Governance for urban climate mitigation and adaptation

Provide short introduction here

General introduction to approach

Test reference This cluster contains policy approaches developed to tackle climate change mitigation and adaptation. What distinguishes these approaches from any other climate policy is their methodology. They all develop governance tools and processes to involve a diverse groups of stakeholders in climate mitigation and adaptation strategies. This ranges from involving citizens in decision-making processes to empower citizens to deal with adaptation techniques on the ground. The key message of the cluster is that citizens’ involvement and bottom-up approaches are an essential prerequisite to successfully face the challenge of climate change.

Shapes, sizes and applications

Collaborative scenario creation processes - for energy transitions (ENCI-LOWCARB): This approach focuses more on the process on how to achieve a transition to sustainable energy, rather than on the final energy scenarios. The process is divided into several steps which aim at transparently achieving the full inclusion of the civil society in taking climate change measures. This approach is based on the belief that if citizens will become more supportive of an energy transition if they can concretely see their contribution in the final energy scenario.

Governance scheme for energy transition process (MILESECURE): This approach is based on the assumptions that civil society needs to be deeply involved in democratic decision making processes for climate actions to be successfully implemented and for energy transition to occur (read more at point 6).

Smart tool for governance towards floor-resilient cities (FLOODLABEL): This approach consists in informing homeowners on the flood risks they run. It empowers citizens with the knowledge to deal with individual adaptation in their houses.

Early warning service for urban pluvial floods for and by citizens and city authorities (FloodCitiSense): The approach offers an early warning service on urban pluvial flood for citizens and cities authorities to deal with the risks in the most optimal way. Citizens would have direct access to low-cost sensors and web-based technology to be aware of any pluvial flood danger. In this way, citizens are better prepared to respond to risks.

Relation to UrbanA themes: Cities, sustainability, and justice

The approaches on the cluster are highly relevant to the urban context, in particular the ones focused on how risks adaptation. However, they are not exclusive to cities as they also tackle rural challenges. Justice is strongly addressed in this cluster, not as end goa principle of the approaches but it rather is a principle used to reach the goal of environmental sustainability. The approaches set to achieve sustainability goals through just and inclusive procedures. In this sense, the link between sustainability and social justice lies in pursuing sustainability in the most inclusive, fair and just way.

Narrative of change

The approaches explicitly address climate change through adaptation (e.g. risk management) and mitigation (e.g. energy transition) strategies. Yet, the peculiarity of this cluster is how it addresses the climate crisis and it sets to achieve change. To different degrees, all the approaches aim at a democratization of climate governance and the development of more inclusive processes. The underlying premise is that higher level of citizens participation in the development and implementation of mitigation and adaptation policies will result in more sustainable scenarios.

Transformative potential

The cluster represents an alternative to the dominant approach of top-down policy making. As such, it challenges governmental institutions which do not include citizens in politics. Similarly, the approaches challenge the idea that private/for-profit business should play a bigger role than the civil society in the development of climate adaptation and mitigation policies.

Summary of relevant approach

Governance scheme for energy transition process (MILESECURE): The project MILESECURE developed a governance scheme for energy transition processes that is based on three assumptions (1) social, political movements and grassroots are the central actors to push an energy transition process; (2) external governance can and should provide them with support; (3) Behaviour change and transformation in the personal dimension are necessary for the success of the transition. These three assumptions advocate for transdisciplinary approaches based on a variety of perspectives (i.e. environmental, geopolitical, lifestyle and cultural, political, technological, economic and combined) which interact at the institutional and behavioral level. The approach strongly addresses both justice and sustainability, as an energy transition would be based on deep forms of democratic politics. It does not only focus on the urban context, as rural households need to be involved in the energy transition. The approach challenges top-down decision-making as well as the dominant idea that technological development will lead us out of the ecological crisis. The approach advocates for a behavioral, interior and personal changes which would affect all individuals, and not just structures and/or technologies. Additionally, it addresses social and grassroots movements as the main protagonists needed for change. While the governmental institutions can support them, they should not be the main actors driving the energy transition.