Integrating climate change adaptation into municipal planning and governance: A guideline

This guideline offers local government officers and local politicians process-oriented assistance for integrating climate change adaptation within relevant sectors of municipal administration with the aim of fostering sustainable urban development. It is thus an instrument to support leadership of this integration process. The levels and areas where integration of climate change adaptation is relevant are systematically presented. This permits the planning and evaluation of potential interventions and measures. The structure of the guideline is based on the levels relevant for the integration of climate change adaptation:
I. The local level (i.e., operative measures on the ground) II. The institutional level (i.e., strategic measures within the municipal administration) III. The inter‐institutional level (i.e., strategic measures regarding the municipality’s cooperation with external actors). See illustration below. Based on this, the fourth section of the guideline features an analysis table, which allows assessment of the measures taken at levels I-III. Thus, the guideline is a sort of model or grid which can be used to review municipalities’ work in order to identify where progress has already been achieved and where there is still need for action. Based on the identified needs and gaps, a second analysis table serves to support systematic planning of the necessary measures for further integration of climate change adaptation within municipal planning and governance.