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Trees in cities perform important environmental functions: they produce oxygen, filter pollutants, provide habitat for wildlife, mitigate stormwater runoff, and reduce the effects of climate change, especially in terms of lowering temperatures and converting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into stored carbon. Generally, to increase the environmental benefits of urban forests, the number of trees is increased, directly influencing the canopy coverage. However, little is known about potential of modifying the species composition of urban tree communities in order to increase ecological benefits. Planting and managing trees to increase canopy is particularly challenging in city centres, where the dense, often historic infrastructure of buildings and roads do not allow for a significant increase in greenspace. Estimations of canopy cover obtained through i-Tree Canopy analysis unveiled significant potential to increase canopy cover in historical urban areas in Polish cities from 15-34% to 31-51%. This study models the ecological benefits of urban forests in Polish cities, focusing on how different species compositions can enhance environmental functions such as carbon sequestration and pollution filtration. Two main scenarios were analyzed: one involving the addition of trees based on the most common species currently planted ("standard option" SO), and another incorporating changes to the species composition to enhance ecological benefits ("city specific option" SCO). Acer platanoides (14.5%) and Tilia cordata (11.45%) were the most frequently species of Polish cities. Betula pendula, Quercus robur, Robinia pseudoacacia, Fraxinus excelsior, Acer pseudoplatanus, Aesculus hippocastanum and Acer campestre were also common species in urban forest communities (up to 5%). The diverse range of tree species in Polish cities contributes significantly to the overall carbon sequestration potential. The results suggest that modifying species composition could significantly increase carbon sequestration rates by 47.8%-114% annually, with the city specific option (SCO) being the most effective in enhancing carbon sequestration potential. This highlights the importance of strategic species selection in urban forestry practices to maximize environmental benefits and mitigate climate change effects., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Malgorzata J. Kacprzak reports financial support was provided by Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange. Malgorzata J.Kacprzak reports financial support was provided by Warsaw University of Technology. Piotr Gryszpanowicz reports financial support was provided by Warsaw University of Technology. Krzysztof Fijalkowski reports financial support was provided by Czestochowa University of Technology. Iwona Kupich reports financial support was provided by Czestochowa University of Technology. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Increasing calls for transformation to address climate change and related challenges underscore the societal imperative to shift from mindsets that drive environmentally unsustainable and socially unjust processes to mindsets that enable urban sustainability transformations. However, it is not always clear what such mindsets comprise, if and how they can be shifted and under which conditions. Fragmented understandings of the concept of mindsets across disciplines and limited empirical analysis beyond Europe and North America have hindered progress in this field. To address these gaps, this article proposes a novel conceptual and analytical framework for identifying mindsets. The framework is applied to data collected from an exploratory survey involving over 150 participants from five Urban Labs in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. Through cluster analysis, three distinct personas are identified: the Skeptical Activist, the Optimist Technocrat and the Bystander with Mixed Feelings. These are fictional characters that represent groups of individuals with defining mindsets, demographic characteristics, capacities, trust levels and network features. Results offer valuable insights into the emotions, beliefs, values, perceptions, attitudes and worldviews that guide the behavior of diverse stakeholders, from policymakers to often marginalized community groups, in urban climate governance. Despite its limitations, namely the relative homogeneity of our non-randomized sample, the article advances the understanding of the human dimension of climate change and its interlinkages with urban development goals. It also proposes social innovation strategies to trigger mindset shifts, foster climate action and accelerate urban sustainability transformations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thailand has established a target of carbon neutrality by 2050. Reaching this goal will require coordination and collaboration between stakeholders spanning sectors and scales, including energy system decision makers, land managers, and city planners. Robust decarbonization scenarios incorporating current plans and targets, additional measures needed, and trade-offs between strategies can help stakeholders make informed decisions in the face of uncertainty. Through iterative engagement with decision makers at the city and national levels, we develop and analyze carbon neutral scenarios for Thailand that incorporate Bangkok's role using a global integrated assessment model. We find that Thailand can reach carbon neutrality through power sector decarbonization, energy efficiency improvements, widespread electrification, and advanced technologies including carbon capture and storage and hydrogen. Negative emissions technologies will also be needed to offset Thailand and Bangkok's hardest-to-abate CO2 emissions. Bangkok, as a major population and economic center, contributes significantly to Thailand's energy demand and emissions and can therefore play an important role in climate change mitigation. Accordingly, our results underscore the importance of subnational climate action in meeting Thailand's carbon neutral goal. Our analysis also indicates that without sustained land-based carbon sequestration, much more mitigation effort will be needed in Thailand's energy sector, including at the subnational scale, to reach carbon neutrality. These insights can help stakeholders identify priorities, consider tradeoffs, and make decisions that will impact Bangkok and Thailand's long-term climate change mitigation potential. This analysis demonstrates how stakeholder engagement in integrated assessment modeling can facilitate and inform multilevel climate governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While cities have been widely considered to be key sites of ambitious and transformative climate action, it is time to question whether they have adequate tools and mandates to reach their goals in time. In this paper we provide a comprehensive assessment of planned measures in major cities, assessing the distribution of persuasive (soft) versus direct regulatory (hard) and material measures using an urban systems perspective. Examining 1079 climate measures of 19 cities in the global C40 network we find that the majority of measures can be considered as soft measures , focused on raising awareness, incentivising businesses, engaging citizens, and developing new plans. Our cases suggest that cities in the Global South are more focused on hard and material measures