Fitting consistent knowledge into the planning process: An integrated database on adaptation and mitigation measures...

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Climate Change Studies
• Urban Planning

Background:

• International climate goals are unmet despite increased planning post-Paris Agreement.
• Existing climate action databases lack alignment with planning practices and uniform frameworks.
• There's a need for better knowledge transferability in climate action implementation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review existing adaptation and mitigation databases for alignment with climate planning.
• To develop an integrated European database of climate actions focused on planning and implementation.
• To create a framework that improves the quality and transferability of climate actions.

Main Methods:

• Reviewed nine adaptation and five mitigation databases (totaling 7,130 adaptation and 11,409 mitigation actions).
• Developed a decision tree to identify specific, transferable mitigation and adaptation measures.
• Harmonized climate action data within a unique framework based on Sustainable and Energy Climate Action Plans.

Main Results:

• Detected a significant lack of alignment between existing databases and climate planning claims.
• Identified incoherencies in the abstraction level and implementation role of climate actions.
• Created an integrated database with 191 adaptation, 188 mitigation, and 97 combined measures, plus 609 instruments and 93 Sustainable Development Goals indicators.

Conclusions:

• The new integrated database classifies climate actions, improves plan quality, and facilitates implementation.
• It offers insights into systematic problems, identifying synergies and trade-offs in climate strategies.
• The database provides a practical framework for characterizing measures based on real-world application.