The current gap between scientific knowledge and practitioners' needs in addressing climate adaptation and mitigation is due to one-dimensional assessments of climate change impacts that create narrowly focused-policies. These policies provide insufficient guidance for long-term development addressing diversity of local circumstances.
This special issue of the "Climate Policy" journal will address a new area of current climate change research focused on linkages between climate change and sustainable development at the level of conceptual frameworks and methods. In particular, the papers address in an integrated way local development options involving both adaptation and mitigation in order to promote resilience to climate change in human and natural systems. The special issue will provide policy and methodological guidelines for linking local development pathways with responses to climate change based on the collaboration between local practitioners, public and scientists, in order to translate scientific information relevant for the users, and conduct research that reflects local realities.Climate change can only be tackled effectively within a wider sustainable development agenda.
This volume presents new research on local responses to climate change and linkages between adaptation and mitigation capacity and actions, along with policy and methodological guidelines.
It is essential reading for researchers and planners working on climate change, and from diverse disciplines such as natural resource management, engineering, agriculture, forestry and urban planning.