and less prone to voluntarism than cities in the Global North. Generally, showing that strategies for sustainability transformations in cities are heavily reliant on voluntarism and persuasion, the article expresses concern for the ability of cities to meet its ambitious targets. The research literature on urban climate governance should expand from its current focus on collaborative, network-based and experimental governance, to reconsider the roles of regulation and control in meeting climate targets. • Provides a comprehensive assessment of planned climate measures in 19 major cities • Analyses 1079 climate measures and categorises into soft, hard and material modes • We find that the majority of measures (more than half) can be considered as soft. • We critically discuss the viability of ambitious climate targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban governance, the interplay of governmental bodies with other actors shaping decision-making and its implementation, plays a key role for mitigation and adaptation measures in cities. While knowledge co-production is advanced as an instrumental approach to support climate action, a gap between knowledge and implementation persists. The objective of the article is to better understand the complex nature of urban climate governance with which science – through data and people – is expected to interplay with. We introduce a framework, based on the analytical lens of co-production, to unpack the entanglements of rules and norms, interests and visions, knowledge and capacities in a particular local context in order to identify aspects that may encourage meaningful knowledge co-production. We build upon two cities as case studies: Hamburg, Germany and São Paulo, Brazil. We present the results of interviews in dialogue with insights from city documents and an online workshop. We found that even though data and expertise is available, its use remains unsystematic, while climate action is mostly hampered by missing political capacity, silo mentalities, and a structural lack of resources. We identified a paradox where social transformation is addressed by technocratic solutions and a high appreciation for mutual learning in knowledge co-production processes. We conclude that to make use of its transformative potential, the implementation of knowledge co-production for climate action in practice needs to become more holistic. This includes the integration of non-climate information linked to local concerns and values as well as a shift in focus from output to its procedural benefits. • Available climate information does not automatically lead to action in cities. • We investigated Hamburg and São Paolo by using the analytical lens of co-production. • We depict the complex entanglements in urban climate governance. • These entanglements shape the climate action taken in a particular context. • We propose a more holistic approach for the co-production of climate information in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circular economy has emerged as a response to the unsustainable linear model of "take, make, consume, and waste". Yet so far, the water sector has not been systematically included in high-level circular economy strategy discussions and has not fully reaped the potential benefits. Circular economy principles offer an opportunity to recognize and capture the full value of water - as a service, an input to processes, a source of energy, a carrier of materials - and to make the sector more sustainable financially and environmentally, while enhancing resilience to climate change and mitigating emissions. This paper presents the Water in Circular Economy and Resilience (WICER) Framework to establish a common understanding of circular economy and resilience principles in the water sector. The Framework grew out of a literature review and was informed by lessons learned from global case studies and from the knowledge of the World Bank. The paper aims to clarify how circular economy principles can be applied in the water sector, and to guide practitioners, especially from governments in low- and middle-income countries, with a clear long-term plan to become circular and resilient. The framework describes the nine key actions needed to achieve three main outcomes: (1) deliver resilient and inclusive water services; (2) design out waste and pollution; and (3) preserve and regenerate natural systems. The novelty of the proposed framework is that it goes beyond reusing and recovering resources from wastewater, and it presents a more holistic approach for water and sanitation services, considering a water basin approach and including resiliency principles, climate mitigation strategies and inclusiveness – all of which are particularly relevant in the context of developing countries. • Circular economy principles offer an opportunity to recognize and capture the full value of water. • This paper presents the Water in Circular Economy and Resilience (WICER) Framework. • The approach goes beyond reusing and recovering resources from wastewater. • The framework can contribute to make the sector more sustainable financially and environmentally, while enhancing resilience and mitigating emissions. • It describes actions needed to (1) deliver resilient and inclusive services; (2) design out waste and pollution; and (3) preserve and regenerate natural systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local governments are expected now more than ever to lead climate action planning as climate change intensifies and urbanization increases rapidly. However, studies indicate limitations in the comprehensiveness and level of integration of adaptation and mitigation in existing climate action plans. To develop suitable climate action plans that are comprehensive and consistent with globally accepted standards and benchmarks, this study proposed an Urban Climate Action Planning framework and pilot-tested it with 257 urban climate action plans. Overall, 43 criteria are included in the framework across three stages of climate planning. The pilot test revealed that more than half of the sampled plans have a medium level of suitability, with 39% having a weak level of suitability. About 51% of plans from Europe have a weak level of suitability. Surprisingly, none of the plans sampled from Africa and Latin America achieved a weak level of suitability despite lacking a significant share of global climate research and development funding. A Kruskal-Wallis test shows a statistically significant association between stages of climate planning and (a) city types (p-value of 0.004326) and (b) year of adoption or publication of climate plans and suitability scores (p-value of 0.0001027). Urban climate action plans adopted or published more recently (2018–2022) are likely more suitable than those adopted or published earlier. The sampled urban climate action plans from the Global South had higher average suitability scores than those from the Global North. The study presents key findings and considerations for urban climate action planning and future research. [Display omitted] • A framework for assessing the suitability of Climate Action Plans (CAPs) is proposed. • The framework is used to pilot-test the suitability of 257 urban CAPs. • Suitability analysis is done across city types, regions, and the global divide. • Most sampled plans achieved a medium level of suitability. • The CAPs lack criteria related to implementation and monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]