Amman climate action plan

The second Climate Action Plan (CAP) for the City of Amman reflects the commitment of the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) to integrate climate change adaptation and mitigation across all its operations in order to enhance the quality of life of the citizens of Amman. It also reflects the evolving context of increasing human and institutional capacities for mainstreaming climate change, and for applying the C40 CAP Framework. As a learning organization, GAM has endeavoured to apply the CAP Framework to the every 5 years. It is also expected that completion of the Long term Strategy for Sustainable Low Carbon Development in Jordan in 2024 will provide more guidance for GAM to formulate long-term climate strategies in alignment with national priorities. In any case, the updated CAP has been formulated in alignment with the Climate Change Policy (CCP) 2022 – 2050. Based on stakeholder consultations, best of its capabilities, while recognizing that there are improvements that will be brought about in future updates that are expected to be carried out at least the CAP presents an Amman Vision 2050 as: “The City of Amman is carbon-neutral and climate-resilient by 2050 driven by a green and circular economy for the prosperity and wellbeing of all its citizens. We will demonstrate climate and sustainability leadership regionally and globally through fairness, inclusivity and respect for our cultural and natural heritage in transitioning to a sustainable city.” The identification and prioritization of climate strategies and actions was based on the expert knowledge of GAM technical departments that were familiar with the mitigation analysis and climate risk assessments carried out in a CAP development process. Also, the identification of climate strategies and actions drew from the multi-criteria analysis that had been carried out under the Green City Action Plan (GCAP) in 2019. The climate risks facing Amman should be framed within the broader country context. Jordan is facing irregular patterns of rainfall swinging between the extremes of drought to excessive rain over a short period of time, rising temperatures in summer and lower temperatures in winter, and a significant increase in extreme weather events. Heavy rain events are leading to flooding in lower-lying areas of the city, hazardous blizzards have closed schools, and heat waves and water shortages have directly impacted the health of the population and operation of businesses. National level data shows that the Governorate of Amman (which contains the GAM jurisdiction) is one of the most impacted regions. The profile of multi adaptation strategies hazard events reported for Amman between 1981 and 2020 shows that floods and flash floods represent 29% of reported extreme events followed by snowstorm (19%), drought (13%) and frost (12%). A qualitative assessment of these climate hazards shows that likelihood and impact of extreme heat, drought and flood events are expected to increase in the future. In recent years, flash floods have become a serious problem, making roads dangerous and affecting an increasing number of residential and commercial areas. There are concerns that it could also affect water supply and sanitation. The 2019 flash flood remains vivid for the inhabitants of Amman. It caused significant material losses to property, infrastructure and inventory that have been estimated to at least JD 9,115,326. Extreme heat affects 70-80% of the population, while show and ice affect between 50% and 60% of the population. The climate adaptation and DRR strategies and actions have been proposed based on the GCAP, and the recommendations arising from UN-Habitat’s Flood Risk Mapping project and the GAM Strategy 2022-2026. The seven adaptation strategies are summarized in the table below, including the timeframe (ST – Short-term; MT – Medium-term; LT – Long-term) for implementation and their contributions to the SDGs.

source :

https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/2024/09/amman_cap_-_final.pdf