Cape Town and the French Development Agency (AFD) have built a model partnership for coastal resilience that other cities can learn from, Deputy Mayor Eddie Andrews told the UN Ocean Conference last week. Speaking at the Ocean Rise and Coastal Resilience Coalition summit in Nice on Saturday, Andrews highlighted how Cape Town faces sea level rise at nearly twice the global average, threatening coastal infrastructure that supports 10% of the city’s economy. The partnership demonstrates how targeted international cooperation can help vulnerable cities adapt to climate challenges while reducing social inequalities.
Cape Town joined the Ocean Rise coalition to learn from other coastal cities worldwide while sharing its own hard-won experience managing rising seas. Andrews explained that cities in the Global South need a voice in global discussions about coastal adaptation, bringing on-the-ground knowledge that enriches international climate solutions and policy development.
The city has created a specialized Coastal Management department with expertise in engineering, climate science, and marine regulations to tackle these growing challenges.
“We’re using high-resolution risk maps, developing nature-based solutions – such as dune rehabilitation – and have revised our coastal regulations,” Andrews said, describing initiatives that align with coalition goals and could guide other cities facing similar threats.
The French Development Agency has worked with Cape Town since 2012, offering technical help and low-cost loans that proved crucial after the city’s “Day Zero” water crisis and now support the development of coastal adaptation strategies. This partnership has helped speed up real projects that make the city more resilient to climate change while also tackling inequality in poorer neighborhoods.
Andrews talked about how important it is to get local communities involved through public forums where regular citizens sit down with city officials and business leaders. These meetings help the city change its policies based on what people need, creating a way of governing together that makes sure local voices have real power in deciding how to deal with climate change.
