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5 - Climate Change Mitigation-Adaptation

This document discusses climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies for municipalities. It begins by outlining key discussion points around the historical focus on mitigation over adaptation and implications for future policy. It then provides an overview of mitigation approaches, including milestones for action planning. Key sectors for urban mitigation are identified as urban form, built environment, infrastructure, transport, and carbon sequestration. The challenges of adaptation policies and typical municipal responses to climate risks are also summarized.

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101 views

5 - Climate Change Mitigation-Adaptation

This document discusses climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies for municipalities. It begins by outlining key discussion points around the historical focus on mitigation over adaptation and implications for future policy. It then provides an overview of mitigation approaches, including milestones for action planning. Key sectors for urban mitigation are identified as urban form, built environment, infrastructure, transport, and carbon sequestration. The challenges of adaptation policies and typical municipal responses to climate risks are also summarized.

Uploaded by

pujan77
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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IU032

Climate Change Mitigation & Adaptation

April 11, 2018

International School of Urban Sciences


University of Seoul
Discussion Points
• Why have municipal responses to climate change historically focused
on mitigation rather than adaptation? What are the implications of
this policy focus for the future of urban climate change policy?
• What could be different in shaping and implementing climate change
mitigation policies/initiatives between developed countries and less
developed countries?
• Identify different types of climate risks that a municipality would face.
• Discuss institutional, political, sociotechnical challenges or barriers in
making municipal adaptation policies to the climate risks identified
above.
• Discuss in detail how to overcome the institutional, political,
sociotechnical challenges or barriers.
Integrated Framework of Climate Change
Climate Change Mitigation

• Climate change mitigation refers to the processes through which the


emissions of the GHGs are reduced, or exiting GHGs in the
atmosphere are removed through the creation of ‘sinks’
Milestone-based Approaches to
Climate Mitigation (ICLEI)

• Milestone 1: Conduct an emissions inventory for a baseline year (e.g.


2010) and a forecast year (2020)
• Milestone 2: Adopt an emission-reduction target for the forecast year
• Milestone 3: Develop a local action plan … that describes the policies
& measures that the local government will take to reduce GHG
emissions and achieve its reduction target
• Milestone 4: Implement policies and measures
• Milestone 5: Monitor and verify results as an ongoing process …
providing important feedback that can be used to improve the
measures over time

(Source: ICLEI)
Needs for Climate Change Mitigation at the
Urban Level
• Municipal governments have responsibilities for many processes
that affect GHG emissions at the local level
• Municipalities can act as a ‘laboratory’ for testing innovate
mitigation approaches
• Municipal governments can act in partnership with private sector
and civil society actors
• Cities represent high concentrations of private sector actors with
growing commitment to act on climate change
• Cities provide arenas within which civil society is mobilizing to
address climate change
Key Sectors of Urban Climate Change
Mitigation

• Urban form & structure


• Built environment
• Urban infrastructure
• Transport
• Carbon sequestration
Mitigation: Urban Form & Structure (1)
Mitigation: Urban Form & Structure (2)

• Location
• Density
• Design
Mitigation: Urban Form & Structure (3)

• Master-planning
• Zoning
• Compact development
• Mixed-use development
• Urban design standards
Mitigation: Built Environment (1)

• Built environment
- Public buildings
- Residential buildings
- Commercial/industrial buildings
• The building sector consumes roughly one-third of the final
energy used in most countries.
Mitigation: Built Environment (2)

Global GHG Emissions


Mitigation: Built Environment (3)

• Policy approaches
- Economic incentives: taxes & energy pricing
- Regulatory requirements: codes or standards
- Informational program
• Voluntary mechanisms
- Voluntary rating systems: Energy Star, LEED, BREEAM
• Technologies & materials
- Development of building technologies & materials
Mitigation: Built Environment (4)

Green Building Movement: Response of the construction industry to


the environmental and resource impacts of the built environment

Green Building: A healthy structure designed and built in a resource-


efficient manner, using ecologically based principle

Green Building Revolution


Mitigation: Urban Infrastructure

• Urban Infrastructure
-Energy (electricity & gas) networks
-Water and sanitation systems
• Issues
- The type of energy supply
- The carbon intensity of providing water, sanitation, and waste
services
- The release of methane from landfill sites
Urban Infrastructure: Types of Scheme

• Alternative energy supply


• Landfill gas capture
• Alternative water supply
• Collection of waste for recycling or reuse
• Energy and water efficiency/conservation
• Demand reduction
Mitigation: Transport

UN Habitat: Transport section (2005)


• 23% of CO₂ emissions (worldwide)
• 30% of CO₂ emissions (OECD)
Mitigation: Transport

• Issues
- Urban sprawl
- The modal shift
Transportation vs. Density
Petrol Use Urban Density
Factors of Private Passenger Vehicle Mileage

• Density
• Diversity of land use
• Street design
• Destination accessibility
• Distance to transit
• Quality of public transport
• Land use planning
• Government policy
Climate Change Mitigation & Transportation

• New low-carbon transport infrastructure: BRT/Guided bus lines


• Low-carbon infrastructure renewal/upgrade
• Fleet replacement
• Fuel switching: Methane bus, Fuel cell bus
• Enhancing energy efficiency
• Demand-reduction measures
• Demand-enhancement measures: alternative modes of travel
Most Common Modes of Mitigation in
Transport

