As the urgency of climate action grows, cities are becoming central to both managing climate risks and advancing solutions at scale. By 2050, nearly 70% of the global population is projected to live in cities. But amid intensifying climate risks, urban areas need resilient infrastructure that not only meets current needs but can withstand and adapt to future stresses. Resilience today requires more than physical robustness, it demands flexibility, adaptability and sustainability as well.
Against this backdrop, artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a cornerstone of resilience, providing cities with new capabilities to predict risks, optimise resources, and plan for the future. The launch of the AI Climate Institute (AICI) at COP30, aimed to equip developing countries with crucial skills to harness AI for climate action, reflects the growing recognition that AI systems should be built suited to respective local needs and climate realities.
Malaysia is already showing how AI can work in practice, with the technology being applied across key areas from disaster preparedness, traffic management, water systems, to decentralised energy. Together, these efforts point toward a future where AI is not only making cities smarter but more resilient and centered on communities.
Moving from reactive to predictive response
The traditional approach to urban planning has often been reactive. Cities wait for floods, heatwaves, or power failures to happen before investing in protective measures. However, cities can no longer afford to take a wait-and-see approach with climate extremes becoming faster and less predictable than ever before
