cities and climate change
CITIES AND CLIMATE CHANGE a knowledge management program of the Marseille Center for Mediterranean Integration December 2009
THE MARSEILLE
CENTER FOR MEDITERRANEAN INTEGRATION CMI The Marseille Center for Mediterranean Integration was launched in October 2009 with the mandate of creating a platform for integration in the Mediterranean region through high-level policy dialogue, dissemination and knowledge management in key development areas which are of primary importance for the Mediterranean region: urban and spatial development; skills, employment and labor mobility; environment and water; transport and logistics; knowledge economy, innovation and technology. Founding members are the Governments of Egypt, France, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia as well as the World Bank and the European Investment Bank. Other members are likely to join the Center in the near future.
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FOCUS COUNTRIES The Marseille Center for Mediterranean Integration makes its knowledge management services available to the countries of the southern and eastern coast of the Mediterranean. Mediterranean integration is intended as an opportunity for further linkages and exchanges between both rims of the Mediterranean region, as well as within its southern part. PROGRAM PARTNERS The Cities and Climate Change program is promoted, financed and implemented by two of the CMI partners: the Caisse des D茅p么ts, a French public financial institution, and the World Bank. They have committed to a three-year partnership to combine the policy and technical
expertise resulting from their international and national work, the staff and the financial resources necessary for the success of the program. A joint team is operating simultaneously out of Marseille, Paris and Washington, and is liaising actively with the official counterparts and centers of excellence in the focus countries as well as in Europe and elsewhere. OTHER PARTNERSHIPS Key to the success of the program is the active involvement of centers of excellence, public institutions, university and research centers, city governments and municipal associations from the focus countries, from the European Union and elsewhere, so that each program activity
will result in a rich interaction among different stakeholders at regional scale. To date, the following have committed to contribute to the activities supported by the program: ADEME, AFD, Blue Plan and Cities Alliance. This list will be regularly updated as the program builds up its network of partnerships in the Mediterranean region.
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cities and climate change
CITIES AND CLIMATE CHANGE The southern Mediterranean coast is considered by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as one of the most vulnerable areas of the world to the impacts of climate change, and such vulnerabilities are particularly prominent in the coastal cities. Urban growth has not incorporated so far the sustainable responses to climate vulnerability and to the need for a reduced consumption of energy and natural resources and related emissions of green-house gases. City utility systems are often old and obsolete, and building construction in the region is not adapting yet to the worsening climate. The program will foster collaboration with the national meteorological institutes and climate research centers, as well with public and private developers, building research centers and energy efficiency agencies in order to address some of these issues. URBAN VULNERABILITY TO CLIMATE CHANGE The primary threats identified so far in the Mediterranean cities are: a) sea-level rise, coastal erosion and storm surges; b) urban
flooding; c) water scarcity and decreasing water quality; d) increasing ambient air temperatures; and e) risks of earthquakes and tsunamis. The program will assist central and city governments
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in forecasting the impacts of climate change on specific urban locations via the production of urban vulnerability maps and the preparation of adaptation action plans. Adaptation measures would primarily consist of urban planning actions to prevent urbanization in vulnerable areas, actions to protect the built up areas and reinforce critical urban infrastructure (such as coastal defence systems, ports, water and power plants, water treatment plants, roads and bridges), and actions related to the institutional preparedness of the cities to face such challenges (such as earlywarning systems and civil protection). CLIMATE-APPROPRIATE URBAN DEVELOPMENT The concept of
climate-appropriate urban development incorporates urban density and urban form, mobility based on public transport, pedestrian trips and non-motorized vehicles, mixed residential and commercial zoning, and the planning of residential areas in the proximity of main locations of employment. It also includes improvements in the functioning and re-tooling of key urban systems, such as water distribution, waste water treatment, solid waste management, street lighting, and the movement of goods within the city in order to make them more energyefficient. The program will provide the review of models, experiences and best
practices of climate-appropriate urban development initiatives in the EU countries and elsewhere, with the purpose of identifying policies and cases that could be of relevance to the Mediterranean countries. Major planned or on-going urban development operations will be reviewed to assess their projected ecological and carbon footprints in order to assist stakeholders in finding climateappropriate solutions.
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cities and climate change
ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN BUILDINGS Single-family dwellings, multi-story apartment blocks and large facilities such as schools, hospitals, and administrative centers play an important role in energy-consumption and related carbon emissions. Climate-friendly criteria of energy efficiency are relevant for the retro-fitting of existing buildings as well as for the construction of new ones. In a region famous for its traditional architecture and building techniques, modern construction is causing an increasing dependence on energy-intensive cooling, bound to get worse as ambient air temperatures will increase further. Intelligent design, appropriate insulation specifications and techniques, incorporation of solar energy technology,
passive cooling systems, and energyefficient lighting and appliances can reverse these trends, if accompanied by the right system of financial and fiscal incentives, technical support, building codes and promotion by public authorities.
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PROGRAM
DELIVERABLES POLICY WORKSHOPS The program will deliver a number of policy workshops per year, where the main issues covered will be reviewed on the basis of national reports, case studies, and specific technical and policy contributions that would facilitate the exchanges and integration across the Mediterranean region. They will bring together policy-makers, practitioners and academicians, will be preceded by preparatory research work, and followed up with the dissemination of the recommendations, outcomes and materials. The impacts expected from the policy workshops are awareness-raising, contributing to the definition of reform processes, and providing access to updated knowledge by key practitioners. A first regional workshop on “Cities, Climate and
the Mediterranean� was held in Marseille in June 2009 as a program precursor. GUIDANCE MATERIALS The purpose of the CMI, and therefore of its urban programs, is to be part of the debate on key development and integration policy topics, and to become a pivotal part of the existing regional networks. The program will produce and disseminate guidance materials and information on the issues of urban climate change in the Mediterranean region, resulting from the networking, the policy workshops, the studies and technical advisory services. The programs also inherit materials from the Europe-MENA urban knowledge program which operated in Marseille from 2003 until 2008.
STUDIES & ADVISORY SERVICES The program will provide resources and opportunities to conduct studies and provide small-scale technical assistance on the topics covered, on a selective basis, to the national and local Governments and cities of the region. This will enable CMI to support its clients in a more detailed exploration of some of the issues, innovations proposed, and approaches suggested. Advisory services will be provided by the regional centers of excellence and expertise and by specialized consultants and consulting firms. The programs will also facilitate direct, decentralized cooperation among cities on all sides of the Mediterranean for technical and policy exchanges.
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Program Direction Anthony G. Bigio, World Bank Pascale Chabrillat, Caisse des Dep么ts
CONTACT INFORMATION Olivier Lavinal olavinal@worldbank.org (+33-4) 91 99 24 48 Pierre-Marie Villette pierre-marie.villette@caissedesdepots.fr (+33-1) 58 50 11 34
Center for Mediterranean Integration Villa Valmer, 271 Corniche Kennedy, Marseille, France 13007