Anticipatory governance represents the need for changes in a long-term vision based on multiple strategies that prevent future crises, especially those arising from the global environmental emergency. In Brazil, around 80% of people already live in urban centers with multiple dimensions of vulnerability, where the issue of anticipation and inclusion in local government agendas is fundamental for identifying and implementing initiatives for reducing future impacts. Recife, located in the state of Pernambuco, is the 16th city most threatened by climate change in the world due to its low altitude and the large number of watercourses across its territory. This work aims at discussing the anticipatory nature of Recife’s urban policies to prevent further extreme climate disasters that already affect the city. The presence of a framework of public policies that form an anticipatory system for extreme weather events means that coastal cities like Recife may open a wide array of possibilities for reducing the risks and impacts associated with climate change-related crisis. Anticipatory systems rely on the partnership between municipal institutions and other cooperation networks for inserting debates such as climate justice, which are sometimes limited to just the academic sphere within the decision-making arena.