Dr. Carla Habib Mourad hosted Dr. Yaser Abunnasr for an exciting episode of FED Talks: Greener Cities are Cooler Cities: Nature based solutions for urban climate mitigation. Dr. Abunnasr explained that his research is centered on mitigating urban climates using nature-based solutions for overall public health, city greening, and increased ecosystem services.
Dr. Abunnasr demonstrated the Urban Heat Island (UHI) concept that cities tend to be warmer than their surroundings, and discussed the importance of nature-based solutions as the most cost effective, efficient, and no-regrets approach to mitigation measures. In the context of arid cities, increasing native or climatically adapted urban tree canopies proved to be most effective in reducing the UHI, while carrying co-benefits such as reducing need for irrigation and increasing urban biodiversity.
The work on MENA's cities also contributes to climate change mitigation and adaptation measures and has clear synergies with SDGs for sustainable, resilient communities. Access the full FED Talk episode here.
