climatecentric

Climate-centric is an adjective used to describe strategies, policies, products, or research that place climate considerations at the center of decision-making. A climate-centric approach prioritizes reducing greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming, and increasing resilience to climate risks as core objectives, rather than treating climate as one of several concerns.

The term has gained prominence in policy, business strategy, urban design, and science as governments and organizations seek to align planning with decarbonization targets and climate risk reduction. In practice, climate-centric processes integrate climate data, scenarios, and metrics into governance, budgeting, and evaluation, influencing project scope, timelines, and compliance.

Benefits associated with climate-centric approaches include clarity of objectives, improved resilience, and compatibility with long-term risk management. Critics caution that an exclusive climate focus may overlook social equity, economic viability, and other development needs, and that measurement and attribution of climate impacts can be difficult.

Proponents argue for integrating climate considerations with other policy goals (a cross-cutting or intersectional approach) rather than treating climate change as a standalone priority. Related concepts include climate justice, sustainability, decarbonization, and resilience.