Cities need thermal justice. Here's what that really means

The document argues that standard heat-mitigation measures, such as air conditioning and urban greening, can lead to 'thermal displacement' where risks are shifted across communities or generations. To address this, researchers from ETH Zurich and other institutions propose a 'Thermal Justice' framework—defined as the application of Environmental Justice to heat—which evaluates cooling interventions through five lenses: distribution, recognition, capabilities, participation, and ecological justice.

• Cooling interventions can cause 'thermal displacement,' where heat-related risks are transferred across people, places, infrastructure, ecosystems, or future generations. For example, air conditioning protects those who can afford it but discharges waste heat outdoors and strains power systems; in 2024, over 40 countries representing nearly 70% of global electricity demand hit new peak-demand records during heatwaves.
• Urban greening can lead to gentrification and displacement. A study of 28 cities in North America and Europe indicated that the addition of public green space was linked to subsequent gentrification in 17 of those cities during at least one decade.
• There is a significant lack of conceptual clarity regarding 'thermal justice' in academic literature. While mentions of the term have increased 6-fold in the last two years, over 85% of records use the term without a definition, and 63% fail to cite an existing one.
• The proposed Thermal Justice framework consists of five dimensions: Distribution (fair sharing of burdens/benefits), Recognition (understanding why people are at risk), Capabilities (ensuring people can function safely), Participation (including residents/workers in decisions), and Ecological justice (assessing displaced risks to energy, water, and ecosystems).
• Vienna is cited as a positive example of mitigating the link between greening and gentrification through the use of decentralized greening policies, rent regulation, and extensive social housing between 1991 and 2021.

APA

Gobatti, L. (2026). Cities need thermal justice. Here's what that really means. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/cities-need-thermal-justice-heres-what-that-really-means-3e8b9fc0f2/

Chicago

Gobatti, Lucas. Cities need thermal justice. Here's what that really means. World Economic Forum, 2026. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/cities-need-thermal-justice-heres-what-that-really-means-3e8b9fc0f2/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gobatti |first1=Lucas |title=Cities need thermal justice. Here's what that really means |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=4 September 2026 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/cities-need-thermal-justice-heres-what-that-really-means-3e8b9fc0f2/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gobatti2026cities, author = {Gobatti, Lucas}, title = {{Cities need thermal justice. Here's what that really means}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2026}, month = sep, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/cities-need-thermal-justice-heres-what-that-really-means-3e8b9fc0f2/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }