Tip sheet: Start climate adaptation planning

This tip sheet will help you answer:

• How do we prioritize risk management actions?
• How do we identify and implement actions in ways that are informed by Reconciliation and anti-racism, equity and inclusion?

Getting started

Developing a climate adaptation plan involves managing identified climate risks and creating a roadmap for actions that strengthen community climate resilience. Because of that, identifying and prioritizing adaptation actions is critically important.

How can you develop a climate adaptation plan that effectively addresses climate risks and is designed with the diverse needs of all community members in mind?

Here are some tips to help you get started.

Laying the foundation for adaptation action planning

1. Set a climate adaptation vision, objectives and goals for your community.

Developing a climate adaptation vision, objectives and goals helps prioritize risk management actions. These elements provide a framework you can use for decisions about which actions you can take and how you might prioritize them. For example, they can act as:

• a goalpost toward which you direct actions, helping align adaptation actions with your community’s aspirations
• a filter to help you efficiently make choices about what actions you will consider

You may have already begun defining the objective of your climate risk assessment in the preparation stage (see Tip sheet: Start preparing for climate risk assessment and adaptation plan). You can use this work as a starting point for reflecting on your climate adaptation vision, objectives and goals.

The ICLEI Changing Climate, Changing Communities: Guide and Workbook for Municipal Climate Adaptation (Milestone 3: Plan in the Guide and Worksheet 9 in the Workbook) contains detailed information about the purpose and process of developing your climate adaptation vision, objectives and goals and how to establish them.  

2. Engage impacted communities.

While everyone in your community may be impacted by climate risks, some people will be affected more than others. Effective adaptation planning considers who will be most impacted, why and how. In Canada, this often includes equity-deserving and marginalized communities, such as Indigenous people, newcomers, people of colour, women, people with low income and people with limited mobility. These groups are often underrepresented in decision making but are crucial for developing an impactful climate adaptation plan.

To engage these groups, start by identifying equity-deserving groups in your community. Factsheet: Why equity matters in municipal climate adaptation includes some suggestions on how to do that.  If your climate adaptation team does not yet include representatives of these groups, it is critically important that you invite and compensate them for their participation as soon as possible. This could involve:

• initiating discussions with local and regional First Nations, Métis, Inuit and urban Indigenous Peoples communities and organizations about whether and how they would like to collaborate and/or partner on climate adaptation work
• initiating discussions with equity-deserving groups about whether and how they would like to collaborate and/or partner on climate adaptation work
• allocating financial resources, training and support (e.g., grants, technical assistance and capacity-building programs) to stakeholders and partners from equity-deserving groups  

Additional support can be found in the following resources: 

• GMF Factsheet: Why equity matters in municipal climate adaptation
• GMF Factsheet: Factsheet: Applying an Indigenous inclusion lens to climate adaptation
• GMF Factsheet: Advancing government-to-Nation relationships

Identifying and prioritizing potential adaptation actions

1. Seek to benefit equity-deserving and marginalized groups.

When developing climate adaptation actions, look for actions that will benefit equity-deserving and marginalized groups. For example: 

Climate adaptation action type	Example actions
Housing and infrastructure	Develop climate-resilient affordable housing projects to protect low-income residents from climate impacts such as flooding and extreme heat. Implement programs to retrofit existing homes in vulnerable neighbourhoods with climate-resilient features such as improved insulation, permeable pavements and urban green spaces.
Public health and safety	Establish cooling centres in low-income and marginalized communities to provide relief during heatwaves. Develop communications for the elderly about staying safe during heat waves. Conduct an audit of emergency processes and buildings to ensure they are accessible to people with disabilities.
Education and awareness	Implement climate education programs in elementary schools to raise awareness among youth.
Biodiversity	Develop programs that incorporate Indigenous knowledges in the protection and restoration of culturally significant sites and landscapes affected by climate change.

 

2. Seek alignment with other plans and processes.

When developing climate adaptation actions, look for ways they can be integrated within other local government plans and processes. For example: 

Climate adaptation action type	Example actions
Housing and infrastructure	Incorporate climate resilience standards into building codes to ensure new constructions are designed to withstand extreme weather events. Update zoning regulations to restrict development in high-risk areas, such as floodplains and coastal zones.
Public health and safety	Develop and implement heat action plans that include early warning systems, public cooling centres and community outreach programs. Integrate climate risk considerations into emergency response plans to ensure preparedness for climate-related disasters.
Education and awareness	Implement climate education programs in elementary schools to raise awareness among youth.   Conduct workshops and training sessions for residents and local businesses on climate adaptation practices and emergency preparedness.
Biodiversity	Establish conservation easements to protect critical habitats and promote sustainable land use practices.

 

3. Work on the most critical climate risks.

One way to identify the most critical risks is to use the results of your risk assessment. Using the climate hazard, likelihood, vulnerability and consequence information, you can determine an overall score for each climate risk. Focusing on the risks with the highest scores can help you direct your efforts.  

Use Worksheet 8 in ICLEI’s Changing Climate, Changing Community: Guide and Workbook for Municipal Climate Adaptation for support on ranking climate risks.

In addition to determining a risk score as described above, consider that criticality is influenced by your vision, objectives and goals. This will help ensure you are taking the most impactful actions. For example:  

• If your vision is, “A resilient community that thrives in the face of climate change, ensuring the sustainability of our natural and built environments,” some of the most critical risks might be those threatening key infrastructure and biodiversity.  
• If one of your objectives is, “Enhance public health and safety in response to extreme climate events,” some of the most critical risks might be those with the greatest potential to harm public health and safety.
• If one of your goals is, “Reduce the vulnerability of low-income neighbourhoods to flooding,” some of the most critical risks might be flood risks likely to affect low-income neighbourhoods. 

4. Look for mutual benefits.

Review other plans and initiatives your municipality has in place to identify opportunities to align climate adaptation actions with other organizational objectives. By aligning climate actions with existing plans, you can maximize resources and achieve multiple community objectives simultaneously.

Some examples to illustrate these mutual benefits are:

• Look in your community’s Emergency Management Plan for objectives related to climate risks such as flooding or wildfire.  
• Align climate adaptation actions with public health plans by addressing heatwaves through cooling centres or increased green spaces, which improve air quality and reduce urban heat islands. 

5. Learn from your neighbours.

Learn from the experiences of neighbouring municipalities and other jurisdictions (e.g., regional districts). By examining their climate adaptation actions, you might be able to identify best practices and common pitfalls. 

6. Work with your strengths and challenges.

When trying to prioritize adaptation actions, it can be helpful to identify the key strengths and challenges that will influence your efforts. Strengths can include factors such as community support, political will and available funding, while challenges might involve financial limitations, staffing shortages or technical expertise gaps. Understanding these factors helps prioritize feasible and impactful actions, ensuring that your plan is realistic and aligned with your community's capabilities.

The ICLEI Changing Climate, Changing Communities: Guide and Workbook for Municipal Climate Adaptation Worksheet 11 provides detailed instructions and examples to help you identify strengths and challenges and use them in planning. 

Next steps

Developing a climate adaptation plan is a crucial step in strengthening community climate resilience, but it's just one part of the process. Ongoing efforts to implement the plan, integrate it into municipal plans and processes, and continuously monitor and review progress are essential to being a climate-ready community. 

Explore the Climate-Ready Communities Assessment Tool for additional insight and support in developing a climate adaptation plan. You can use the tool to evaluate your existing climate adaptation efforts, pinpoint areas for improvement and chart a clear plan for strengthening your community’s adaptation efforts.