Briefing: Adapting to a changing climate

Abstract

Climate change is already with us. It is the greatest emerging humanitarian challenge of our time. The effects of changing weather patterns and more extreme climate events can be seen around the world. Examining the scale of the global challenge through the threats posed by a changing climate across Europe and in the UK, this paper indicates that leadership and policy responses are needed at all levels – international, European national and local. The urban environment amplifies the impacts of climate change and adaptation of our towns and cities is essential to accommodate this change. Regional and local planning can make a major contribution to tackling climate change by shaping decisions that reduce carbon dioxide emissions and positively build community resilience to problems such as extreme temperatures or flood risk. Looking to examples of best practice across local authorities in Europe, the EU-funded green and blue space adaptation for urban areas and eco-towns (GRaBS) project is showcased. This paper presents the case for climate change adaptation and, in particular, argues that people or places facing poverty and disadvantage must not be disproportionately affected by climate change, or by policy or practice responses to it.

Climate justice in lieu of climate change: a sustainable approach to respond to the climate change injustice and an awakening of the environmental movement

“…The recommendations are made for further research to bridge the gaps in the theory of climate justice, in which, the local authorities, trusted agencies and organizations that work with particular social groups and posse the local knowledge should collaborate to be the part of targeted information and advice on impacts of climate change for vulnerable groups (Johnson et al 2010;Walker et al 2006;Werritty et al 2007). The spatial planning has the potential to get the right development in the right place in a fair and transparent way and to bring responses to climate change together in a local area (Henderson 2010). Another dimension explored is that in order to achieve climate justice, an approach is required that tackles climate change impacts and social vulnerability together (Walker et al 2006).…”

A framework for analysing neighbourhood resilience

“…This is because cities are where impacts are most strongly felt, as cities are where people, economic activity, government, culture and infrastructure concentrate Hunt and Watkiss, 2011). Furthermore, the urban environment exacerbates climate change impacts (Hunt and Watkiss, 2011;Henderson, 2010). Most importantly, however, is the fact that the city scale is where adaptation actions, unique to a city's context, are necessarily implemented .…”

“…However, given the urgency and enormity of the climate change challenge, it is critical for adaptation work to occur at all scales -from international down to local -all at once (Henderson, 2010). It follows then that adaptation work should also be initiated at the even smaller scale of the neighbourhood.…”

Gendering local climate adaptation

“…First, how severe the impacts of climate change will be for humans, buildings and infrastructure is highly determined by urban form. Spatial planning is, therefore, a key public policy area with a potentially strategic role in mitigating the negative effects of climate change (Wilson 2006, Henderson 2010. Second, unlike many other policy areas, spatial planning has sufficiently long time horizons for changes in climate to occur, which makes it necessary to develop adaptive responses.…”