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Adaptation and mitigation efforts are mutually reinforcing. A cohesive policy effort to improve Europe’s buildings and urban spaces is becoming increasingly vital, says Oliver Rapf of Buildings Performance Institute Europe
Much of Europe is suffering or still reeling from the scorching effects of the heatwave.
These extreme weather events are becoming fiercer and more frequent as a result of climate change, and for western nations especially, it has been a frightening glimpse into the future.
Record-breaking days have exposed how ill-equipped our cities are to handle plus 40°C plus temperatures. Conversely, they’ve also made us more appreciative of the parts that provide relief: the tree-lined streets, leafy parks, lidos and air-conditioned public venues.
Changement climatique, effondrement de la biodiversité, épuisement des ressources : face à la multitude des risques, nos territoires doivent anticiper et s’organiser afin de continuer de répondre aux besoins essentiels des populations.
Les collectivités locales sont en première ligne face à des bouleversements qui seront de nature différente selon les territoires concernés. Elles disposent aussi dans bien des domaines des clés pour agir. Ce projet a pour objectif de fournir des éléments pour l’action permettant de construire des stratégies locales de résilience. 2 objectifs clés : ? Interpeller les acteurs territoriaux sur les conséquences des bouleversements écologiques en cours ; ? Leur fournir des outils pour construire la résilience de leur territoire face aux chocs à venir. Le Shift Project a conçu cette publication comme un parcours pédagogique. Ce parcours aboutit à une cinquantaine de recommandations organisées par thèmes et par types d’acteurs, valorisant des initiatives locales et des ressources déjà disponibles.
The German city relies on an innovative mix of new and ancient techniques to keep new waterfront development dry amid rising sea levels and more frequent storms.
The EU policy level recognises the existential threat that climate change and environmental degradation poses to Europe. It also acknowledges the insufficiency of conventional technological, governance approaches and the need for innovation. As such, the European Green Deal and related instruments seek to transform the EU into a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy, where economic growth is decoupled from resource use and no person and no place is left behind.
The Environment Agency is urging society to invest in adaptation to climate change, rather than living with the costs of inaction.
Adaptation to climate change is just as vital as mitigation, said the Environment Agency, and the climate emergency can only be tackled if we focus on adapting to the inevitable climate impacts.
By likening them to hurricanes and storms, the new strategy will emphasize the health impact of heatwaves
Seville is about to bring more attention to heatwaves – a problem that is common, and frequently devastating, to the south of Spain. Last week, its mayor Juan Espadas announced a new multi-partner initiative that will seek to study, analyze and categorize these annual climatic events and the way they affect the environment and health of the city’s residents.
Barcelona City Council, the Catalan Meteorological Service and Barcelona Regional have carried out various studies in order to find out how Barcelona will be affected by climate change.
It aims to discover which trees and shrubs will survive the changing climate
For the past several months, Leuven has been working hard on its latest environmental project. As is usually the case with the Belgian city, the project can be qualified as innovative at least according to two dimensions: objectives and location.
The European Commission adopted today a new EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change, setting out the pathway to prepare for the unavoidable impacts of climate change. While the EU does everything within its power to mitigate climate change, domestically and internationally, we must also get ready to face its unavoidable consequences. From deadly heatwaves and devastating droughts, to decimated forests and coastlines eroded by rising sea levels, climate change is already taking its toll in Europe and worldwide. Building on the 2013 Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, the aim of today's proposals is to shift the focus from understanding the problem to developing solutions, and to move from planning to implementation.
Un centre de ressources au service des territoires
Le climat change : quels en sont les effets concrets ? Est-il possible d’anticiper, et comment s’adapter au changement climatique ? Quelles sont les bonnes expériences à connaître, et les acteurs de l’adaptation au changement climatique ?
En 2017, la Ville de Paris a été la première de France à voter et mettre en œuvre une stratégie de résilience intégrée4, qui vise à répondre à six enjeux écologiques et sociaux prioritaires : la perte de cohésion sociale de proximité, le défi climatique (en considérant que l’adaptation doit être aussi prioritaire que l’atténuation), les enjeux liés au fleuve (inondations et sécheresses), la pollution de l’air, le risque terroriste et la gouvernance territoriale. Elle propose 35 premières actions, articulées autour de trois piliers :
Informer, former et impliquer bien davantage les habitants sur ces enjeux, les risques qu’ils font peser, et sur les solutions pour s’y préparer et les surmonter5 ;
Changer radicalement de vision du projet urbain, de la fabrique de la ville (infrastructures, aménagement, réseaux, matériaux, etc.) ;
Reconsidérer sa gouvernance dans des échelles différentes, de temps et de territoire (avec par exemple de nouvelles coopérations locales urbains-ruraux pour l’alimentation, la production d’énergie, la gestion du fleuve, etc.).
n the Austrian city of Linz, authorities are already planning for the problems that summer 2021 will bring – namely the high temperatures that adversely impact the health of locals. The problems, according to authorities are especially pronounced in urban centres. Officials aim to address the problem by promoting the creation of additional greenery on buildings, which would stabilize the temperature swings across the urban area.
