Equitable Adaptation Legal & Policy Toolkit

Procedural Equity

Tools for Planning, Engagement, and Governance

A woman stands at the front of a classroom and speaks animatedly while five other individuals stand beside her and listen. There is a map of the community in front of her and a poster paper behind her that reads "Community agreements" and lists house rules for the meeting. The first three lines read "1. One diva, one mic (una diva, una microfono), 2. Make space, 3. Silence Phones" the rest of the list is not visible.
(Credit: ACT LA: Alliance for Community Transit Los Angeles)

As a first key step, implementing equitable climate adaptation approaches involves strengthening community resilience while ensuring that equity is integrated into policies and practices. In practice, this means ensuring building equity into climate resilience planning and implementation, addressing the disproportionate impacts that affect frontline communities, and working to dismantle barriers that have prevented frontline communities from thriving. This involves both inclusive processes that give frontline communities opportunities to shape decisionmaking and a deep investment in implementing the programs and policies that frontline communities ask for and need. Importantly, these programs and policies should address not only climate risks but also pervasive stressors, such as lack of educational and economic opportunity and threats from displacement and gentrification. 

Procedural Equity addresses the commitment to communities having a voice in decisionmaking processes, and that adaptation planning and implementation are done through diverse and inclusive engagement processes.

The following chapters explore tools that ensure decisionmaking processes are centered in equity.

 

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