LAUSR

textabstractAs cities are major contributors to GHG emissions and places where people face multiple climate change impacts, their critical role in responding to climate change is becoming increasingly evident. Cities are developing climate change action plans (CCAPs) focusing their efforts on reducing GHG emissions and adapting to climate change impacts. Despite having the highest urban population in the world, there are a few studies on urban CCAPs in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region. This study assessed the level of integration of mitigation and adaptation (IMA) in urban climate change plans across 44 major LAC cities. The level of IMA was measured by the utilization of the IMA index, a comprehensive evaluation framework of indicators. The results showed that more than half of the examined LAC cities have a moderate level of IMA. The study further explored and statistically analyzed 42 institutional, socioeconomic and environmental factors to identify which ones potentially drive or constrain the level of IMA. Five out of 42 factors were found to have a significant impact (p-value < 0.05) on the IMA index. Of the five significant factors, memberships in regional networks FLACMA and UCCI respectively, and donor agencies' contribution to the development of urban policies had a positive impact on IMA index; while the national climate fund and membership in the global network Urban LEDS had a negative impact. This suggests that cities are most likely to integrate mitigation and adaptation when the development of their CCAPs are supported by donor agencies or collaborating with other cities. The results highlight the important role of donor agencies, international organizations and cities' networks on providing the necessary capacity to cities for addressing climate change in an integrated manner.