scholarly journals The Role of Health in Urban Climate Adaptation: An Analysis of Six U.S. Cities

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 777-785 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark M. Shimamoto ◽  
Sabrina McCormick
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Urban Climate ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Recent Climate ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
Climate Action Plan

Abstract Climate change threatens the health of urban residents in many ways. This qualitative study aims to understand how six U.S. cities are considering health adaptation when responding to climate change; 65 semistructured interviews were conducted with salient stakeholders across six U.S. cities (Boston, Massachusetts; Los Angeles, California; Portland, Oregon; Raleigh, North Carolina; Tampa, Florida; and Tucson, Arizona), and transcripts were analyzed to identify common themes. Each city’s (or county’s) most recent climate action plan was also analyzed. This study found that interviewees’ ability to understand the connection between climate and health was a major determinant for health adaptation implementation. In addition, institutional fragmentation in governance made it difficult to incorporate health concerns into broader climate planning. However, cross-sectoral collaborations and considerations of health cobenefits were shown to help overcome these barriers. These findings offer valuable insight regarding how policy makers and practitioners can safeguard public health from the effects of climate change.

scholarly journals DRAFT Climate Change Adaptation Indicators Framework for the City of Boston, MA

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
SeaPlan
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
Change Climate ◽  
Mitigate Climate Change ◽  
Climate Action Plan ◽  
The City

Despite global efforts to mitigate climate change, climate change impacts are occurring, and will likely increase in severity in the coming decades. The City of Boston has stated its commitment to mitigating climate change and preparing the city for its impacts through the establishment of the Climate Action Plan (2010). Through their report, the Climate Action Leadership Committee and the Community Advisory Committee of the City of Boston established the need for an indicators framework to track the progress of the City of Boston in preparing for climate change. “A Draft Climate Adaptation Indicators Framework for the City of Boston, MA” provides a pragmatic approach to establishing indicator metrics to better understand the City of Boston’s vulnerabilities and to evaluate and track its progress in implementing preparedness and resilience measures. This report describes the four-step methodology to develop a climate change adaptation (CCA) indicators framework, the resulting draft CCA indicators framework, and recommendations for next steps in implementing and honing this framework.

scholarly journals Exploring the Role of Outdoor Recreation to Contribute to Urban Climate Resilience

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (22) ◽  
pp. 6268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Beery
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Outdoor Recreation ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Urban Climate ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Parks And Recreation ◽  
Climate Resilience ◽  
Climate Action

Climate resilience is an important mix of climate mitigation and climate adaptation designed to minimize current and future disruption while promoting opportunity. Given the importance of the regional and local arena for consideration of impacts of climate change trends and needs for climate action, climate resilience in one community, Duluth, Minnesota, is considered. At the core of this project is the climate resilience question: what can we currently be doing in our communities to prepare for projected climate change while simultaneously improving life for current residents and visitors? Given the growing importance of outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism in Duluth, the role this sector may be able to play in climate resilience is considered. Using action research methodology, the research process of adjusting, presenting, and conducting follow-up from a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Adaptation for Coastal Communities workshop is presented. The study takes a unique look at one workshop outcome, a Duluth Parks and Recreation planning tool. Specifically, a resilience checklist is presented as a useful sample outcome of the overall process. Beyond the study community, the role of outdoor recreation to serve climate resilience is explored and affirmed.

scholarly journals and climate change

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (26) ◽  
pp. 103-117
Author(s):  
Gianni Lobosco ◽  
Vittoria Mencarini
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Potential Effectiveness ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
Alternative Scenarios ◽  
Landscape Units ◽  
Climate Action Plan

The contribution presents the results of a research project carried out within the main framework of the “Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan” for the Ravenna Municipality, one of the signatories of the “Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy”. The project goal is to provide decision makers and city planners with landscape-oriented strategies capable of improving the territorial resilience vis-a-vis climate change impacts in the next decades. The research focuses on the construction of future alternative scenarios on a 2100 horizon. From their comparison, a short-term vision (2050) open to alternative developments has been designed. The study provides an overall view, on a municipal scale, of the main adaptation actions that can be implemented; then, it tests their potential effectiveness on smaller case-studies illustrating some recurring landscape units of the territory.

