A place-based framework for assessing the effectiveness of inclusive climate actions for nature-based solutions in cities

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are recognized as important strategies to adapt and mitigate the effects of climate change. To better account for NbS justice implications, theory and practice have embraced Inclusive Climate Actions (ICAs) that simultaneously tackle climate change and urban inequalities. While the (in)justice repercussions of climate actions have extensively been discussed theoretically and empirically, an in-depth assessment of the environmental, economic, and social implications of ICAs is lacking. This research develops a novel framework for evaluating and monitoring the effectiveness of ICAs for NbS. The relevance of the framework lies in its double applicability: the framework has a generic core of 13 KPIs that can be applied for assessment in all European cities, while it can also be integrated by supporting place-based indicators that are specific to each city and NbS project. Prisma methodology, Pareto analysis, qualitative compatibility check, and Fuzzy Delphi methodology are the methodologies used for the selection of the core KPIs. Supporting place-based indicators can be selected though workshops involving local stakeholders. The framework helps cities to implement ICAs that result in more than just delivery of NbS by distributing NbS impacts as equitably as possible. The relevance of the proposed framework lies in several aspects: firstly, its emphasis on ICAs for NbS, offering a thorough and systematic insight into the environmental, social, and economic trade-offs and synergies associated with NbS; secondly, the pioneering methodological approach that merges cutting-edge methodologies with the consideration of stakeholders' perspectives, and thirdly, its ability to integrate context-specific analyses and its applicability in both the planning and monitoring phases of ICAs. This study is conducted under the auspices of the DUT European project GREEN-INC: Growing effective and equitable Nature-based Solutions through Inclusive Climate Actions. • The evaluation and monitoring framework has been defined to assess the effectiveness of NbS as ICAs in European cities. • Pareto analysis, qualitative compatibility check, and Fuzzy Delphi methodology are combined to select a small number of KPIs. • The supporting place-based indicators are integrated into the framework for specific locations, types of NbS, or goals. • Questionnaires and workshops are used to make the assessment process more inclusive and dependent on the values of the stakeholders.