This document outlines the options that local governments can use in their efforts to manage climate change. It covers both mitigation and adaptation actions, and makes recommendations that are applicable in most contexts, the effectiveness of which has been well-established.

These recommendations are framed around the notion of “technologies”, understood in a broad sense – that is, covering machinery and other physical artefacts and changes in the behaviour of individuals, including the way communities and their institutions organize themselves.

This approach has been borrowed from the so-called Technology Needs Assessment project, which this document supports. This project, a major initiative funded by the Global Environment Facility, is being implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme and the
UNEP DTU Partnership.

The intended primary audience for this document consists of government officials in developing countries who make decisions concerning the management of climate change in urban areas. Secondary audiences for the report include technical specialists who support the primary audience, whether they sit in government or work independently as consultants.