Mapping Climate Risks and Adaptation Pathways for Rio de Janeiro: A Collaborative Workshop on Urban Climate Resilience

Over two intensive days, the "Climate Risks and Adaptation: Pathways for Rio de Janeiro" workshop brought together a diverse group of participants, including academics, public sector officials, and civil society members, to address the pressing challenges of urban climate resilience in Rio de Janeiro. The focus was exploring ways for the city to improve its response to climate risks.

Organized through a partnership between the Climate Hub of the Columbia Global Center in Rio, the National School of Statistical Sciences (ENCE) at the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (IBGE), and Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), the workshop served as a platform for multidisciplinary collaboration and the co-creation of actionable strategies.

This initiative, which was held on November 25 and 26, was developed with the guidance of Professor Alex de Sherbinin, Director and Senior Research Scientist at Columbia’s Center for Integrated Earth System Information (CIESIN), and Johanna Lovecchio, Associate Director of the Center for Resilient Cities and Landscapes (CRCL). The workshop also benefited from the on-site contributions of Luan Fontes, a Columbia Climate School visiting student. 

This two-day event is part of de Sherbinin’s and Lovecchio’s broader project titled “Workshop: Understanding the Impacts of Climate Change on Vulnerable Populations and Advancing Climate Resilience in Rio de Janeiro”. The research, which is funded by the Climate Hub’s 2024 awards, aims to address climate vulnerability in Rio de Janeiro through an interdisciplinary approach, exploring how social, demographic, and geophysical factors interact in a context of climate change that exacerbates existing challenges such as inequality, poverty, and inadequate infrastructure.

A Collaborative and Action-Oriented Approach

The workshop comprised two complementary phases, emphasizing a systematic approach to mapping risks and creating actionable adaptation strategies. The first day focused on diagnosing the current state of climate vulnerabilities in Rio de Janeiro. Participants collaborated in hands-on activities to identify key risk factors, vulnerable communities, and the accessibility of relevant data. On the second day, the focus shifted to overcoming barriers to implementation, setting priorities, and formulating a feasible action plan.

Thomas Trebat, Director of the Columbia Global Center in Rio, opened the event by stressing the importance of merging cutting-edge science with practical, on-the-ground knowledge. Tatiana Castelo Branco, representing Rio’s Secretariat for the Environment and Climate (SMAC), emphasized the city's recent role as the G20 capital and highlighted the opportunity for collective learning on climate change and adaptation that this event presented. César Marques, from ENCE/IBGE, underscored the importance of extending climate research beyond academia to include collaboration across government, private entities, NGOs, and local communities.

Data-Driven Insights: Laying the Groundwork for Action

The morning sessions included presentations from leading researchers, setting the stage for the workshops. Professor Alex de Sherbinin provided a global perspective, discussing how urbanization in Latin America, including informal housing and socio-economic inequalities, exacerbates the impacts of heatwaves, floods, and droughts.

Nubia Beray Armond from Indiana University presented groundbreaking research on extreme heat in Rio. Her analysis mapped urban heat islands, considering variables like vegetation, proximity to water bodies, building density, and material properties. These findings will be cross-referenced with demographic data from IBGE to identify and better understand the communities most affected by extreme heat.

Heitor Soares de Faria from Rural Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ) addressed the social dimension of CO₂ emissions from vehicular traffic, revealing disparities in emissions tied to wealthier regions like Barra da Tijuca, where job concentrations and private vehicle usage are highest.

Victor Marchezini from the National Center for Monitoring and Warning of Natural Disasters (Cemaden) elaborated on disaster science, breaking it into four dimensions: external threats, social vulnerability, institutional uncertainty, and long-term socio-environmental processes. Meanwhile, César Marques connected demography to climate adaptation, emphasizing the critical role of census data and its alignment with continuous climate metrics.

Workshops: Co-Designing Adaptation Strategies

The participatory workshops began on the afternoon of the first day and continued throughout most of the second day, fostering active collaboration among participants. They engaged in mapping risks, diagnosing challenges, and co-developing actionable solutions. On the first day, the focus was on mapping vulnerabilities and identifying their root causes across local, state, and global levels. These discussions laid the groundwork for diagnosing challenges and brainstorming actionable solutions.

On the second day, the emphasis shifted to collaborative planning and partnerships for climate resilience, with a key contribution from Johanna Lovecchio of Columbia Climate School. Drawing on her extensive experience, Lovecchio shared compelling case studies, including New York City's NPCC initiatives, which bridge academic research and municipal action to foster ongoing adaptation and resilience. She also highlighted global examples, such as strategies for urban heat mitigation in Tel Aviv-Yafo and sustainable coastal community development in Belize. These examples underscored how urban design is both a cause and a mitigation tool when it comes to climate challenges.

The expert presentations also showcased innovative projects that blend demographic and geospatial data. Sandra de Carlo and Therence de Sarti from IBGE discussed an institutional partnership with Cemaden to create disaster risk alerts using integrated datasets. They emphasized the development of territorial statistical bases to address risk areas more effectively.

Building on these insights, the participatory workshops carried forward the momentum of the first day’s discussions. Participants worked together to map vulnerabilities, trace their origins across local, state, and global levels, and diagnose critical challenges. Scenario planning became central during this phase, incorporating the work of Stella Manes and her team from the International Institute for Sustainability (IIS Rio). Using advanced technologies to gather data, they developed projections for various adaptation pathways, considering social vulnerability, economic costs, and co-benefits to present practical, "win-win" strategies for public policy and implementation.

The workshop concluded with a roadmap for continued collaboration. Participants collectively identified barriers to adaptation, prioritized actionable goals, and outlined the next steps for implementation. Recommendations emphasized the importance of fostering institutional partnerships, enhancing data accessibility, and integrating solutions that address both immediate risks and long-term climate resilience.

A Model for Urban Climate Resilience

The workshop successfully combined cutting-edge research with the lived experiences of local stakeholders, highlighting the strengths of collaborative and interdisciplinary efforts. As Rio de Janeiro grapples with the escalating impacts of climate change, the insights and strategies generated from this event will serve as a blueprint for resilient urban development. This approach can be applied in the local context and across other vulnerable cities worldwide, especially in the Global South.

This partnership between Columbia University, ENCE, and Fiocruz reinforces the vital role of academia in fostering actionable change. It serves as a reminder that addressing complex challenges requires shared knowledge, collective responsibility, and a unified vision for the future.