Enabling factors and constraints for advancing justice through climate adaptation: evidence from 25 US municipalities implementing climate plans

Recent reviews of climate adaptation plans have focused on how these documents consider social justice, with little follow-up during implementation. To understand how US communities are advancing justice during implementation, we interviewed staff from 25 municipalities that published a recent climate plan. We conceptualized social justice as recognitional, distributional, and procedural justice. All interviewees acknowledged certain groups’ heightened vulnerability to climate impacts (recognitional justice) and described existing adaptation initiatives targeting marginalized communities (distributional justice). However, most efforts were recently launched, so impacts to intended audiences are unclear. Interviews largely focused on procedural justice, but engagement with marginalized groups was often limited to informing and consulting, rather than collaboration or empowerment. Several factors enabled municipalities to advance justice and adaptation efforts: formal leadership support, boundary spanning, community support, relevant engagement opportunities, trust building, and capacity-building. As other municipalities prepare for climate change, our findings suggest several considerations for advancing social justice.