Analysing the treatment of environmental justice and nature-based solutions in the Urban Climate Action Plans of Latin American metropolitan areas

Abstract

Urban Climate Action Plans are instruments increasingly being used by governments to identify vulnerabilities and propose technological, engineered and ecosystem-based actions for adapting to and mitigating climate change effects. However, as the outcomes of the climate response could asymmetrically affect marginalised communities already more impacted by climate-related hazards, researchers and practitioners have expressed concerns regarding the lack of attention given to the environmental justice (EJ) implications of climate action planning. In this context, this study uses content analysis to review the inclusion and framing of EJ concerns in Urban Climate Action Plans from 30 Latin American cities as a less studied and particularly vulnerable world region. Moreover, we investigate whether and how these documents translate justice concerns into concrete strategies, with particular emphasis given to the use of Nature-based solutions. We found that, through the years, the concerns related to EJ are more prominent but are rarely concretised into specific actions. When they are, these actions are less framed within systemic policy interventions and more into educational and capacity-building strategies. Finally, most planning documents frame Nature-based solutions for biodiversity conservation purposes, forgoing the opportunity to adopt the socially transformative potential of the term for enhancing sustainable and just futures.