scholarly journals Multi-Objective Optimization Model EPLANopt for Energy Transition Analysis and Comparison with Climate-Change Scenarios

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 3255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matteo Giacomo Prina ◽  
Giampaolo Manzolini ◽  
David Moser ◽  
Roberto Vaccaro ◽  
Wolfram Sparber
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Simulation Software ◽  
Climate Change Scenarios ◽  
Transition Analysis ◽  
Multi Objective ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
Climate Action Plan

The modeling of energy systems with high penetration of renewables is becoming more relevant due to environmental and security issues. Researchers need to support policy makers in the development of energy policies through results from simulating tools able to guide them. The EPLANopt model couples a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm to EnergyPLAN simulation software to study the future best energy mix. In this study, EPLANopt is applied at country level to the Italian case study to assess the best configurations of the energy system in 2030. A scenario, the result of the optimization, is selected and compared to the Italian integrated energy and climate action plan scenario. It allows a further reduction of CO2 emissions equal to 10% at the same annual costs of the Italian integrated energy and climate action plan scenario. Both these results are then compared to climate change scenarios through the carbon budget indicator. This comparison shows the difficulties to meet the Paris Agreement target of limiting the temperature increase to 1.5 °C. The results also show that this target can only be met through an increase in the total annual costs in the order of 25% with respect to the integrated energy and climate action plan scenario. However, the study also shows how the shift in expenditure from fossil fuels, external expenses, to investment on the national territory represents an opportunity to enhance the national economy.

Climate change and the economy in Baja California: Assessment of macroeconomic impacts of the State's Climate Action Plan

2017 ◽  
Vol 131 ◽  
pp. 373-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Wei ◽  
Alejandro Brugués ◽  
Adam Rose ◽  
Carlos A. de la Parra ◽  
Rigoberto García ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Baja California ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
Macroeconomic Impacts ◽  
Climate Action Plan

scholarly journals Just Adapt: Engaging Disadvantaged Young People in Planning for Climate Adaptation

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 100-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna R. Davies ◽  
Stephan Hügel
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Young People ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Educational Interventions ◽  
Adaptation Planning ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Climate Action

The visibility of young people in climate change debates has risen significantly since the inception of the Fridays for Future movement, but little is known about the diversity of positions, perspectives and experiences of young people in Ireland, especially with respect to climate change adaptation planning. To close this knowledge gap, this article first interrogates key emergent spaces of public participation within the arena of climate action in Ireland in order to identify the extent of young people’s participation and whether any specific consideration is given to disadvantaged groups. It then tests the impacts of workshops specifically designed to support disadvantaged young people’s engagement with climate change adaptation which were rolled out with a designated Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools school in inner-city Dublin, Ireland. We found limited attention to public participation in climate change adaptation planning generally, with even less consideration given to engaging young people from disadvantaged communities. However, positive impacts with respect to enhanced knowledge of climate change science and policy processes emerged following participation in the workshops, providing the bedrock for a greater sense of self-efficacy around future engagement with climate action amongst the young people involved. We conclude that what is needed to help ensure procedural justice around climate action in Ireland are specific, relevant and interactive educational interventions on the issue of climate change adaptation; interventions which are sensitive to matters of place and difference.

scholarly journals Urban Climate Policy and Action through a Health Lens—An Untapped Opportunity

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (23) ◽  
pp. 12516
Author(s):  
Audrey de Nazelle ◽  
Charlotte J. Roscoe ◽  
Aina Roca-Barcelό ◽  
Giselle Sebag ◽  
Gudrun Weinmayr ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
International Society ◽  
Urban Climate ◽  
Environmental Epidemiology ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
Health Promoting ◽  
Funding Opportunities

