Planning for Climate Leadership

Abstract

The profession of planning must act now to become an integral player addressing the existential crisis of climate change. This Commentary builds on the findings of the 2020–2021 Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning’s Presidential Climate Action Task Force, which assessed opportunities to enhance the academy’s climate leadership in research, teaching, and operations. We argue that our field must integrate climate research and education into all subfields, refocus on decarbonization, build a pipeline of diverse students involved in climate action, and develop the language and skills to grapple with planning for climate change.