Future of climate–city researchDownload PDF Download PDF EditorialPublished: 18 September 2025Nature Climate Change (2025)Cite this articleSubjectsClimate changeInterdisciplinary studiesScientific communityCities will face increasing risk along with intensified climate shocks but can also act as key agents for mitigation and adaptation. We hope to see more research that could lead to enhanced climate action by providing comprehensive, equitable and practical solutions.In March 2027, the IPCC will publish a new Special Report focusing on Climate Change and Cities, as an important output in the seventh assessment cycle, which aims to “provide a timely assessment of the latest science related to climate change and cities”. Beyond being the most comprehensive scientific synthesis on this topic so far, it also represents a key opportunity to identify the gaps and future directions for research on climate change and cities and ensure they are able to inform real-world actions.Credit: Jon Wightman / DigitalVision Vectors / Getty ImagesThe research regarding the relationship between climate change and cities has grown rapidly in the past decade. However, when examining their mutual dynamics, many studies still see either climate or city in isolation and study them in a narrow context. But rather, they are multifaceted systems that involve various natural or societal components. Thus, studies need to consider interrelated impacts, not only between cities and climate, but among their components. For example, in a Perspective, Mark Urban et al.1 propose an integrated framework to understand and predict the joint impact of climate change and urbanization on biodiversity. Specifically, they highlight that coupled models and experiments that use the unique conditions of a climate–urban system could be an important research direction.Such a holistic approach is also necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of climate actions targeting cities. Existing urban policies often address specific challenges within a single dimension — such as economic development, poverty, justice or health. However, these targeted approaches can unintentionally impact climate mitigation and adaptation efforts, leading to increased greenhouse gas emissions or bringing new risks. In a Comment, Sumit Agarwal et al.2 discuss why misaligned policies could encourage infrastructure development in high-risk areas and how climate-resilient urban development plans should be designed. Thus, we hope to see future works that capture the full picture, rather than a one-dimensional outcome, which can help to support resilient development.Cities are never a single data point on a map. Important mechanisms of how climate change and cities interact with each other might be missed if on-the-ground details are overlooked. With the help of locally collected, high-resolution data and analytic methods, we have seen a welcome increase in more studies emerging on the micro-level, location-specific city–climate nexus. The details are particularly important for adaptation studies. With the availability of data on, for example, individual daily activities, community distributions, project-level infrastructures and institutional capacities, research may be better situated to develop locally tailored adaptation strategies that could prepare future cities to face increasing climate shocks.Scientific development should not further worsen the existing inequity embedded in society as well as in research communities. In a recent study, Simon Montfort et al.3 highlight the unevenly distributed knowledge base of climate–city studies, with particular under-representation of small and fast-growing cities in Africa and Asia. Similarly, within cities, greater understanding is needed on populations that are vulnerable to climate shocks and poorly designed climate policies. For example, Fergus O’Connor et al.4 discuss the possibility of using targeted heat early warning systems to help at-risk groups in cities. Meanwhile, James Connolly5 discusses how climate gentrification in the long term could erode the effectiveness of urban climate actions. We believe that centring city–climate research on equity and justice issues, such as identifying vulnerable groups, quantifying their risks and tailoring the appropriate strategies, will be a key and continuous focus for future research.Research is also needed that can directly shape urban climate actions. This requires researchers to work with stakeholders on evidence-based and practical solutions that could directly benefit from scholarly findings. At the same time, cooperative mechanisms should be established to facilitate communication and co-working processes between the research and governance bodies, as well as ensuring that ongoing actions include appropriate follow-up measures to document their success and failures. As discussed in a Q&A6, it is important to see the academic community develop research directions that could more directly meet the needs of city–climate action.Here we introduce an online collection developed together by Nature Climate Change and Nature Cities. We highlight studies from the two journals that could represent the state of the art and diverse frontiers of research on climate change and cities. More importantly, we hope to signal to our audience that we are excited to see more work in this growing area and that it is important to make the research on climate change and cities more relevant to practice.ReferencesUrban, M. C. et al. Nat. Clim. Change 14, 436–447 (2024).Article Google Scholar Agarwal, S., Fan, M. & Qin, Y. Nat. Clim. Change 15, 804–805 (2025).Article Google Scholar Montfort, S. et al. Nat. Cities 2, 613–625 (2025).Article Google Scholar O’Connor, F. K. et al. Nat. Clim. Change 15, 806–808 (2025).Article Google Scholar Connolly, J. J. T. Nat. Clim. Change 15, 341–344 (2025).Article Google Scholar Yan, L. & Cheng, D. Nat. Clim. Change 14, 1112–1115 (2024).Article Google Scholar Download referencesRights and permissionsReprints and permissionsAbout this article