Cities around the world are overlooking the potential for nature-based solutions to strengthen climate resilience, a new study led by University of Surrey’s Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE) has found.
According to the study, Overlooked Considerations in Prescribing Green and Blue Infrastructure Solutions for Urban Environments, which appeared in The Innovation journal, barriers exist to the implementation of green and blue infrastructure (GBI) in cities, such as parks, trees, rivers, wetlands and green roofs, which are proven drivers of climate resilience.
Falling short
Drawing on more than 500 scientific papers, and incorporating 86 specialists across 11 countries, the study explores why implementation often falls short of policy goals, citing issues in four interconnected domains: technical and systems integration challenges, social and economic barriers, and governance gaps.
Among the challenges cited are conflicts with net-zero and renewable energy targets, research fragmentation, unintended environmental consequences such as allergenic pollen or greenhouse gas emissions from poorly designed wetlands, fragmented regulations and the persistent undervaluation of biodiversity and social equity.
In addition, social barriers are often at play, along with safety and security concerns, low public adoption and weak policy integration, among other factors.
Policy priorities
“We all want to see more city parks, more street trees, canals and living plant walls as green and blue infrastructure is increasingly recognised as vital for cooling cities, reducing flood risk, cutting air pollution and improving mental and physical health,” commented Professor Prashant Kumar, founding director of GCARE, co-director of the Institute for Sustainability, and lead author of the study.
“However, our research shows implementation too often lags behind policy priorities. It has been a pleasure to lead this unique high-quality work, contributed by a multidisciplinary team of experts from four continents.”
The study puts forward 12 recommendations of how GBI could be integrated more effectively into urban areas, including the development of context-specific frameworks, ensuring increased investment in underserved communities, the expansion of innovative financial mechanisms such as green bonds, and the embedding of community participation in planning processes.
“This provides empirical evidence that green and blue infrastructure constitutes a practical, actionable pathway for immediate climate action,” added Dr Ajit Ahlawat, co-author of the paper, from Delft University of Technology.
“By enabling policymakers to mainstream nature-based solutions, it offers a means to reduce emissions, mitigate climate risks, enhance urban resilience, and advance net-zero targets, while promoting healthier and more equitable cities for current and future generations.”
Elsewhere, co-author Dr Maria Athanassiadou of the UK Met Office said that the research could help to identify underexplored barriers to implementation.
“In bringing together such a wide range of disciplines and international perspectives, we have been able to show not just what works, but why it sometimes doesn’t,” she said. Read more here.
