ITU‐T's Technical Reports And Specifications 179 scarce resources in cities.12 This resource constraint has brought into focus the need to be more sustainable in all aspects of human living and has been precisely one of the triggers of the transformation to SSC. Rising energy prices, energy security, depleting energy sources and global warming caused due to the impact of energy usage have made energy management one of the key challenges to smart and sustainable cities. Cities stakeholders demand different type of resources; therefore it is important that decision makers and citizens should understand that resources are limited. In this respect, ICT can play a crucial role in developing services for the efficient management of waste, water and energy in cities, for example with smart buildings, smart water management systems and smart grid technologies. Environmental management challenges Cities face several environmental management challenges due to its economic activities, urban expansion patterns and citizens' consumption habits. At present cities are responsible for the management of the environmental quality of the city (air, soil and water) and its pollution control. Cities must provide services such as urban waste management or transportation. With increasing urbanization, cities are enduring various challenges to secure financially sustainable water and sanitation services for it citizens.13 The growing demand of goods and services in cities, generate an ecosystem in which economic and industrial activities are carried out. If not controlled effectively, these generate environmental risks especially with reference to potential pollution sources such chemicals, hazardous waste generation, emissions, among others. Controlling and managing these environmental problems is the responsibility of city administration. In this context, any process or solutions that can be improved by ICT based smart sustainable cities solutions should be considered to improve a city` s environmental quality. Climate change challenges The role of cities has been increasingly recognized as being key in the implementation of policies and programs to tackle climate change impacts. In the future cities may need to become much more resource efficient and resilient in the face of extreme weather events and other threats. As experts have pointed out, \"natural hazards linked to climate change have increased in intensity and frequency… rising sea level, floods, heat waves, and storms are projected to continue to be worsen.\"14 Scientists project that the adverse effects may include more floods, windstorms, forest fires, and the melting of permafrost that holds about 1,700 gigatons of carbon.15At present, most of the cities of the world are called upon to develop their climate actions plans with a long‐term planning vision. These plans usually include mitigation and adaptation policies together with an innovative approach to technologies and financing mechanisms.16 ____________________ 12 https://www.kpmg.com/dutchcaribbean/en/Documents/KPMG%20Expect_ the_ Unexpected_ ExctveSmmry_ FINAL_ WebAccessible.pdf 13 Technical Report on Smart Water Management for Smart Sustainable Cities. Focus Group on Smart Water Management (FG‐SWM). International Telecommunications Union (ITU). 14 http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/2843WESS2013.pdf 15 http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/speech/2014/01/15/climate‐change‐is‐challenge‐for‐sustainable‐development 16 World Bank. Cities & Climate Change Leadership Program. (2013)