- Ms Katrin Lompscher, Senator for Health, the Environment and Consumer Protection, Berlin, Germany
Over the years, there has been stronger collaboration within the European Union (EU) on addressing global issues. At the same time, each EU member country has its own set of challenges to deal with, such as an increasing aging population, maintaining a dynamic and innovative economy, and migration. Ms Katrin Lompscher will be sharing on how the EU is positioning itself to be at the forefront of international efforts in tackling climate change, and provide insights on how Germany is addressing challenges in building sustainable cities.
European Energy and Climate Policy
Since the first report from the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated in 1990 that a cut in CO2 emissions of 60 to 80 per cent was needed to stabilise the concentration of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, which, already at that time, was 25 per cent higher than before industrialisation, the European Union has been at the forefront of international efforts to combat climate change.
The challenges of global energy security and energy geopolitics, slow progress in combating climate change at the global level, the urge to recover on growth and jobs in the EU and the need to invest in tomorrow's energy networks were the reasons for the new EU “Energy Strategy 2011-2020” and the “Europe 2020 Strategy” which promotes a resource-efficient Europe and incorporates the commitment to deliver the 20-20-20 targets on greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy and energy savings (with the target of a 30% cut in greenhouse gas emissions if the conditions at international level are right).
Berlin’s Climate Protection Policy
According to climate forecasts for the future, Berlin will have to adapt to a climate within the next fifty years, which nowadays is typical for cities such as Rome or Madrid. Climate change will among others threaten water supply and cultural landscape as well as jeopardize the livelihood and health of local people. To mitigate this development Berlin has decided to improve energy efficiency and considerably increase the use of renewables, mainly in the building sector.
In Berlin the building sector accounts for more than 40 per cent of the final energy demand; that is why the city will focus on further increasing energy efficiency in that field. Berlin has started its activities in the building sector in the early 1990s by founding the Berlin Energy Agency (BEA) in 1992. The BEA is responsible for Berlin’s Energy Saving Contracting programme (ESC). This programme was launched in 1996 in order to reduce the energy needs of public buildings. It is attractive for both, private contractors, who invest into energy efficiency of the buildings, and buildings’ owners since the owners have a guarantee of about 16 to 36 per cent of cost savings. The contractors can refinance their investments through the savings within a period of 8 to 15 years. However, the increase in energy efficiency is not enough. Berlin also fosters the use of solar and biomass for the heating of buildings.
Berlin's target for 2020 is a reduction of CO2 emissions by more than 40 per cent compared to the level of 1990 (Work Programme for Climate Protection, July 2008). To reach that 40 per cent target Berlin has among other meanwhile concluded 12 self-committing partnership agreements on climate protection with private and public companies (energy providers, city cleaning company, housing associations, zoological garden etc.) Further agreements are under preparation. Moreover, we have worked out a Climate Protection Bill which is to come into force in 2011.
- Dr Ursula Schaefer-Preuss, VP for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development, ADB
To address the growing concerns of climate change, governments worldwide are increasingly looking toward formulating and implementing practical policies to balance sustainable development with economic growth. In view of the post-financial crisis environment, governments and cities are facing various challenges in financing sustainable development. Dr Ursula Schaefer-Preuss will share updates on the Asian Development Bank (ADB)'s policies to enhance sustainable development, as well as explain the ADB's role in promoting multilateral financing mechanisms to encourage green growth.
- Mr James Adams, Vice President of the East Asia and Pacific Region, World Bank
Rapid urbanization in developing countries is a key feature of the 21st century. While urbanization presents myriad economic opportunities for people, it also presents important environmental challenges that governments must tackle, especially in view of the growing concerns surrounding climate change. It is clear that cities will need to go beyond the physical infrastructure development to pursue sustainable development paths. Those paths would need to embrace three objectives: an emphasis on regional balance and equity, promise of environmental sustainability and assurance of financial sustainability. Drawing from the World Bank's global experience, Mr James Adams will highlight some examples to illustrate the efforts being made by cities and central governments to address the so called triple bottom line approach for sustainable growth in cities.
- HE Mr Majid Al Mansouri, Secretary-General, Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi, UAE
The Middle East faces a unique set of challenges. While relying on energy exports to spur economic growth, the Middle East countries need to address other factors affecting growth such as a rising population and promoting foreign direct investments inflows. HE Mr Majid Ali Al Mansouri will share on how the Middle East countries are addressing such challenges amidst efforts to promote environmental sustainability, and provide insights on Abu Dhabi's experience with reference to Masdar City.
Environmental Challenge in the Middle East and Abu Dhabi Efforts towards Sustainable Development
In the past short–term planning was a major obstacle to environmental sustainable development policy making in the Middle East. Today environmental considerations are insufficiently integrated in national development plans and policies, resulting in the unsustainable use of natural resources. Among the major challenges that the region faces are: high population growth rate, water scarcity, land degradation and desertification, waste management, coastal and marine environment degradation, air pollution and global warming.
