Decision-makers who guide urban development need the most reliable and current information possible upon which to act. Unfortunately a good deal of information – some contradictory, not all trustworthy – is in circulation regarding climate change and its potential effects upon cities. It is not always clear what represents the scientific consensus.

To help counteract this situation, this paper offers urban decision-makers in the global South a briefing on up-to-date scientific thinking on cities and climate change. This paper is based primarily on the Fourth Assessment Report, released in 2007 by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

This authoritative document , prepared by the lead scientific and intergovernmental body on climate change, is widely regarded as the most extensively reviewed scientific document in history.