The Opening Session of the 2024 World Bank Land Conference explored the crucial link between land tenure, governance, and climate action. A keynote and multistakeholder panel underscored how effective land management supports climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts, highlighting its role in facilitating climate finance and promoting sustainable land practices. Discussions pointed to financial innovation, digital advancements, and global cooperation as key drivers enabling progress in managing the climate crisis.

The session explored strategies and tools for urban land management that are risk-informed, addressing challenges of uneven urban development, inadequate land tenure security, climate change, and disaster risks. Emphasizing the interplay between the natural and built environments, the discussion highlighted how effective land use planning can promote social inclusion, strengthen institutions, improve access to land, facilitate affordable housing, and mitigate risks from natural hazards.

The session examined the critical role of land and property valuation in supporting sustainable urbanization, emphasizing its influence on economic development, wealth distribution, and social and environmental sustainability. Presentations highlighted how robust valuation infrastructure underpins property trading, mortgaging, property taxation, land acquisition, financial reporting, and urban planning.

The session explored strategies to curb informal urban expansion by involving rural councils in proactive land pooling and subdivision, highlighting approaches from diverse global contexts. The discussion opened with Shlomo Angel's presentation on "Laying out the urban periphery before it is occupied," emphasizing the importance of preemptive urban planning to guide orderly growth at the city’s edges.