied on an extensive literature review and
in-person, semi-structured interviews with more than two
dozen central and local government officials, private sector
experts, academics, and civil society organizations
knowledgeable about climate change topics in Romania. The
depth of this rapid assessment was necessarily limited by
the short time frame available to carry out the research,
and by data gaps on local climate planning activities, local
greenhouse gas (GHG) emission levels, and the climate risks
faced by cities around Romania.
