From peril to promise? Local mitigation and adaptation policy decisions after extreme weather

Abstract

Exposure to extreme weather — the frequency and severity of which has been linked to the climate crisis — has been posited to yield local climate change mitigation and adaptation policy. Here, we outline lessons from a nascent, but growing, literature focused on local policymaking in the wake of extreme weather events. Recent research shows that exposure often yields local adaptation policy, but mitigation is rare. Moreover, while policy change is conditional on event characteristics and local contextual factors, there is no clear formula for local policy action. We call for a more robust theoretical framework and analysis of key combinations of event characteristics, contextual factors and mechanisms. We also recommend attending to the quality of local policy decisions in the spirit of Dietz’s criteria for environmental decision-making.