Climate Change Policies—Mitigation and Adaptation at the Local Level

2011 ◽  
pp. 261-287
Author(s):  
Lara Lázaro Touza ◽  
Elena López-Gunn
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Policy Integration ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
Climate Change Policies ◽  
Environmental Policy Integration ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Elite Interviews ◽  
Global Energy Consumption

Despite city level involvement in climate change policies since the 90’s existing understanding on how cities address climate change is still limited. Yet cities are key in dealing with climate change as they account for two thirds of global energy consumption, three fourths of CO2 emissions and their mitigation potential is significant. In order to advance current understanding on cities and climate change, semi-structured elite interviews were conducted. Data has been analysed using the Environmental Policy Integration (EPI) framework as a pre-requisite for sustainable development in Madrid, one of the EU cities expected to be significantly affected by climate change. The EPI theoretical framework has been used elsewhere in the literature for the analysis of other national and sectorial environmental issues and is applied in this chapter to the local level for the analysis of climate change policies. The research method is hence deductive in nature. The main findings indicate that progress has been made as regards mitigation. Adaptation is occurring spontaneously in sectors already experiencing impacts; however adaptation is poorly integrated into a comprehensive local climate policy.

scholarly journals Integration of Forest and Climate Change Policies in Nepal

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Ganesh Paudel ◽  
Shankar Adhikari ◽  
Prabin Bhusal
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Forest Policy ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Climate Change Policies ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Forest Policies ◽  
Emerging Issues ◽  
User Groups

Climate change poses threats to forest ecosystems, forest dependent communities and society as a whole. Incorporation of climate change in forest policy and vice-versa is essential to effectively deal with climate change impacts while managing forest. Review of climate change and forest policies, incorporating forestry and climate change issues has not been substantially discussed and analyzed yet in Nepal. In this paper we aim to review the climate change and forest policies in terms of its content, relevancy and adequacy. We reviewed five forest policies and three climate change related plans and policies regarding integration of forest and climate change issues in respective policies. Our review reveals that forest policies contain notable provisions in regard to the contribution of forestry to climate change mitigation and adaptation. However, new and emerging issues such as climate refugia and invasive species are least concerned in forest policies. Climate change policies also contain provisions for forest management focusing on the mobilization of forest user groups for carrying out adaptation activities at the local level. However, the implementation of both polices seems poor due to lack of legal framework. Therefore, formulation of legal framework for implementation of these policies is essential. Similarly, we suggest both policies need to be revised incorporating the provisions based on scientific findings and field experience.

scholarly journals Enhancing resilience through capacity building in LCCAP formulation in the local government of Aurora, Philippines

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan M. Pulhin ◽  
Maricel A. Tapia-Villamayor ◽  
Catherine L. de Luna ◽  
Rex Victor O. Cruz ◽  
Aileen S. Peria ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Capacity Building ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
Collaborative Advantage

Climate Disaster Risk Assessment (CDRA) and Local Climate Change Action Plan (LCCAP) provide the scientific and legal platform for climate change adaptation and mitigation in the Philippines. This APN CAPaBLE project responds to the limited technical capacity of local government units (LGUs) to comply with this requirement through collaborative capacity building. Evaluation of CDRA and LCCAP led to a National Interagency Technical and Policy Forum to formulate action plans and fast-track preparations. The initial stage of the project demonstrated collaborative advantage as a condition for mobilizing human and financial resources was enabled. Collaborative inertia set in once the technical limitations of Aurora LGUs surfaced to complete the CDRA. This mirrored the results of the institutional capacity survey, administered to 87 disaster risk reduction and management Technical Working Group (TWG) members, highlighting the LGUs limitations in data availability and functional knowledge on climate change. Thus, a shift in capacity building strategy through focused mentoring and managing LGU expectations was done. The Aurora LGUs successfully completed its CDRA and LCCAP requirements through a lengthy and arduous process. It was acknowledged that CDRA preparation has a steep learning curve and competes heavily with other multiple functions and pressing demands from the LGUs. The national interagency forum resolution suggested that the CDRA be assigned to another government agency while LGUs shift capacity development initiatives to understanding and mainstreaming scientific assessment into local plans. The project experience highlights the difficult, yet promising, path to human security development and resilience building and underscored prudence and urgency of adaptation planning at the local level.

scholarly journals Leaders, Followers, and Laggards: Adoption of the Us Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement in California

10.1068/c1122 ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 1116-1128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Wang
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Climate Protection ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
Voter Preferences ◽  
Average Household Income ◽  
Study Results ◽  
The Us ◽  
Mitigate Climate Change

Limited quantitative research has been devoted to voluntary climate actions at the local level. It is unclear why some cities act as leaders in the fight against climate change, some act as followers, while others remain laggards. This study tests hypotheses about local climate proactiveness to mitigate climate change. Applying a survival analysis to California cities' adoption of the US Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, I examine the association between cities' adoption of the agreement, a range of cities' characteristics, and the behavior of neighboring jurisdictions. The results suggest important roles of the overall capacity of a local jurisdiction, its staff capacity with relevant expertise, average household income level, and voter preferences. Study results also suggest the importance of local traffic conditions and the positive peer effect.

scholarly journals Projections of the urban and intra-urban scale thermal effects of climate change in the 21st century for cities in the Carpathian Basin

2021 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-33
Author(s):  
Tamás Gál ◽  
Nóra Skarbit ◽  
Gergely Molnár ◽  
János Unger
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Urban Climate ◽  
Thermal Characteristics ◽  
Carpathian Basin ◽  
Climate Index ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Emission Scenarios ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation

