Abstract

The role of cities in climate change is an issue of increasing interest and concern. In terms of emissions mitigation, carbon credits transactions, and adaptation to local and regional impacts, these population concentrations clearly have a key role to play. The documentation of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), initiatives such as the Kyoto instruments (e.g. Clean Development Mechanism and the World Bank Carbon Fund), and wider information regarding the risks generated and faced by cities (in the light of the New Orleans experience for example), emphasizes the need to put them in the centre of the climate change debate. This article uses these sources and others for the construction of necessary steps for the incorporation of climate change considerations in strategic planning in particular. It also indicates the most appropriate ways for incorporating these concerns into urban and regional thinking among decision-makers, and also into their instruments. The lessons for the case of Santiago de Chile, as a city without an adaptation plan, are presented as a conclusion.