From the guest editor

Indication of a climatic change is ubiquitous. Cities and communities in both South Africa and Africa are increasingly susceptible to the negative aspects of climate change, which are expected to increase in frequency and intensity, with extreme events such as floods, drought, water stress, rise in sea level, heatwaves and storms, which are highest on the list of exposure to economic and social risks in cities (World Bank, 2019). Concurrently, socio-economic and demographic developments can make cities and communities more vulnerable. These will have profound impacts on a wide range of city and community functions, infrastructure and services such as energy, transport, water, sanitation, and health, and will affect the quality of life. The National Climate Change Response (NCCR) outlines challenges in relation to inertia and risks created by existing investment in infrastructure and mechanisms of service delivery that may not be well adapted to a changing climate. In light of the aforementioned, there is an urgent need for cities and communities to invest in long-term mitigation and preventive measures, in order to improve their resilience

From the guest editors

Cities are engines of socio-economic growth and development. In facilitating this growth, cities have been notorious for delivering inequality and spatial imbalances, spatially accentuating the socio-economic population groups’ differences across income groups, social class, gender, minorities, and vulnerable groups, and thereby impacting on spaces, places, cultures, inclusion, and diversity. Perhaps, more challenging, and subtle but starkly disappointing has been that cities have been efficient machines in ejecting approximately 70% of greenhouse gas emissions on this planet (Xue, 2022: 102699). This is a great concern in a context in which over half of humanity (this figure is projected to reach 68% by 2050) lives in urban areas (Wheeler, 2021: 10). The onslaught of climate change is meeting our biggest urbanisation and settlement dynamics wave and drive in human civilization, as millions of people continue to migrate into cities in the hope of a better life. This phenomenon and momentum do not seem to show any signals of slowing down soon and is occurring despite the reality that many of our cities are already showing cracks and gaps in respect of their ability to act on climate change and impacts. The need to achieve net zero CO2 emissions in future makes the call for climate action an urgent priority for all

Insecten in het veranderende klimaat

Het succes van insecten is rechtstreeks afhankelijk van het klimaat. Daarom mag je verwachten dat klimaatsverandering een heel directe invloed heeft op insecten en andere koudbloedigen. Als je weet hoe belangrijk insecten zijn in ecosystemen dan kun je wel nagaan wat de impact zal zijn van klimaatsverandering op het leven op aard