• Development of public transport


• Implementation of cleaner technologies
• Promotion of non-motorized transport
• Public awareness campaigns
Carbon Sequestration

• Removing GHG emissions from the atmosphere, either through


enhancing natural ‘carbon sinks’, the development of new carbon
sinks, or through the capture and storage of GHG being produced
within the city
Carbon Sequestration: Type of Scheme

• Urban carbon capture and storage


• Urban tree planting program
• Restoration of carbon sinks
• Preservation and conservation of carbon sinks
• Carbon offset
Mitigation: Institutional Factors

• Refers to those that shape the capacity of urban institutions to respond


to climate change
- Coordination and conflicts between different levels of governments
- The extent to which partnerships with external organizations have
been developed
- Access to knowledge and financial resources
• In general limited authority in broad areas such as energy and
transport policy, the development of infrastructures and services, the
use of taxes or charges or in setting building standards
• More capacity in areas such as land-use planning and the development
of voluntary programs and initiatives
Mitigation: Political Factors

• The possibilities for and limitations to responding to climate change


that relate to the political leadership, opportunity, and conflict
- Individual leadership/political cycle of elections/opportunities such
as big/mega events
- Prioritization of urban agendas
Mitigation: Sociotechnical Factors

• The combined effects of the material and technical conditions of cities


and the social, cultural, political and economic means that sustain and
reproduce the urban system
- Infrastructure systems, buildings and morphology of urban areas
have been co-produced through networks of material infrastructures,
institutions, interests, and everyday practices
- Incremental changes v. radical changes
Climate Change Adaptation

• Climate change adaptation refers to “adjustment in natural or human


systems to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which
moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities” (IPCC 2007)
• A deliberate and considered process of responding to climatic
conditions in the context of wider social, economic, and political
processes
• Shaped by the interaction between vulnerability, adaptive capacity
and adaptation deficits
Challenges of Climate Adaptation Policies

• Uncertainty associated with climate risk


• Diffuse ways of climate change impacts
• Distant nature of climate risks
Typical Responses to Climate Risks

• Increasing robustness of infrastructures


• Enhancing the protective functions of ecosystems
• Incorporating climatic risks in developing planning
• Market solutions
• Establishing emergency funds
• Improving social awareness and preparedness
• Reducing institutional fragmentation
• Creating policy frameworks for disaster management

(Manuel-Navarrete et al. 2011)


Alternative Responses to Climate Risks

• Changing governance structures to enhance participation


• Building capacities for self-protection and group action
• Community risk assessments
• Revaluing traditional coping practices
• Mobilizing social capital

(Manuel-Navarrete et al. 2011)


Various Approaches to Municipal Adaptation

• Developing adaptation strategies that focus on specific sectors (ex.


coastal management, health/heat plans)
• Set specific adaptation plans as a part of wider climate change
and sustainability strategies/plans
• Developing stand-alone adaptation strategies
• Integrating adaptation plans with municipal planning
Municipal Climate Change Adaptation

• Defining and assessing the level of risks and vulnerability to climate


impacts
• Developing strategies
• Implementing strategies
• Evaluating
Main Stages of City-based Adaptation

Source: UN Habitat
Municipal Climate Adaptation in Practice

• Responding to risk and disaster


• Managing urban development
• Designing and using the built environment
• Reconfiguring urban infrastructure networks
Adaptation: Responding to Risk and Disaster

• Reduce the exposure of cities to climate risks


• Provide early warnings of climate-related risks
• Develop capacity to respond to disasters
• Develop capacity to rebuild after disaster
Adaptation: Managing Urban Development

• The use of planning system (ex: coastal management, flood risks)


• Enabling or regulating the nature and location of urban
development
• Two broad approaches: controlling physical development & social
& economic development
Adaptation: the Built Environment

• Design guidelines or standards


• Cool-roofs/ green roofs
• Recycling of grey water
• Rain water harvesting
Adaptation: Urban Infrastructure Networks

• Reconfiguring urban infrastructure networks including


- Water
- Sanitation
- Energy
- Communications
- Transport
• Development of adaptation capacity through assessment of
potential risks, new forms of decision making, and enhancement of
the physical and social resilience of specific networks
• Development of new forms of green and blue infrastructure system
Institutional Drivers & Barriers of Adaptation

• Limited Resources
• The extent of local knowledge on the potential impacts and
vulnerability in relation to climate change
• Uncertainty on the timing and impact of climate change
• The potential costs of adaptation
• Multilevel governance of adaptation
Political Drivers & Barriers of Adaptation

• Challenges of leadership of making adaptation a relevant local


issue
• Different form of leaderships that focus on enhancing
participation and inclusion of marginalized and vulnerable
communities
• The presence of active intermediary organizations
Sociotechnical Drivers & Barriers of Adaptation

• Existing urban morphology


• Urban development/growth pressure
• Urban infrastructure networks
• Urban development & planning practices
Climate Resilience Pathways

• Climate-resilient pathways are sustainable-development


trajectories that combine adaptation and mitigation to reduce
climate change and its impacts.
Climate Resilience Pathways

Source: IPCC 2014

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