1. MOTIVATING POLICY RESPONSES TO CLIMATE CHANGE:
A CASE STUDY
OF
THE CITY OF VANCOUVER’S
CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION STRATEGY
A SUMMARY REPORT FOR POLICY MAKERS
BY SARA FRALIN
B.A. POLITICAL SCIENCE, B.A. ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES, M.A. SUSTAINABILITY STUDIES

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Introduction
This is a summary report for policy makers regarding research that investigates urban climate
governance through a case study on climate change adaptation policy making in Vancouver,
British Columbia. It examines the context in which the City of Vancouver was inspired to
develop its climate change adaptation strategy (CCAS). In particular, it explores the
motivating factors that led this municipal government (led by Vision Vancouver Mayor, Gregor
Robertson, 2008-2014) to formulate an adaptation plan, and recommends actions other policy
makers can take to emulate Vancouver’s process.
Rationale
Two significant global trends make research on urban climate change adaptation governance
important for policy makers. First, the risk of future climate change impacts is clear (Schipper,
2009; Richardson, 2010; IPCC, 2013); second, urbanization is becoming the dominant form of
human settlement; (Spencer & Butler, 2010, p. 900). Understanding climate change adaptation
policy making is important for local governments seeking to mitigate negative impacts because
understanding how to develop adaptation policies may encourage adaptation actions.
Policy Background
In Vancouver, climate change adaptation engages a wide range of issues, “particularly
emergency management, health and the needs of vulnerable populations” (City of Vancouver
Sustainability Group, 2012, p.2). Climate change adaptation is explicitly mentioned in five
municipal policies: Clouds of Change (1990), Community Climate Action Plan (2005), Flood
Proofing standards (2007), Greenest City 2020 Action Plan (GCAP, 2012) and CCAS (2012). The
CCAS ensures Vancouver remains a “liveable and resilient city in the face of climate change” by
incorporating climate change projections into city planning, programs, services, asset
management and city business (Ibid, p. 2). The City of Vancouver developed its CCAS through

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the ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability) Climate Change Adaptation Initiative pilot
program, and City Council adopted the strategy in July 2012.
Research Methods
Two primary research questions guide the thesis:
1. How was the City of Vancouver able to develop its CCAS?
2. What key factors motivated or drove climate change adaptation policy making in the
City?
My research design involved three data collection methods: academic literature review, policy
document analysis and semi-structured interviews conducted with sixteen key policy actors in
Vancouver’s municipal and regional governments (including senior staff and elected officials),
and others with special interest in municipal policy and climate change. This approach
provided a description of the policy-making process and a historicised understanding of the
complexity of local climate governance.
Research Findings
In summary, Vancouver’s CCAS was developed though three steps:
1. City Council requested staff report on the potential local impacts and costs of climate
change to city assets,
2. the City’s adaptation working group initiated vulnerability and risk assessments, and
developed an adaptation planning framework and
3. key staff members integrated adaptation into the City’s Greenest City 2020 Action Plan
(GCAP) climate leadership goal.
The formulation of Vancouver’s CCAS was contingent upon the convergence of:
1. knowledge of local impacts and their cost,
2. political leadership of staff and elected officials and
3. sustainable/green policy coordination.
This convergence created a policy window within the GCAP to prioritize adaptation actions. In
Vancouver certain focusing events (e.g., the 2006 Stanley Park wind storm) and ideas (like

