Representatives from PLACARD have been very actively engaged in a range of activities during May and June: at the European Climate Change Adaptation conference (ECCA 2019) in Lisbon, the European Urban Resilience Forum (EURF) and ICLEI 2019 in Bonn. At ECCA, the climate finance stream was presented in two sessions: Financing climate change adaptation and post disaster reconstruction and Supporting and further strengthening institutional coordination between and capacities of CCA and DRR communities – recommendations and ways forward.
The session on the financial aspects of climate change adaptation and reconstruction after natural disasters encompassed a wide range of presentations by participants from Germany, the UK, Australia, the Netherlands and Sweden. Of particular interest was the problem of mobilising the necessary financial resources to allow for flood risk management, as well as methods of building resilience to such climate-related risks. Protection against climate risks was another important topic discussed during this session, and brought us recent findings about the role of insurance in reducing exposure to such risks. Discussion participants underlined the importance of index-based insurance in establishing a protective mechanism against climate risks in agriculture.
The Science Practice session on institutional strengthening for coordination of the CCA and DRR communities was partly dedicated to exploring the barriers on the way to climate finance. Results of group-work demonstrated the importance of context and business model barriers on path to climate finance at a local level.
A two-day event dedicated to the issues of the urban resilience and took place in Bonn on 24–25 June. The EURF provided a platform for participants from different countries to talk about various aspects of resilience to climate change at a local level. Discussions were broken into three flows, with the climate stream aimed at providing knowledge and experience in elaborating and implementing innovative new financial schemes and instruments.
Representatives from the cities of Bristol, Lisbon and Athens shared the results of urban-level activities in adapting to climate change. The European Investment Bank (EIB) provided some insights into the newly strengthened and implemented Natural Capital Finance Facility (projects for EUR 1-15 million). This initiative was created by the EIB and encompasses conservation, nature-based solutions, urban green infrastructure and biodiversity. In fact, this is one of the first facilities to provide not only financial support, but also technical assistance in the implementation of adaptation projects at a city-level.
The city of Lisbon shared their experience of using the “green participatory budget” to effectively allocate financial resources among possible projects in the area of adaptation to climate change. This initiative is currently supported by Climate-KIC through the City Finance, and demonstrates how the cities could arrange more effective distribution of public funds for climate-related activities.
Photo 1: Work in groups on elaborating a narrative for mobilising adaptation finance at a local level (Reimund Schwarze, centre and Peter B. Meyer, left).
The EURF conference in Bonn was also delighted to welcome a session on Strategic narratives for urban heat and health, where one working group has been developing a narrative on raising the awareness of and easing the access to climate finance at city-level.
PLACARD activities at the ICLEI conference aimed to bring together representatives of northern and southern cities (Naples and Malmö) in order to find out about common challenges and opportunities in adaptation.
As a result of the discussions, we have developed a list of recommendations and comments on how to prepare an effective narrative for the European city to raise awareness on possible influence of heatwaves on health, and facilitate mobilisation of the financial resource to tackle this challenge.
Photo 2: Joint workshop with representatives of Naples and Malmö.