CLIMATE ACTION PLANNING FOR THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
Climate Action Plans and guidance for their development exist within the majority of industries across the globe. Architecture 2030’s goal in developing a Climate Action Planning for the Built Environment Explainer and Framework was to consolidate the elements of disparate Climate Action Plans and resources that both transcend stakeholder group and impact the built environment. The resultant Explainer and Framework are universally applicable to built environment professionals, and contain guidance for organizations, firms, jurisdictions, and building portfolio owners.
Key Considerations for Climate Action Planning
Mitigation and Adaptation
Both climate mitigation and climate adaptation are critical for managing climate change. Climate change mitigation aims to reduce or prevent GHG emissions, such as designing for passive heating & cooling, and installing solar panels. In contrast, climate adaptation focuses on resilience, preparing an organization/jurisdiction to cope with the unavoidable impacts of climate change such as sea level rise and extreme weather events.
Climate Action Plan measures should be assessed and balanced based on interactions between adaptation and mitigation: some mitigation actions decrease resilience (e.g. the installation of heat pumps without systems for reducing heat island effect), and some adaptation actions increase emissions (e.g. the development of concrete seawalls in lieu of nature-based solutions). However, many interventions, especially nature-based solutions, can positively impact both mitigation and adaptation; such actions should be prioritized.
Impact Potential Hierarchy
Not all climate actions have equal impact potential. Typically the earlier in the planning, policymaking, and design process an intervention is implemented, the higher its impact potential. Additionally, actions that center nature-based solutions and reuse usually have the greatest impact.
CLIMATE ACTION PLANNING FOR THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
EXPLAINER & FRAMEWORK
This Explainer is designed to help you and your entity answer the questions: What is a Climate Action Plan? How can a Climate Action Plan help meet built environment climate targets? What resources exist for Climate Action Planning?
This Framework is designed to support your entity in the successful development, communication, and implementation of a Climate Action Plan with adaptation and mitigation goals aimed at meeting global climate targets.
