Integrating climate justice into climate action planning: a case study of equity-based climate action planning at the University of Utah

Purpose Climate action planning (CAP) is an important tool for universities to adopt mitigation targets and develop climate adaptation and resilience. This paper aims to offer a case study of climate action equity planning at a university in the USA and discusses the challenges and opportunities for centering equity and justice within CAP in higher education. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a mixed quantitative and qualitative method to analyze a US university CAP and survey data collected for those involved in the planning process. This paper codes for distributional, procedural and recognition pillars of equity and justice from urban climate planning literature to assess how the plan addressed those elements of equity and justice. Findings The survey and analysis of the plan indicate that while the planning team took many steps to ensure equity was centered throughout the process, there are lessons and enduring challenges for how to ensure equity and justice in higher education CAP. Research limitations/implications The data offers insights into how to better account for the three pillars of climate equity and justice in future CAP initiatives. Originality/value While there are many case studies on CAP in local, regional or national contexts, more attention needs to be given to the unique scale and challenges of universities in developing CAP.