This study evaluates the pattern of a nighttime climate index namely the tropical nights (Tmin ≥ 20ºC) during the 21st century in several different sized cities in the Carpathian Basin. For the modelling, MUKLIMO_3 microclimatic model and the cuboid statistical method were applied. In order to ensure the proper representation of the thermal characteristics of an urban landscape, the Local Climate Zone (LCZ) system was used as landuse information. For this work, LCZ maps were produced using WUDAPT methodology. The climatic input of the model was the Carpatclim dataset for the reference period (1981–2010) and EURO-CORDEX regional model outputs for the future time periods (2021–2050, 2071–2100) and emission scenarios (RCP4.5, RCP8.5). As results show, there would be a remarkable increase in the number of tropical nights along the century, and there is a clearly recognizable increase owing to urban landform. In the near past, the number of the index was 6–10 nights higher in the city core than the rural area where the number of this index was negligible. In the near future this urban-rural trend is the same, however, there is a slight increase (2–5 nights) in the index in city cores. At the end of the century, the results of the two emission scenarios become distinct. In the case of RCP4.5 the urban values are about 15–25 nights, what is less stressful compared to the 30–50 nights according to RCP8.5. The results clearly highlight that the effect of urban climate and climate change would cause serious risk for urban dwellers, therefore it is crucial to perform climate mitigation and adaptation actions on both global and urban scales.

scholarly journals Institutional Design and Elite Support for Climate Policies: Evidence from Latin American Countries

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danilo Freire ◽  
Umberto Guarnier Mignozzetti ◽  
David Skarbek
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
Climate Policies ◽  
Local Climate Change ◽  
Local Courts ◽  
Latin American Countries

Which institutional features do Latin American elites favor for local climate change policies? Climate change mitigation requires active local level implementation, but it remains unclear which institutional arrangements maximize support for environmental rules. In this paper, we run a conjoint experiment with elite members of 10 Latin American countries and ask respondents to evaluate institutional designs drawn from a pool of 5,500 possible local climate governance arrangements. We find that Latin American elites prefer international organizations to formulate climate policies, support imposing increasing fines on violators, and favor renewing agreements every five years. We also find that elites support both international institutions and local courts to mediate conflicts, but they distrust non-governmental organizations and reject informal norms as a means of conflict resolution. Our results identify possible challenges in crafting local climate mitigation policies and offer new insights about how to integrate local and international levels in environmental agreements.

scholarly journals Public Sector Responses to Climate Change: Evaluating the Role of Scottish Local Government in Implementing the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009

1970 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony Jackson ◽  
William Lynch
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Carbon Consumption ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
Carbon Footprints ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation

Effective climate change actions demand collaborative action from public bodies at all levels, placing local governance at the forefront of delivery. Scottish legislation imposes some of the most demanding legally-binding requirements for reducing greenhouse gas emissions currently to be found anywhere in the world. The new climate change obligations on Scottish local government are reviewed in the context of current Scottish emissions and UK energy policies. Analysis indicates that the pattern of carbon consumption rather than its production must be targeted, and that local government is well-placed to deliver many of the policies to this end. Case studies of Fife and Highland Councils show how Scottish local authorities (SLAs) are planning to discharge their climate change mitigation and adaptation responsibilities. Energy efficiency is driving the mitigation of carbon consumption, while new techniques for measuring carbon footprints are being used to adapt the development process to a low carbon mode. SLAs must pursue low-cost local climate change solutions not just to enhance the resilience of Scottish communities but also to demonstrate the feasibility of such approaches for local governance systems elsewhere in the face of growing financial constraints. Recent changes in Scottish waste management practices indicate the potential in this respect.

scholarly journals The epistemologies of local climate change policies in Germany

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 303-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karsten Zimmermann ◽  
Jasmin Boghrat ◽  
Meike Weber
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
Climate Change Policies ◽  
Local Climate Change

scholarly journals Local climate change cultures: climate-relevant discursive practices in three emerging economies

2019 ◽  
Vol 163 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Nash ◽  
Lorraine Whitmarsh ◽  
Stuart Capstick ◽  
Valdiney Gouveia ◽  
Rafaella de Carvalho Rodrigues Araújo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Environmental Problems ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Local Climate Change

AbstractIn recent decades, greater acknowledgement has been given to climate change as a cultural phenomenon. This paper takes a cultural lens to the topic of climate change, in which climate-relevant understandings are grounded in wider cultural, political and material contexts. We approach climate-relevant accounts at the level of the everyday, understood as a theoretically problematic and politically contested space This is in contrast to simply being the backdrop to mundane, repetitive actions contributing to environmental degradation and the site of mitigative actions. Taking discourse as a form of practice in which fragments of cultural knowledge are drawn on to construct our environmental problems, we investigate citizens’ accounts of climate-relevant issues in three culturally diverse emerging economies: Brazil, South Africa and China. These settings are important because greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are predicted to significantly increase in these countries in the future. We conducted semi-structured interviews with a range of citizens in each country using a narrative approach to contextualise climate-relevant issues as part of people’s lifestyle narratives. Participants overwhelmingly framed their accounts in the context of locally-salient issues, and few accounts explicitly referred to the phenomenon of climate change. Instead, elements of climate changes were conflated with other environmental issues and related to a wide range of cultural assumptions that influenced understandings and implied particular ways of responding to environmental problems. We conclude that climate change scholars should address locally relevant understandings and develop dialogues that can wider meanings that construct climate-relevant issues in vernacular ways at the local level.

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