Living cities combat climate change

Planted ‘green’ walls and rooftops, wetlands, tree-lined roadsides and urban ngahere don’t just beautify our cities — they are critical elements in our efforts to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change.

That is why Dr Maibritt Pedersen Zari, an Associate Professor at AUT’s School of Future Environments, is calling on built environment professionals, scientists and policymakers to urgently implement urban ecological regeneration strategies in cities across the globe.

As urban environments continue to expand, so too does their contribution to biodiversity loss and greenhouse gas emissions, Pedersen Zari argues in a paper published in Nature Climate Change this week.