A United Nations-Habitat report has revealed that a record number of countries now integrate cities, housing, and urban services into their national climate action plans under the Paris Agreement. The report, titled Urban Content in NDC 3.0: Cities at the Centre, found that 80 per cent of Nationally Determined Contributions submitted by countries now contain well-developed urban climate measures, compared to 49 per cent recorded in the previous NDC cycle.

The analysis, released recently at the just-concluded 13th session of the World Urban Forum in Azerbaijan, reviewed 142 national climate plans submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change before 15 April  2026.

According to the report, governments are increasingly recognising that while climate commitments are negotiated at the national level, implementation largely occurs in cities. The report showed that 87 per cent of countries now include urban adaptation measures in their climate plans, up from 54 per cent in previous submissions.

These measures target sectors such as infrastructure, water management, biodiversity, and ecosystem protection. It added that countries that explicitly identified urban climate risks were more likely to provide concrete adaptation strategies.

Urban mitigation measures also witnessed significant growth, appearing in 83 per cent of climate submissions compared to 55 per cent in earlier plans. Key focus areas identified in the report include transport systems, renewable energy, waste management and vehicle electrification. The report further noted that middle-income countries experiencing rapid urbanisation were leading ambitious urban mitigation efforts, while some wealthier countries integrated cities less prominently despite strong emission reduction targets.

Housing and informal settlements also emerged as major climate priorities, with nearly half of the submitted climate plans addressing issues such as resilient housing, slum upgrading, tenure security and safe urban communities. The report stated that the growing attention to housing reflected increasing global recognition that climate change and housing challenges are deeply interconnected, particularly in rapidly urbanising regions vulnerable to climate disasters.

Speaking on the findings, Executive Director of UN-Habitat, Anacláudia Rossbach, said cities had become central to global climate action. “The findings of this report show growing recognition that climate commitments must be delivered where people live, through better housing, stronger infrastructure, and more resilient communities,” Rossbach said.

The report also identified progress in climate implementation mechanisms, with four out of five countries including at least one strategy to support urban climate action. However, it warned that climate finance for cities remained inadequate, as only 19 per cent of the submitted plans contained dedicated urban financing mechanisms.

Regional analysis showed uneven progress across the world. In Asia, 77 per cent of submitted climate plans contained well-developed urban measures, representing the largest urban population coverage globally. In Europe, the report noted that the European Union’s collective climate submission reflected a stronger focus on cities and multilevel governance.

President-designate of COP31 and Turkish Minister of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, Murat Kurum, said cities remained critical to climate action and resilience. He referenced Türkiye’s post-earthquake urban reconstruction efforts, noting that nearly half a million homes had been built using energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable standards.

“At COP31, we want to share this experience with the world and help everyone scale up solutions in cities to make them resilient and sustainable,” Kurum said.

Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Simon Stiell, said the new generation of climate plans placed cities at the centre of implementation.

“Now it’s time to move from words on paper to projects on the ground all over the world. Because without local action, global climate goals would be impossible to achieve,” he said.

The mayor of Chefchaouen in Morocco and GCoM Regional Ambassador for Africa, Mohamed Sefiani, stressed the need for stronger support for local governments, stressing, “For cities, these mechanisms are what turn climate ambition into safer housing, stronger infrastructure, better transport and more reliable basic services.”

The report noted that more than 50 countries were yet to submit updated climate plans, describing it as a major opportunity to strengthen urban climate commitments ahead of COP31, scheduled to be held in Antalya, Türkiye.