Widening the scope of policies to address climate change: directions for mainstreaming

Kok, Marcel; Coninck, H.C. de

doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2007.07.003

Cited by 181 publications

(120 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…The results show that municipalities that have already successfully integrated other cross-cutting issues are more likely to make progress in adaptation mainstreaming, which stands in contrast to previous studies (Agrawala and Van Aalst 2008;Kok and de Coninck 2007).…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 55%

Making headway in climate policy mainstreaming and ecosystem-based adaptation: two pioneering countries, different pathways, one goal

2016

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Ecosystem-based adaptation (i.e. the use of ecosystem services to adapt to climate change) and its mainstreaming into municipal planning to foster sustainable transformation is receiving increasing interest from both academic and governmental bodies. However, little is known about the pathways for its systematic implementation, or the extent to which it is already mainstreamed in municipal planning practice. This article reports on a study in which local pathways to sustainably mainstream ecosystem-based adaptation were compared in 12 municipalities in Germany and Sweden. The results show that while progress is seemingly similar in the two countries, there are noticeable differences regarding the local triggers, the importance given to particular mainstreaming strategies and their link to climate policy integration. Ecosystem-based approaches to climate change adaptation are not labelled or systematised in either country. In addition, the mainstreaming of ecosystem-based adaptation is enabled through municipalities' level of experience in mainstreaming other issues. In Sweden, the ecosystem service concept drives adaptation mainstreaming, which is often disconnected from the integration of climate mitigation policy. In contrast, German structures and planning processes established for climate change mitigation are paving the way. We conclude that systematic adaptation mainstreaming and its potential linkages and disconnects with climate mitigation policy integration require more explicit consideration, both in research and practice. We call for more research on the role of inclusive (as opposed to fragmented) climate policy integration to assure sustainable planning and transformation.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 55%

Making headway in climate policy mainstreaming and ecosystem-based adaptation: two pioneering countries, different pathways, one goal

2016

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“…This model is an extension of the model described in previous papers, 18,19 which is based on classical economic theory. [20][21][22] This theory explains the spatial distribution of land and real estate values, dwelling sizes, population density, and building height and density.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such "mainstreaming" of climate objectives with other policy goals is found to help design better policies in our model, confirming previous findings in other domains. [16][17][18] Obviously, it does not mean that win-win strategies are always available. In some cases, trade-offs will remain unavoidable, and urban decision-makers will need to make tough choices.…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trade-offs and synergies in urban climate policies

2012

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Cities are at the forefront of climate policies. 1-6 However, urban climate policies are not implemented in a vacuum; they interact with other policy goals, such as economic competitiveness or social issues. These interactions can lead to trade-offs and implementation obstacles, or to synergies. 7,8 Little analysis investigating these interactions exists, in part because it requires a broad interdisciplinary approach. Using a novel integrated city model, we provide a first quantification of these trade-offs and synergies, going beyond the qualitative statements that have been published so far. We undertake a multicriteria analysis of three urban policies: a greenbelt policy, a zoning policy to reduce flood risk, and a transportation subsidy. Each of these policies appears to be undesirable because it has negative consequences with respect to at least one policy goal; however, in a policy mix, the consequences of each policy are not simply additive. This nonlinearity permits building policy combinations that are win-win strategies. In particular, flood zoning and greenbelt policies are unlikely to be accepted if they are not combined with transportation policies. Our results show that stand-alone adaptation and mitigation policies are unlikely to be politically acceptable and emphasize the need to mainstream climate policy within urban planning.Urban policies have multiple goals, such as enhancing the quality of life and the city's economic competitiveness by means of affordable housing and office space, amenities, and efficient public services. Urban policies also have social objectives aimed at poverty and social segregation issues, safety and security, and public health. They have environmental goals as well, such as reducing air and water pollution and preserving natural areas. In addition to this long list of goals, urban policies now face new challenges from climate change, including adaptation and mitigation needs. [1][2][3][4][5][6] Adaptation and emission reduction policies rely on the same tools, giving rise to both synergies and conflicts. 7,8 Synergies and conflicts with other policy goals also exist, and environmental policies can result in positive feedback with respect to economic and social issues. A decrease in car congestion increases residents' quality of life, enhances economic competitiveness, reduces accessibility inequalities among neighborhoods, and decreases air pollution and GHG emissions. Conversely, while enlarging parks and introducing more vegetation in cities can be a useful way to adapt cities to higher temperatures and can improve the quality of life, such actions may also reduce population density and lead to increased GHG

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“…An understanding of the synergies between adaptation and mitigation could underpin discussions on mainstreaming both adaptation and mitigation into climate change policies. Some authors believe the two should be pursued simultaneously because they are complementary and may enable ‗win-win' policy options [4,14]. However, others express doubts about the feasibility of implementing adaptation strategies in parallel with mitigation [2,10,15].…”

Section: Sectorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mitigation and adaptation are two fundamentally dissimilar approaches and present well-documented differences [2,3]. With both these strategies being implemented across Latin America, it is necessary to explore the relationships between them, especially potential synergies or trade-offs, and interactions with development plans and institutions in order to maximize their efficiency [2][3][4][5][6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forests and Climate Change in Latin America: Linking Adaptation and Mitigation

Locatelli

Evans

Wardell

et al. 2011

Forests

168

137

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Climate change can be addressed by mitigation (reducing the sources or enhancing the sinks of greenhouse gases) and adaptation (reducing the impacts of climate change). Mitigation and adaptation present two fundamentally dissimilar approaches whose differences are now well documented. Forest ecosystems play an important role in both adaptation and mitigation and there is a need to explore the linkages between these two options in order to understand their trade-offs and synergies. In forests, potential trade-offs can be observed between global ecosystem services, such as the carbon sequestration relevant for mitigation, and the local ecosystem services that are relevant for adaptation. In addition, mitigation projects can facilitate or hinder the adaptation of local people to climate change, whereas adaptation projects can affect ecosystems and their potential to sequester carbon. Linkages between adaptation and mitigation can also be observed in policies, but few climate change or forest policies have addressed these linkages in the forestry sector. This paper presents examples of linkages between adaptation and mitigation in Latin American forests. Through case studies, we investigate the approaches and reasons for integrating adaptation into mitigation projects or mitigation into OPEN ACCESSForests 2011, 2 432adaptation projects. We also analyze the opportunities for mainstreaming adaptation-mitigation linkages into forest or climate change policies.

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Widening the scope of policies to address climate change: directions for mainstreaming

Cited by 181 publications

References 24 publications

Making headway in climate policy mainstreaming and ecosystem-based adaptation: two pioneering countries, different pathways, one goal

Making headway in climate policy mainstreaming and ecosystem-based adaptation: two pioneering countries, different pathways, one goal

Trade-offs and synergies in urban climate policies

Forests and Climate Change in Latin America: Linking Adaptation and Mitigation

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