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In the beginning, there was an ideal location — the river that made trade possible, the port that filled city coffers.
In the age of climate change, what once made a city prosper could make it unlivable.
Athens and Rome became key power centers thanks to easily defensible locations on verdant plains blessed with temperate weather. Amsterdam, Lisbon, Hamburg and Copenhagen used their coastal settings to dominate global commerce.
The framing of nature as separate from culture impacts our notion of landscapes and the functions, infrastructures and activities deemed appropriate within these, where natural landscapes are associated with nature conservation, and the built environment with human activity. In this paper, we propose bridging this nature–society dichotomy through a multifunctional perspective as a way to adopt a more systemic view of space in relation to landscape traits as well as material artefacts.
Alok Sharma urges countries to deliver on the commitments made in the Glasgow Climate Pact. In his first major speech since COP26, Alok Sharma gave a speech at Chatham House outlining the Presidency aims for this coming year. Sharma reflected on the commitments secured at COP26 and the historic Glasgow Climate Pact signed by almost 200 countries at the summit last year. Sharma has also set out his agenda to turn ambition into action, as we approach COP27 in Sharm-El Sheikh in November. Alok Sharma, COP President, said: “All in all, there is no doubt that the commitments we secured at COP26 were historic.”
All these climate change adaptations have been happening for years now. But among the hundreds of examples of climate change adaption one could identify, some responses simultaneously work against climate change mitigation, and many work against climate justice – they are what Morgan Phillips terms “climate change maladaptations.”
Since 2018, UIA has been funding 6 European cities, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Greater Manchester, Paris, Riba-roja de Tùria and Seville to implement innovative projects and adapt to climate change for a total of € 26.7 M ERDF. Currently, these projects are collecting final and interesting results to prepare the transfer of their experience as they enter their final stage of the implementation phase.
Miami-Dade County has named Jane Gilbert as its first ever Chief Heat Officer. It is understood to be the first position of its type globally. Athens in Greece and Freetown in Sierra Leone have pledged to also appoint Chief Heat Officers, and more cities are expected to follow.
Last week, the University of Minho (Portugal) organized a seminar called “Adaptation strategies for urban tourism in the face of climate change within a framework of post-pandemic opportunities”. What drew attention there was a study on climate change in the Porto Metropolitan Area done by geographer Hélder Lopes, who claimed that the city needs to create ‘climate shelters’ in order to withstand the impact of weather fluctuations.
Dans un rapport intermédiaire présenté le 6 mai, le think tank qui plaide pour une décarbonation de l’économie s’est attaché à présenter aux acteurs territoriaux des pistes d’actions face aux bouleversements et chocs à venir, dans un contexte de sortie des énergies fossiles et de réchauffement climatique. "« Il est grand temps que les territoires au sens large se projettent face à un avenir qui promet d’être chahuté et conçoivent des stratégies robustes, résilientes, pour faire face aux changements et aux chocs que nous promettent le réchauffement climatique »
This EEA report, which Ecologic Institute's McKenna Davis co-authored, provides up-to-date information for policymakers on the how to apply nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction and at the same time making use of multiple societal benefits that these solutions can bring. Drawing on selected examples across Europe, the report shows how impacts of extreme weather and climate-related events are already tackled in this way. It also assesses global and European policies and how nature-based solutions are increasingly being integrated in the efforts to shift towards sustainable development.
The EU's climate adaptation strategy, due to be unveiled on Wednesday (24 February), will aim to tackle the human cost of climate change, both within Europe and around the world, amid calls from trade unions to reinforce protection for the most exposed workers.
At COPs, champions have shown to be highly effective in raising ambition for issues related to climate change adaptation and resilience.
Climate change is having wide-ranging impacts on ecosystems, economic sectors, human health and well-being in Europe. From 1980 to 2016, the total reported economic losses caused by weather and other climate-related extremes in Europe amounted to over EUR 436 billion, according to the European Commission. In this interview, Markku Markkula (FI/EPP) answers four questions on climate adaptation. The Chair of Espoo City Board and President of the Helsinki Region is the rapporteur of a draft opinion on climate adaptation to be adopted at the next plenary session of the European Committee of the Regions on 8, 9 and 10 December 2020.
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