Climate Action Planning

A Guide to Creating Low-Carbon, Resilient Communities

Michael R. Boswell, Adrienne I. Greve, Tammy L. Seale

• Publisher: Island Press
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781610919647
• Topic: Arquitectura
• Subtopic: Arquitectura general

Climate change continues to impact our health and safety, the economy, and natural systems. With climate-related protections and programs under attack at the federal level, it is critical for cities to address climate impacts locally. Every day there are new examples of cities approaching the challenge of climate change in creative and innovative ways—from rethinking transportation, to greening city buildings, to protecting against sea-level rise. Climate Action Planning is designed to help planners, municipal staff and officials, citizens and others working at local levels to develop and implement plans to mitigate a community's greenhouse gas emissions and increase the resilience of communities against climate change impacts. This fully revised and expanded edition goes well beyond climate action plans to examine the mix of policy and planning instruments available to every community. Boswell, Greve, and Seale also look at process and communication: How does a community bring diverse voices to the table? What do recent examples and research tell us about successful communication strategies? Climate Action Planning brings in new examples of implemented projects to highlight what has worked and the challenges that remain. A completely new chapter on vulnerability assessment will help each community to identify their greatest risks and opportunities. Sections on land use and transportation have been expanded to reflect their growing contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. The guidance in the book is put in context of international, national, and state mandates and goals. Climate Action Planning is the most comprehensive book on the state of the art, science, and practice of local climate action planning. It should be a first stop for any local government interested in addressing climate change.

Chapter 1

Climate Action Planning

To prevent the worst impacts of climate change, we have to cut greenhouse gas emissions even as the population grows. Cities are showing that it can be done—and that the same steps they’re taking to reduce their carbon footprint are also strengthening their local economies, creating jobs, and improving public health.1

—Michael R. Bloomberg, former mayor of New York City, UN secretary-general’s special envoy for climate action, and president of the C40 Board

The Fourth National Climate Assessment prepared by the U.S. Global Change Research Program in 2018 clearly establishes the nature of the global warming problem:

The impacts of climate change are already being felt in communities across the country. More frequent and intense extreme weather and climate-related events, as well as changes in average climate conditions, are expected to continue to damage infrastructure, ecosystems, and social systems that provide essential benefits to communities. Future climate change is expected to further disrupt many areas of life, exacerbating existing challenges to prosperity posed by aging and deteriorating infrastructure, stressed ecosystems, and economic inequality. Impacts within and across regions will not be distributed equally. People who are already vulnerable, including lower-income and other marginalized communities, have lower capacity to prepare for and cope with extreme weather and climate-related events and are expected to experience greater impacts. Prioritizing adaptation actions for the most vulnerable populations would contribute to a more equitable future within and across communities. Global action to significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions can substantially reduce climate-related risks and increase opportunities for these populations in the longer term.2

Global warming is already impacting human health and safety, the economy, and ecosystems. As greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions continue to accumulate in the atmosphere, global warming impacts will increase in severity. The global challenge is twofold: reduce the human-caused emissions of heat-trapping gases and respond to the negative climate impacts already being felt and the likelihood that they will worsen in the future.

The largest sources of these heat-trapping GHGs are fossil fuel–burning power plants and fossil fuel–burning vehicles (see figure 1.1). For the former, changes such as better technology, the development of large-scale renewable energy, and the retirement of old, inefficient power plants (especially those that burn coal) have an important role to play in reducing GHG emissions. For the latter, evolving vehicle and fuel technology and standards help reduce GHG emissions. These types of technological evolution and large-scale energy programs are driven by private-sector investment and federal and state government legislation and programs. Although these efforts are important and necessary, the problem of global warming cannot be solved without the participation of communities, local governments, and individuals as well.

Figure 1-1 2016 CO₂ emissions from fossil fuel combustion by sector and fuel type

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990–2016” (2018), https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/inventory-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks-1990-2016.

Local action is critical for the necessary GHG emissions reductions to occur. Local governments control the vast majority of building construction, transportation investments, and land use decisions in the United States. Civic and business organizations, environmental groups, and citizens can join forces with local governments and commit to local action that includes energy-efficient operation of local government; energy-efficient buildings; renewable energy systems; alternatives to driving, such as buses and bicycles; and city planning that improves the quality of life and allows people to depend less on their cars. The goal is to create low-carbon, resilient communities.

Fortunately, communities all over the world are responding to the challenge of climate change by assessing their GHG emissions and specifying actions to reduce these emissions. As of early 2019, over 9,000 mayors representing over 780 million people around the globe had made a commitment to address climate change through the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (see box 1.1). These mayors have made commitments to reduce GHG emissions by 1.4 billion metric tons by 2030. At the 2018 Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, numerous mayors reported on their progress and made new commitments to accelerate their ambition in addressing climate change. The Lord Mayor Clover Moore of Sydney declared,

