The climate justice implementation gap: are urban health and planning workforces trained for equitable climate adaptation?

Although climate justice has become a central principle in urban adaptation discourse, it remains unclear whether the professional workforce responsible for implementing adaptation strategies is adequately prepared to operationalize these commitments. In this policy brief, we examine the evolving scientific landscape of climate justice and urban climate adaptation. Our analysis reveals rapid expansion of the field, yet limited attention to workforce training and educational capacity. Only a small fraction of publications explicitly addresses professional preparation for equitable adaptation, while research on urban health (although more visible) still represents a minority of the literature. Strengthening interdisciplinary training at the intersection of urban planning, public health, and climate governance may therefore be critical for advancing equitable urban resilience.