RISE UP in action: Global progress and priorities for locally led urban climate resilience

This report brings together the key lessons, priorities, and investment opportunities emerging from RISE UP’s global work, giving city leaders, donors, and technical partners a clear and practical guide to advancing locally led urban climate resilience.   

Drawing on the experience of 15 cities across nine countries, it shows what is working on the ground, where the biggest challenges remain, and how cities can move from planning to financed action at a moment when local leadership is central to NDC updates, COP30, and UN-Habitat’s new Strategic Plan.  

The report highlights four messages shaping the next phase of action: 

• Cities are innovating, but finance and institutional capacity remain the biggest bottlenecks. 
• Climate risks are inseparable from inequality. Resilience must be people-centred and community-driven. 
• Better data and evidence are transforming how cities prioritize investments. 
• Peer learning, decentralized cooperation, and multilevel partnerships are accelerating progress. 

The report is structured around major climate challenges, financing pathways, and a set of city-led project pitches reviewed by global financial institutions. It also showcases RISE UP’s methodology and tools, which link vulnerability assessments, community-driven action planning, and investment preparation. 

Produced by UN-Habitat with the support of the Spanish Agency of International Cooperation for Development (AECID) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Sub-Fund under the UN Peace and Development Trust Fund (UNPDF), the report offers timely guidance for policy makers, practitioners and development partners working to turn local resilience plans into funded solutions.