Motivated by a growing recognition of the climate emergency, reflected in the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26), we outline untapped opportunities to improve health through ambitious climate actions in cities. Health is a primary reason for climate action yet is rarely integrated in urban climate plans as a policy goal. This is a missed opportunity to create sustainable alliances across sectors and groups, to engage a broad set of stakeholders, and to develop structural health promotion. In this statement, we first briefly review the literature on health co-benefits of urban climate change strategies and make the case for health-promoting climate action; we then describe barriers to integrating health in climate action. We found that the evidence-base is often insufficiently policy-relevant to be impactful. Research rarely integrates the complexity of real-world systems, including multiple and dynamic impacts of strategies, and consideration of how decision-making processes contend with competing interests and short-term electoral cycles. Due to siloed-thinking and restrictive funding opportunities, research often falls short of the type of evidence that would be most useful for decision-making, and research outputs can be cryptic to decision makers. As a way forward, we urge researchers and stakeholders to engage in co-production and systems thinking approaches. Partnering across sectors and disciplines is urgently needed so pathways to climate change mitigation and adaptation fully embrace their health-promoting potential and engage society towards the huge transformations needed. This commentary is endorsed by the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE) and the International Society for Urban Health (ISUH) and accompanies a sister statement oriented towards stakeholders (published on the societies’ websites).

Developing and Monitoring a Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan for an Energy-Producing Community

2017 ◽  
pp. 101-124
Keyword(s):  
Energy Savings ◽  
Sustainable Energy ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
District Heating ◽  
Phase Iii ◽  
Heating Systems ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
Alternative Scenarios ◽  
Climate Action Plan ◽  
The City

The development, implementation and monitoring of the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan require a significant amount of data and analysis, as well as an effective and comprehensive decision making process. This chapter presents the pilot application of the proposed “MPC+ (Map - Plan - Choose - Check)” framework, through the “Action3” Decision Support System, in a Greek energy-producing community. The pilot application is conducted in three phases, namely the development of the baseline emission inventory (Phase I), the creation and evaluation of alternative Scenarios of Actions (Phase II) and the monitoring of the actions and measures implemented (Phase III). The city's univocal economy orientation of energy production through lignite is considered as a basic, inhibitory factor towards sustainability. In this respect, the city has committed to implement a series of appropriate renewable energy and rational use of energy activities in its territory, laying balanced emphasis on the local energy and heat production, and the promotion and implementation of measures on energy savings. A significant part of the CO2 emissions' reduction will come from the installation of biomass district heating systems in local communities.

scholarly journals The motley drivers of heat and cold exposure in 21st century US cities

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (35) ◽  
pp. 21108-21117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley Mark Broadbent ◽  
Eric Scott Krayenhoff ◽  
Matei Georgescu
Keyword(s):  
Los Angeles ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Cold Exposure ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Urban Climate ◽  
Heat Exposure ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
Relative Significance ◽  
Metropolitan Regions

We use a suite of decadal-length regional climate simulations to quantify potential changes in population-weighted heat and cold exposure in 47 US metropolitan regions during the 21st century. Our results show that population-weighted exposure to locally defined extreme heat (i.e., “population heat exposure”) would increase by a factor of 12.7–29.5 under a high-intensity greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and urban development pathway. Additionally, end-of-century population cold exposure is projected to rise by a factor of 1.3–2.2, relative to start-of-century population cold exposure. We identify specific metropolitan regions in which population heat exposure would increase most markedly and characterize the relative significance of various drivers responsible for this increase. The largest absolute changes in population heat exposure during the 21st century are projected to occur in major US metropolitan regions like New York City (NY), Los Angeles (CA), Atlanta (GA), and Washington DC. The largest relative changes in population heat exposure (i.e., changes relative to start-of-century) are projected to occur in rapidly growing cities across the US Sunbelt, for example Orlando (FL), Austin (TX), Miami (FL), and Atlanta. The surge in population heat exposure across the Sunbelt is driven by concurrent GHG-induced warming and population growth which, in tandem, could strongly compound population heat exposure. Our simulations provide initial guidance to inform the prioritization of urban climate adaptation measures and policy.

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