Some government organisation responsible for the environment, spear headed by Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, have moved into strategic planning to promote environmental sustainability. Such initiatives are required all over the Middle East region and this is to be coupled with significant emphasis for proper implementation over the long-term.
- Ms Saskia Sassen, Robert S.Lynd Professor of Sociology, Columbia University, USA
The global environmental challenge becomes tangible and urgent in cities. Thus, it is critical to understand the capabilities of cities to transform what is today a negative environmental impact into a positive one. Cities must be part of the solution. One point of entry to this question is to view cities as a type of socio-ecological system that has an expanding range of articulations with nature's ecologies. Today, most of these articulations produce environmental damage. How can we begin to use these articulations to produce positive outcomes – outcomes that allow cities to contribute to environmental sustainability? Ms Saskia Sassen will share with us how to bridge the ecologies of cities and of the biosphere, in essence how the complex systemic and multi-scalar capacities of cities can provide massive potential for a broad range of positive articulations with nature's ecologies.
Bridging the Ecologies of Cities and of the Boopiosphere
Cities are at the forefront of a range of global governance challenges. Because of this, many cities have had to develop capabilities to handle these challenges long before national states have signed international treaties or passed national laws to address them. Cities have even shown a willingness to disregard national law when the urgency of confronting particular conditions demands it. In this context, the expanding presence of cities in global networks and the expanding number of economic, cultural and political inter-city networks assume added meaning.
The massive processes of urbanization under way today are inevitably at the center of the environmental future. It is through cities and vast urban agglomerations that mankind is increasingly present in the planet and through which it mediates its relationship to the various stocks and flows of environmental capital. The urban hinterland, once primarily a confined geographic zone, is today a global hinterland. With the expansion of the global economy, we have raised our capacity to annex more and more of the world's land to support a limited number of industries and places. Here I address the multi-scalar character of cities the diverse terrains and domains, many non-urban, onto which they project their effects and from which they meet their needs. I also address their ecological character, the multiple mechanisms and feedback loops that articulate urban processes and their consequences and, also, the emergent articulations between these urban ecologies and nature's ecologies.
Cities are de facto parts of a whole range of global governance challenges that are typically conceived at the global and national levels. Recognizing this means inserting the urban question into global/national domains that tend to exclude/overlook cities and other sub-national levels.
- Mr Peter Schwartz, Co-founder, Global Business Network, a Monitor Group Company
Climate change is a long term challenge with high adaptation cost. How to get cities to plan over the long term? What measures can be put in place to encourage cities to deal with climate change even if they do not see the immediate benefits? How can cities make themselves more resilient to climate changes? Cities will need to formulate and implement both short term and long term solutions to enhance their resilience to climate change. Mr Peter Schwartz will paint us a likely scenario for climate change in the next 50 years and outline some of these immediate actions and long term solutions to achieve sustainable development.
Cities are the Engines of Sustainability
Climate change is likely to be among the greatest challenges facing much of humankind over the next half century. Cities are more part solution than of the cause of the problem. Cities are the engines of sustainability. We need to both adapt to a rapidly changing climate and we need to diminish the human drivers of climate change. By concentrating more people on less land, cities make many options possible. First off it makes more sustainable rural and agricultural practices more plausible. Second increasing density, going vertical and new urbanist suburbs all lead to reduced environmental impact. Energy is used more efficiently. Transit can substitute for car trips. And ideas can flourish as science, technology and innovation in the great urban regions reinvent the evolution of the city.
- Mr Lee Tzu Yang, Chairman, Shell Companies in Singapore
Sustainable mobility will be a critical consideration for cities of the future. People travel to work, study and play, and to seek daily essentials and medical care. Mr Lee Tzu Yang will give his take on the opportunities and threats, as we strive to understand better the options for mobility.
The world faces a transition to a new energy future in the years ahead. As populations grow and economies develop, the number of vehicles on the world's roads could double to 2 billion by 2050. Much of this rapid growth will take place in our part of the world. In South-east Asia, the number of vehicles is expected to triple to 92 million by 2030.
How will we meet the demand for mobility even as we strive to keep our cities liveable? More vehicles on the road will mean a growing demand for and a widening range of fuels, as well as more C02 emissions and potential pollution in our increasingly crowded cities. The future will need a mix of fuels, from conventional gasoline to biofuels and electric vehicles, to help meet the transport needs of tomorrow.
Electric vehicles will be part of this mix. Electricity is a secondary form of energy and, depending on how the electricity is generated - from what forms of primary energy and what technology, the hoped-for benefits of lower C02 emissions may not be realized. Choice of fuel for power generation is key - for comparison, a natural gas power plant produces about half the C02 for the same amount of electricity that is generated by a power plant burning coal.
The energy choices that communities and countries make for the future will be critical. In the field of transport, these decisions include making the most out of every drop of fuel that we produce through higher efficiency in the extraction, processing and manufacturing process, producing better fuels, as well as more efficient vehicles and driving techniques. We need to work with many partners for sustainable mobility, to develop the technologies, products and services to help keep the people in our cities moving in the future.
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