Greenhouse [gas] emissions in the City of Sydney peaked in 2007 and have declined every year since—despite our economy expanding by 37 percent. We’ve achieved this because we developed a long-term plan with ambitious targets and we determinedly stuck to that plan for over a decade. We have one of the largest rooftop solar programs in Australia, we converted our streetlights to LED and we’re working with industry leaders to reduce their emissions. We lead by example and we partner with businesses and residents to help them on their journey. As the first government in Australia to be certified carbon neutral, our achievements show the impact that can be had at a City level despite shocking inaction from State and National Governments.3

San Francisco mayor London Breed stated,

Our greenhouse gas emissions peaked in 2000, [and] since then, we’ve successfully reduced them by 30% from 1990 levels, while growing our economy by 111% and increasing our population by 20%. But in order to fully realize the ambitions of the Paris Climate Accord, we must continue to make bold commitments and accelerate actions that reduce emissions and move us towards a clean energy future. That is why, in addition to formally joining the Sierra Club’s nationwide clean energy campaign, San Francisco is committing to reducing landfill disposal by 50% by 2030 and ensuring all of our buildings are net-zero emissions by 2050.4

Box 1.1

The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy Commitment

I, [Name], [Mayor or equivalent representative title] of [name of city or jurisdiction] commit to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy, joining thousands of other cities and local governments around the world currently engaged in climate leadership.

The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy envisions a world where committed mayors and local governments—in alliance with partners—accelerate ambitious, measurable climate and energy initiatives that lead to an inclusive, just, low-emission and climate resilient future, helping to meet and exceed the Paris Agreement objectives.

Whatever the size or location, the mayors and local leaders committed to the Global Covenant stand ready to take concrete measures with long-term impact to tackle the interconnected challenges of climate change mitigation, adaptation, and access to sustainable energy.

To implement this vision, the [city/town/village/type of jurisdiction] of [name of city or jurisdiction] pledges to implement policies and undertake measures to (i) reduce / limit greenhouse gas emissions, (ii) prepare for the impacts of climate change, (iii) increase access to sustainable energy, and (iv) track progress toward these objectives. Specifically, within no more than three years of this commitment, we pledge to develop, formally adopt and report on the following:

• • A community-scale greenhouse gas (GHG) emission inventory;
• • An assessment of climate hazards and vulnerabilities;
• • Ambitious, measurable and time-bound target(s) to reduce/limit greenhouse gas emissions;
• • Ambitious adaptation vision and goals, based on quantified scientific evidence when possible, to increase local resilience to climate change;
• • Ambitious and just goal to improve access to sustainable energy; and
• • Plan(s) to address climate change mitigation / low emission development, climate resilience and adaptation, and access to sustainable energy, including provisions for regular (annual or biennial) progress reports.

The targets and action plans for mitigation / low emission development must be quantified and consistent with or exceed relevant national commitments defined through the relevant UNFCCC [United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change] (Intended) Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).

We acknowledge that there may be additional region- or country-specific commitments for us to adhere to, agreed through our local membership networks or through our direct engagement with local Global Covenant of Mayors partners.

The [city/town/village/type of jurisdiction] of [name of city or jurisdiction] acknowledges that continued membership in the Global Covenant of Mayors and associated local chapters or “Regional Covenants” as established, is contingent on complying with the above requirements within established timeframes.

Source: Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy, https://www.globalcovenantofmayors.org.

As of 2019, over 200 U.S. cities and counties had committed to over 500 climate actions through the United Nation’s Global Climate Action portal (see figure 1.2). In the last decade, the field of climate action planning has rapidly advanced from the commitment and planning phase to the implementation phase. Many communities are now showing success in both reducing GHG emissions and becoming more resilient.

Figure 1-2 U.S. cities and counties committed to climate action as reported on the Global Climate Action platform (as of January 2019)

Source: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, http://climateaction.unfccc.int/.

Local action is also occurring on climate adaption. One of the most notable global initiatives was 100 Resilient Cities (100RC), started by the Rockefeller Foundation. The 100RC program sought to embed the urgency of climate adaption within the broader social, cultural, and economic issues of the city. Becoming a resilient city isn’t just responding to climate change; it is also addressing such issues as food security, access to jobs, and social justice to create a resilient community in the most comprehensive sense. The program provided participant cities with support for hiring a chief resilience officer (CRO), developing a resilience strategy, and accessing a global network of partners and fellow cities. Most of the participant cities have now completed resilience strategies and hired a CRO. In Norfolk, Virginia, the CRO is directing an effort “to transform an area of highly concentrated poverty adjacent to downtown into a vibrant mixed-income and mixed-use neighborhood.”5

Also at the local level, many U.S. colleges and universities are leading the way in climate action planning. As of early 2019, nearly 500 U.S. colleges and universities had committed to climate action through the Second Nature Climate Leadership Network. Many of these colleges and universities have pledged to assist their local communities in pursuing their own climate action goals. There is a great opportunity for communities to partner with their local colleges and universities to share knowledge and resources and engage in collaborative planning.

The tremendous variety of efforts taking place in cities, counties, and colleges and universities to address the problem of climate change is impressive and suggestive of the need to establish “best practices” in this field of planning for GHG emissions reduction and climate change adaptation. This book provides basic guidance on conducting local climate action planning, including the preparation of climate action plans and other policies and programs. The information in the book should be useful to cities, counties, colleges and universities, tribal governments, and other local g...