The Bebrit project is about learning, comparison and exchange to facilitate the pace of adaptation to extreme heat and ensure the most vulnerable people and places are protected. Resources are an important part of this and here we will share a broad range of materials (policy documents, reports, briefings, academic articles, media and social media, films, photographs etc).
Managing Extreme Heat in Urban Areas: Recommendations for a National Heat Risk Strategy - Policy Brief (2025)
Effective adaptation in urban areas to climate risks such as extreme heat requires a cohesive, unified response involving multiple stakeholders representing all sectors affected – local, regional, and national government; health (public health, social services, nursing homes, and hospitals); transport (road, rail, and air); emergency services/first responders; utilities (energy and water); building and architecture; food and agriculture; and digital infrastructure providers. Heat must also be considered as a year-round issue, particularly in (1) certain buildings designed to retain heat during winter, which can inadvertently overheat even in milder temperatures, and (2) settings that house vulnerable populations, such as schools, care homes, and prisons. Only then can resilience to climate shocks such as extreme heat be ensured for the future. In this policy brief, we provide six recommendations for a National Heat Risk Strategy that offers a unified framework for preparedness, response, and adaptation, ensuring that resources are distributed equitably, vulnerabilities are addressed systematically, and best practices are shared across the country.
Who is the policy brief for? The policy brief is for decision-makers in cities and countries around the world who are trying to devise and implement ways to improve preparedness to extreme heat. We envisage that stakeholders involved in climate change, environment, planning, ecology, health, transport, food and agriculture, energy, water, ICT, infrastructure, building and architecture will find the recommendations useful.
Rapid Review of Belgian Extreme Heat and Climate-related Policies (2024)
Cities are central actors in local and regional adaptation planning when responding to extreme heat. To be able to respond effectively to the increased frequency and intensity of heatwaves, cities around the world are updating existing or producing new City Heat Action, Climate and Adaptation Plans. Planning an effective, robust, and flexible response to heatwaves is vital to reduce or eradicate heat-related excess mortalities. The presence of such policies at the city level provides an indication of the level of planning in place therefore, as part of the BeBrit Extreme Heat Risk project, Silent Spring Consultants conducted a desk-based rapid review of heat and climate-related policies to gain a better understanding of the local level of [un]preparedness to extreme heat at the city-level in Belgium. The research questions guiding the review were:
- What type of heat and climate-related policies are present or absent at the city level in Belgium?
- Are there similarities and differences in presence and absence of policies?
By ‘heat and climate-related policies’ we mean policies directly for extreme heat events and where we would expect mention of extreme heat for example, climate and adaptation plans.
Evidence Report
This evidence report, published in February 2024, is based on research conducted by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, PCAN, Silent Spring Consultants and the British Red Cross in England during the 2022 heatwaves.
Citation:
Howarth, C., McLoughlin, N., Armstrong, A., Murtagh, E., Mehryar, S., Beswick, A., Ward, B., Ravishankar, S. and Stuart-Watt, A. (2024) Turning up the heat: learning from the summer 2022 heatwaves in England to inform UK policy on extreme heat, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics and Political Sciences, UK.
The research was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council via the Place-based Climate Action Network (PCAN) (grant number ES/S008381/1) and the LSE Urgency Fund
Policy Brief and Annex
Howarth C, Armstrong A, McLoughlin N, Murtagh E, Stuart-Watt A (2023) The 2022 heatwaves: England’s response and future preparedness for heat risk. London: Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics and Political Science.
Howarth C, Armstrong A, McLoughlin N, Murtagh E, Stuart-Watt A (2023) The 2022 heatwaves: England’s response and future preparedness for heat risk. Annex: Review of current heatwave policy and practice across sectors and themes, London: Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics and Political Science.
We will be adding to this page as the project progresses but if you would like to contribute to the resources, then please contact: info@silentspringconsultants.com
