MSGID: 1:317/3 64927cf2   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Climate action plans mobilize limited urban change, researchers report   
    Adaption and mitigation efforts might be improved with inclusivity and   
   transparency    
      
     Date:   
         June 20, 2023   
     Source:   
         Hiroshima University   
     Summary:   
         The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment   
         Report (AR5), released just prior to an international climate   
         convention in 2015, explicitly stated that human-caused greenhouse   
         gas emissions were the highest in history, with clear and widespread   
         impacts on the climate system. Since then, hundreds of cities   
         across the world have published their own climate action plans   
         (CAPs), detailing how their urban areas will handle climate   
         change. How do the plans stack up against one another and against   
         the recommended guidelines established by the United Nations-   
         Habitat Guiding Principles for City Climate Action Planning?   
      
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   FULL STORY   
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   The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report   
   (AR5), released just prior to an international climate convention in   
   2015, explicitly stated that human-caused greenhouse gas emissions   
   were the highest in history, with clear and widespread impacts on the   
   climate system. Since then, hundreds of cities across the world have   
   published their own climate action plans (CAPs), detailing how their urban   
   areas will handle climate change. How do the plans stack up against one   
   another and against the recommended guidelines established by the United   
   Nations-Habitat Guiding Principles for City Climate Action Planning?   
   To better understand the content and structure of these CAPs -- and what   
   lessons may be learned from them -- researchers from Hiroshima University   
   analyzed 278 urban CAPs established since 2015.   
      
   They published their findings on May 10 in Urban Climate.   
      
   "There is limited knowledge about the global situation of the content and   
   structure of urban CAPs adopted or published after AR5 -- most existing   
   studies are either limited in geographical scope or thematic focus,"   
   said first author Prince Dacosta Aboagye, a doctoral student in Hiroshima   
   University's Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences. "In this   
   study, we critically analyze the content and structure of urban CAPs   
   adopted or published post-AR5 and examine how these urban CAPs align with   
   selected climate action planning best practices."  According to Aboagye,   
   cities are vulnerable to climate change, but city governments also possess   
   the local knowledge and close community connections to effectively engage   
   with their citizens to achieve urban climate targets. They also wield   
   the authority to adopt laws and legislation to reduce urban emissions   
   and adapt as needed.   
      
   "Our study extends the analysis and presents a global perspective on the   
   content and structure of urban CAPs and the extent to which urban CAPs   
   align with selected climate action planning best practices," Aboagye   
   said. "This critical analysis of the content and structure of urban CAPs   
   across a taxonomy and typology of cities provides additional insights   
   for local climate decision- making and the development of more robust   
   climate planning frameworks."  Using international databases of urban   
   city plans and Google, the researchers identified 278 CAPs that were   
   published in English between 2015 and 2022.   
      
   According to Aboagye, while there was initial concern that the English   
   requirement may introduce bias, the final sample included cities from   
   across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas and Oceania.   
      
   The researchers applied a qualitative analysis to identify key climate   
   action planning elements, such as the co-benefits, synergies, trade-offs   
   and conflicts in the reports. They also identified trends in urban CAP   
   adoption, areas of focus, pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and   
   to achieve zero carbon, as well as how baseline greenhouse gas emission   
   inventory is reported.   
      
   "There have been variations in the adoption or publication of urban CAPs   
   post- AR5 across city types and world regions," said corresponding   
   author Ayyoob Sharifi, professor in Hiroshima University's   
   IDEC Institute. "Cities have transitioned from developing only   
   mitigation-related plans to both mitigation and adaptation. Almost half   
   of the sampled mitigation-related urban CAPs have a deep decarbonization   
   target, with less than a quarter likely to be achieved by 2030."   
   The researchers found that CAPs were increasingly adopted and published   
   from 20 in 2015 to 56 in 2020, with cities leveraging social media and   
   teleconferencing platforms to adopt or publish their plans. Most of the   
   278 plans included both mitigation and adaption plans, but 3% focused   
   solely on adaption and 16% on mitigation. Of the sectors targeted to   
   achieve climate objectives, 268 CAPs focused most on transportation,   
   followed closely by the energy, buildings and waste sectors. The   
   researchers also analyzed connections between the sectors and how   
   cities considered potential co-benefits in their planning, finding   
   that cities are more likely to focus on these linked sectors over   
   others: transport and energy; transport and waste; energy and waste;   
   transport and urban governance/policy/planning; and energy and urban   
   governance/policy/planning.   
      
   According to Sharifi, the researchers plan to use their findings to   
   develop an integrated and comprehensive urban climate planning framework   
   to serve as a guiding tool for developing robust climate action plans   
   with globally accepted benchmarks, criteria and standards.   
      
   "We hope the paper's evidence will shape future urban climate planning   
   since it highlights lessons from urban CAPs adopted or published from   
   2015 to 2022," Sharifi said. "Next, we will use the planned framework   
   to evaluate the suitability of urban CAPs and build the capacity of   
   local governments and urban planners to adopt the framework to develop   
   suitable city-specific CAPs."   
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   Story Source: Materials provided by Hiroshima_University. Note: Content   
   may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
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   Journal Reference:   
      1. Prince Dacosta Aboagye, Ayyoob Sharifi. Post-fifth assessment report   
         urban climate planning: Lessons from 278 urban climate action plans   
         released from 2015 to 2022. Urban Climate, 2023; 49: 101550 DOI:   
         10.1016/ j.uclim.2023.101550   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/06/230620113741.htm   
      
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