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Paper short abstract:

This article explores how governments in Lagos and Johannesburg, Africa's most resource-rich, heavily industrialised subnational entities with high levels of vulnerability to climate change, engage with civil society towards strengthening appropriate climate change responses

Paper long abstract:

Climate change is a major issue threatening Africa's sustainable urban development. Its effects in reducing agricultural production and other rural-based livelihoods manifest in rural-urban migration, thus acting as stressors to urban areas. Also, vulnerable urban areas must deal with flooding, natural disasters, human insecurity and other negative climate change impacts. The negative implications are especially devastating for heavily populated and industrialised urban areas, thus requiring efforts in boosting adaptation capacities. Such efforts must be reflected in productive governance networks involving state and non-state actors. This article engages with this necessity in relation to the New Urban Agenda by exploring how governments in Lagos and Johannesburg, Africa's most resource-rich, heavily industrialised subnational entities with high levels of vulnerability to climate change, engage with civil society and how this implicates appropriate responses. What is the nature and effectiveness of policies, tools, techniques and institutional frameworks put in place by decentralised governments in the two cities for appropriate responses? How does civil society feature in these? How are the two cities domesticating the commitment of their respective countries to the New Urban Agenda? Are there possibilities that the drive to align with these commitments promote exclusion of important stakeholders at the city governance levels? Drawing primarily on interviews with key stakeholders, augmented with relevant policy papers and records, the paper enlightens understanding of key actors, activities and processes involved in the drive towards sustainable urban development in Africa.