Nature-Based Solutions for Climate Change Mitigation

Climate change is profoundly impacting both natural and urban environments, disrupting ecosystems and threatening their stability. Implementing nature-based solutions (NBS) in cities offers a promising approach to mitigating these effects while enhancing adaptation strategies. In addition to climate resilience, NBS contributes to ecosystem service provision, improving urban sustainability and liability. To effectively assess the impact of NBS on climate change mitigation and adaptation, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) can serve as valuable tools for quantifying benefits to both humans and the environment. This chapter presents a comprehensive literature review aimed at identifying relevant KPIs for evaluating climate adaptation and mitigation strategies and exploring the role of NBS in this context. The review follows a structured methodology, beginning with the identification of major climate change drivers and their associated effects. It then establishes a set of KPIs to measure performance against specific climate impacts. Furthermore, the study links these KPIs to relevant Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Ecosystem Services (ES), ensuring a holistic evaluation framework. Finally, potential NBS interventions are identified at multiple scales, from individual buildings to district and city-wide applications, highlighting their effectiveness in addressing climate challenges. Findings indicate that NBS play a crucial role in climate adaptation, particularly at urban and district levels. Moreover, KPIs are widely integrated into environmental assessment frameworks, reinforcing their applicability in measuring NBS effectiveness. This study underscores the potential of NBS as a sustainable, multifunctional approach to tackling climate change in urban environments.