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those generated in the 3rd World Urban Forum) framed public and political discourse and
perceptions of climate change in a wider context of sustainable development.
Significance for Planning
This case study adds theoretical insights and empirical evidence to current debates about the
drivers of municipal policy. There was a common view amongst interviewees that Vancouver’s
approach to policy making goes beyond mainstream development discourse; it was described
as a "new way of doing business" or a "new way of thinking". Interviewees focused on how this
process tipped the balance away from the influence of vested economic and development
interests and placed greater emphasis on mainstreaming environmental sustainability as the
foundation for decision-making. Interviewees believed the prioritization of environmental
sustainability created a window of opportunity to develop policy on climate change adaptation.
Vancouver’s CCAS is currently in place because of the personal commitments to climate change
action from Vision Vancouver and high ranking bureaucrats who gathered data on local climate
projections and advocated for the adoption of overarching sustainable development plans.
In Vancouver a delicate balance of collaboration (internally between city departments
and externally with NGO’s like ICLEI), and leadership from individual policy champions
facilitated policy development. This research indicates that cities are motivated to develop
climate change adaptation strategies when they prioritize broad sustainable development
goals that incorporate long-term social, ecological and economic wellbeing.
Key Elements Leading To the Adoption of Adaptation Policy in Vancouver
1. Emphasis on a "new way of doing business"
Prioritizing environmental sustainability at the foundation of decision-making.
2. Three important drivers:
Understanding the future cost of local climate change impacts
Dedicated leadership (individual staff and elected officials, and global/organizational)
Mainstreaming green / sustainability policies

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3. Strategic policy tools:
Gather data of local impacts and their cost through vulnerability and risk assessment in
collaboration with scientists
Prioritize adaptation solutions that incorporate no-regret actions that have multiple /
co- benefits which address sustainability, adaptation and mitigation (SAM)
Adopt overarching sustainable development plans that guide adaptation actions to
avoid maladaptation; which can open policy windows to concurrently address
adaptation and sustainable development.
According to the literature, linking adaptation and sustainable development helps to expose
synergies between the two strategies, and makes important trade-offs more evident (Wilbanks,
2003; Wilbanks & Kates, 2010). This sustainability connection is a critical step in the planning
of communities that are both resilient and following low-carbon development paths, i.e.,
sustainable communities.
Recommendations for Emulating the Policy Process
The findings of this research help to illuminate the necessary ingredients for effective planning
for action on climate change adaptation in municipalities. Elected officials wishing to emulate
Vancouver’s process should take away a few key points from this study. These include:
1. Mainstream Green
Overarching sustainable development plans can act as an umbrella for addressing local
issues including adapting to climate change by putting environmental sustainability at
the forefront of the decision making process. Focusing on horizontal and vertical policy
coordination can promote adaptation planning by securing funding and other scarce
resources (e.g., a centralized sustainability office can facilitate this).
2. Leadership
Individual leadership is important because legislators are highly influential.
Spearheading a cause, building momentum and getting internal (staff) buy-in encourage
adaptation planning through advocacy and prioritization.
3. Development Path
Path dependence is important because even if a policy isn’t implemented today it may
be in the future via the garbage can model and upcycling. Sustainable decisions today
open paths for more sustainable actions in the future.
City staff wishing to emulate Vancouver’s process should take away a few key points from this
study. These include:

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1. Collaboration
Collaboration with other research organizations, levels of government (i.e., Metro
Vancouver) and civic departments enables staff to understand local impacts, coordinate
policy responses and harness co-benefits.
2. Leadership
Bureaucratic leadership is important for pushing a policy agenda forward and
maintaining the agenda across political administrations.
3. Cost / Benefit
Outlining the long term costs of inaction vs. action can build an economic argument
which helps decision makers frame investments in terms of cost prevention and asset
management.
4. Progressive engineering
Stewardship of public goods like city infrastructure promotes long term planning
around the lifecycle of infrastructure with in a context of climate change (e.g., the
principle of “fail-safe” or concept of “flexible adaptation”).
These findings start to describe what is, amongst this group of practitioners, considered to be a
more sustainable approach to decision-making. This approach can be summarized as one that
puts environmental sustainability at the forefront or foundation of decision-making. A
sustainable approach helps to transition a community towards achieving environmental, social
and economic outcomes that enable it to thrive within the earth’s ecological limits. It is an
approach that engages diverse groups of people in collaborative policy processes. The
sustainable approach is fostered by a strong focus on a green economy,1 social capital,
reconnecting people with the natural world and considering both current and future
generations in decision-making.
These results are consistent with other studies that have shown that, with regard to all
three goals traditionally associated with the climate change question (minimizing climate
change impacts, increasing adaptive capacity and reducing emissions); planning for sustainable
development futures includes and promotes public policy on climate change adaptation.
1
A green economy operates within the earth’s ecological limits.