At the Habitat III conference in Quito, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN Habitat) launched, ‘Addressing Climate Change in National Urban Policy,’ a guide developed to assist all national urban policy stakeholders to better understand the intersection between national urban policy and climate change. While urbanization has brought great benefits and opportunities, cities are a major contributor to climate change.

Climate change is projected to produce more intense and frequent extreme weather events, multiple weather disturbances, along with broader climatological effects, such as sea level rise. These are almost certain to have significant direct and indirect social, economic, political, and security implications during the next 20 years. These effects will be especially pronounced as populations continue to concentrate in climate-vulnerable locales such as coastal areas, water-stressed regions, and ever-growing cities.

Many transboundary water basins around the world are facing climate-related challenges that will intensify in the decades to come. Successful adaptation will be an important precondition for ensuring sustainable development and political stability in these basins. At the same time, stability and cooperation are preconditions for successful adaptation. How can riparians best achieve these interrelated objectives? And with the international community seeking to support both processes, how can water and climate diplomacy strengthen each other?

Out of the ashes of World War II, the United Nations (UN) was founded to maintain global peace, rights and security. Today, the world is a dramatically different place. Since 1945 the UN has helped institutionalise human rights across the world, assisted millions of refugees fleeing persecution and built agreement to address emergent global challenges like climate change. These successes are grounds for hope, not complacency. Since 1945, the risks to international peace and security have also transformed. Today, our international systems are faced with interconnected and increasingly prolonged periods of challenge and volatility. And climate risk is threatening the United Nation’s very mission to maintain peace, rights and security. Peacebuilding efforts are unravelling where communities compete for access to climate stressed food and water supply. People are migrating from resource depressed climates in search of stability and challenging the UN’s ability to deliver humanitarian aid at scale. And amidst multiple crises, the capacity to prioritise fundamental pillars of UN governance such as human rights and international law is thinly spread. United We Stand is released as the race for the new Secretary General gets underway. The new UNSG must radically reform the UN to make it fit for purpose in a climate changed world or see its core mission undermined.