This is an Embedded Researcher project; click here to find out more about the scheme and a summary of the projects.
This project aims to establish a SMART objective and associated policy and action-planning framework to enable Manchester sectors to take urgent and sustained action to adapt to and increase their resilience to climate variability.
Background
Climate change is a defining social, technical and scientific challenge of our time, posing an immense, potentially existential threat to our way of life. As outlined by the UKCP18, the impacts of climate change for the UK are here and will only be exacerbated in the future. But although there is high-level consensus regarding the urgent need for climate change adaptation, there is less clarity regarding what this means in practice and how this should be achieved.
Since 2018, the Manchester Climate Change Agency has established a robust city-level and sector-level policy framework to enable action on climate change. However, as yet, adaptation and resilience have not had the same level of focused policy development or action as the city’s mitigation commitments.
The project partners will collaboratively produce a climate change resilience and adaptation policy and action planning framework, putting adaptation and resilience on the same footing as the city’s mitigation commitments.
Partnership
This project will partner Dr Paul O’Hare from Manchester Metropolitan University with the Manchester Climate Change Agency.
The Agency co-ordinates the Manchester Climate Change Partnership which brings together 60 organisations from 20 different sectors across the city. During the 12-month project, Dr O’Hare will act as the Agency’s ‘Resilience and Adaptation Lead’, ensuring not only his close partnership with the Agency but also with the Partnership members.
Aims
- Establish a SMART city-level adaptation and resilience objective to be included within Manchester’s climate change strategy for 2020-25
- A definition of the baseline status of Manchester’s sectoral and organisational exposure to climate vulnerability, as well as a summary of current and past approaches to climate change resilience and adaptation.
- Support for members of MCCP to develop bespoke commitments and plans for climate adaptation and resilience with a view to enabling action on city-wide action on climate change.
- To co-produce a policy, monitoring and reporting framework to support MCCP members to deliver their climate adaptation and resilience commitments.
- To share the project outcomes across Greater Manchester and with other UK cities, as well as through academic forums.
Publications
- O’Hare, P. (2021) Manchester’s climate risk: a framework for understanding hazards & vulnerability. Manchester, Manchester Climate Change Agency.
- The research led to the development of Chapter 4 of the Manchester Climate Change Framework 2022 update.
- Technical document, Developing Progressive Resilience.
- Manchester Climate Ready website, showcasing city wide climate adaptation.
Image: Princess St, Manchester, Unsplash