Cities in a climate-friendly rebuild : pocket-Parks against the heat of the city

Katowice is the, what you under a modern city: An eight-lane highway cuts through the centre of the city. At the conference centre, where the 24. United Nations climate change conference takes place, only through a large underpass to the other side of the street. As a pedestrian, you will feel in this city. Cyclists are not to be seen.

How could such a city, how we could rebuild cities in a climate-friendly way? This is a question that engaged the Participants of the climate conference. The answers are so difficult, because every city is different. And because the existence of many data that there is climate change, often only at the national level. A mayor or a chief can not do much. It is important, however, to be able to at the local level, good choices for solving the climate crisis meet. Because cities occupy only three percent of the earth's surface, but half of the world's population lives in cities and three-quarters of the emissions arise here.

The Poorest suffer the most from climate change

As the world IPCC intergovernmental panel on climate change, with the cities of employees and considered a special report on the subject, he came to this gap in Research. And because the IPCC does not conduct his own research, but the available literature summarizes, he decided, more research on the topic of cities.

On the Initiative of the IPCC conference in Edmonton, Canada in the spring of this year, explored where research is needed. One of the results: What is still lacking is to understand the Interplay between the cities and the surrounding regions. "Cities are complex systems with great range," writes Xuemei Bai, the Australian National University, in a commentary for the magazine "Nature". Well-intentioned actions on the ground could result in problems for other sectors. So, for example, the Shift of energy-intensive companies would move to the surrounding area emissions only, without a net gain came out of it.

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to know more precisely and to develop good measures, would also be important because the Poorest suffer most from climate change. For example, because they build their huts on a slope, the slipping in heavy rain. Or because the water supply when a drought breaks into your quarters first. These effects of climate change developing countries are already know today. "The Denial of climate change is a luxury problem of the North," said Julie Greenwalt of the Cities Alliance at an event of the "International Council for Science" and of the cities Alliance "C40" at the climate conference in Katowice.

What exactly helps? Since research needs

There is Emmanuelle Pinault C40 presented a handout of the IPCC: the summary of the report to a 1.5-degree target for the relevant actors in the cities. "Climate science must be the decision-makers in the city accessible, because without you there is no need to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees," - said in it.

conclusions of the report have drawn cities: "There are six areas in which local governments can act on," informs another Alliance of Cities, the United Cities and Global Governments (UCLG). Fields of action are: energy systems, buildings, transport and town planning, green infrastructure, sustainable land use and water management. "Actions in these areas will yield significant benefits," stresses UCLG, including improving public health and reducing air pollution.

How, exactly, but such measures should look like and which are more effective than others, would be clear: "We need the evidence of the research, to check our work," said Yann Francoise from Paris, which is there for the zero-emission strategy up to the year 2050 are responsible, at the event in Katowice.

West pocket Park against climate change

The need for research certainly has also been recognised by the EU and a group of experts set up to bring out in the spring of recommendations for Research on the topic of cities, said Patrick Child of the EU Commission. Today, it is planned to structure the European research funding in the next Seven-year programme (starting in 2020) and on individual priorities align. One of them will be to explore the Transition to a low-carbon society in the cities, announced Child.

In the current EU research program Horizon 2020 of 3,1 billion euros for the sustainable development of cities provided. Will be tried, among other things, promotes the project "Grow Green", in the so-called nature-based solutions. They are inspired according to the EU's Definition of the natural, cost-effective and should contribute to the strengthening of the resilience of cities.

One of the pioneers in this program is the Polish Breslau (Wroclaw), which is particularly affected by heat stress, but also of flooding risks. Demonstration projects such as pocket Parks – small, - landscaped areas and vegetated facades are realized. With "Innovate4Cities" there is also a network of the EU, and is concerned with the research needs of cities in climate change. And in the "European Green Capital Network" promotes the Union every year, particularly sustainable cities. 2018 food was excellent for the Transformation of the coal metropolis into a green city.

cities are dependent on framework conditions that create you

The climate-friendly conversion of the cities is possible. Berlin wants to be, like many other cities in the world, by 2050 climate-neutral and has this goal already in 2014, a feasibility study to scientifically investigate. One of the results: The greatest potential for the reduction of CO2 emissions exist in the area of energy supply. In the case of renewable energies, in particular Photovoltaics.

The confirmed 2018, a study by the University of technology and Economics. However, the potential will not be exhausted – debt-the legal framework: "The economic optimization to the maximum project yield under current conditions to significantly smaller PV installations, as it would allow the solar potential." This is because it is financially worthwhile to consume self-generated electricity.

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When Feeding into the grid, taxes and levies to fall, which reduce the yield. Large roof surfaces are therefore usually only small plants, equipped to meet the electricity needs of the house. "This can be long-term in achieving the climate protection goals to be a hindrance," writes the HTW. This shows a fundamental Problem of the cities: they are dependent on conditions you do not create yourself. In this case, the Renewable energy act of the Federal government.