Sydney joins Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities Initiative

Sydney’s 41 councils have partnered with business and community groups to boost the city’s resilience to climate change as part of the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities Initiative.

The initiative brings together global cities to develop climate change-resilient communities.

The Sydney group will hold an agenda setting workshop on Thursday to set objectives for Sydney’s participation in the programme and to progress solutions to extreme weather events.

Sydney experienced heavy storm and hail in April which led to flooding and the Lord Mayor and chair of Sydney Metropolitan Mayors Clover Moore said the new partnership would enhance the city’s capacity to cope Sydney with flooding and heat waves.

Moore said: “We have never had general managers and other senior representatives from all Sydney councils come together before, which makes this event especially significant. We showed in the storms earlier this year how we could help each other, sharing trucks and resources, and we would like to continue that cooperation to prepare for future significant events.

Moore added: Like many other cities, we face the challenges of a fast-moving future from population rise and advances in technology. By opening a dialogue with experts from coastal, rural and metro councils we can take a coordinated approach to meeting these challenges head-on.”

President of 100 Resilient Cities Michael Berkowitz said the workshop would clarify the Sydney’s specific requirement and result in new ideas and solutions.

“Sydney is helping fuel global momentum around building urban resilience, and leading by example,” Mr Berkowitz said. This workshop will give us a blueprint for engaging partners from across sectors to bring Sydney the tools and resources needed to become more resilient. A resilient city has a diverse economy and takes care of its built and natural infrastructure. It has effective leadership, empowered stakeholders, and an integrated planning system. All of those things are essential for a resilient city.”

Sydney is receiving funding from the Rockefeller Foundation to hire a chief resilience officer to lead the development of a Sydney Resilience Strategy.