The Heat Action Platform will support you to:
- Develop a heat action plan or similar planning/goal-setting initiative;
- Create an individual project or policy intervention with heat-risk reduction and preparedness goals;
- Embed heat-risk reduction and preparedness strategies into another plan; or
- Make the case for investments in community heat resilience.
How do I use the Heat Action Platform?
Navigating the platform
The platform includes three phases with a total of nine steps, and you can start at any point in the process, depending on your goals and specific area(s) of interest.
Assess
Details about how to conduct a baseline heat risk assessment, assess heat risk awareness, and identify heat-related vulnerabilities and impacts. This supports the development and eventual implementation of heat strategies and actions.
Plan
Develop an education and engagement strategy, explore solutions, create a plan, and identify funding and financing sources. This phase supports the development of actionable heat strategies with clear implementation pathways.
Implement & evaluate
Details about how to implement, monitor, and evaluate solutions.
I can use the the Heat Action Plan for…
A heat action plan or similar planning initiatives:
If you are preparing a climate-focused plan such as a heat action plan you can proceed through the steps largely in sequence, recognizing that much of the assessment and planning can and should be done concurrently.
An individual project/policy initiative with the goal of safeguarding people from heat:
Many of the steps recommended for developing an overall plan are applicable, in a narrower focus, when considering individual projects and policies.
A component or lens for another plan to embed heat preparedness strategies:
If you are looking to embed elements that protect people from heat in another plan, you will have varying amounts of existing assessments accessible. You can use the platform to assist with identifying solutions and financing options.
A reference to evaluate the effectiveness of heat resilience efforts for funders and investors:
If you are looking to support investments in heat resilient communities or projects, you may not have direct experience with such efforts, limiting your ability to engage, assess funding opportunities, and invest. You can use the platform to understand global best practices for designing and implementing integrated, multi-solution approaches to heat resilience.
Who is this platform for?
Practitioners
Urban planners, climate change officers, chief resilience officers, chief heat officers, chief sustainability officers, and government officials focusing on emergency preparedness and response, climate change, public health, energy and environment.
Policymakers
Elected officials including mayors, governors, city and county/regional commissioners, and their senior advisors on environment, climate change, resilience, health, and emergency preparedness and response.
Development finance institutions
Specialized financial institutions that raise risk capital to finance economic development and climate action projects.
How does the platform support practitioners?
The platform supports practitioners with a platform process, technical resources, and case studies to develop an actionable heat resilience plan or a specific heat resilience project through:
- Best practices for mitigating and adapting to extreme heat and case studies;
- Inventory of solutions applicable to local context;
- Monitoring and evaluation frameworks to inform quantifiable metrics and assessment methods; and
- A direct channel to world-leading experts on heat risk and impact reduction.
How does the platform support policymakers?
The platform informs policymakers about the risks and opportunities for addressing extreme heat to empower them to set achievable and measurable targets that constituents and fellow elected officials will support. Toward this end, the platform will provide:The platform informs policymakers about the risks of extreme heat and opportunities for addressing extreme heat, with the aim of empowering them to set achievable and measurable targets that constituents and fellow elected officials will support.
- Background material that articulates the urgency of enhancing resilience to extreme heat;
- Best practices for heat-risk reduction and adaptation policies and action-oriented solutions; and
- Monitoring and evaluation frameworks to inform quantifiable metrics to demonstrate impact.
How does the platform support development finance institutions?
DFIs can use the platform as a credential and resource, directing potential government partners to follow the steps to build capacity and develop quality heat action plans and/or projects.
How can I collaborate with Arsht-Rock and EHRA to implement what I’ve learned?
By itself, any guide or toolkit will be a limited answer to the needs of the people responsible for developing and implementing projects.
As part of this platform, users have a direct channel to working with Arsht-Rock and EHRA and receiving technical assistance on the implementation of platform modules or specific heat risk and impact reduction projects.
Throughout the modules, you will see contact information for the Arsht-Rock representative who you can reach out to discuss potential collaboration