Climate action plans mobilize limited urban change, researchers report

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), released just prior to an international climate convention in 2015, explicitly stated that human-caused greenhouse gas emissions were the highest in history, with clear and widespread impacts on the climate system. Since then, hundreds of cities across the world have published their own climate action plans (CAPs), detailing how their urban areas will handle climate change. But how do the plans stack up against one another and against the recommended guidelines established by the United Nations–Habitat Guiding Principles for City Climate Action Planning?