Transcript North Rhine-Westphalia

Adapting to climate change at the
regional level
The Example of North Rhine-Westphalia
Dr Alexander Schink
State Secretary
Ministry of the Environment and Conservation,
Agriculture and Consumer Protection of the
German State of North Rhine-Westphalia
Ministry of the Environment and
Conservation, Agriculture and Consumer
Protection of the State of North RhineWestphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) – Some facts
and figures
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Population: 18.1 million
Germany‘s most densely populated
state
„Rhine – Ruhr Metropolitan
Region“:
> 10 million people live in an area
of 10.000 km²
31 % of energy generated in
Germany
50 % of the land is used for farming
and forestry
Rich biodiversity: 43.000 animal
and plant species
Ministry of the Environment and
Conservation, Agriculture and Consumer
Protection of the State of North RhineWestphalia
Adaptation at the regional level
 Regions (German states) play a key role in the field of
adaptation:
 Nature and extent of climate changes vary
considerably at the regional level
 Regions are responsible for implementation of laws
and regulations in many fields that are affected by
climate change
 Regions have local authorities with expertise (e.g. in
water management, forestry, regional and land use
planning)
Ministry of the Environment and
Conservation, Agriculture and Consumer
Protection of the State of North RhineWestphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia Strategy for Adaptation
- Objectives
 Published in April 2009
 Both sectoral and regional
perspective
 Objectives:
 raising awareness of problems
 improving knowledge
 offering options for action
 initiating measures
Ministry of the Environment and
Conservation, Agriculture and Consumer
Protection of the State of North RhineWestphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia Strategy for Adaptation
- Contents
1. Microclimate projections
2. Climate change impacts in 8 fields for action
 agriculture and soil
 forests and forestry
 biodiversity and nature
conservation
 water management
 tourism
 public health
 cities and areas of high
population density
 safety of plants and
installations
3. Measures and options for action
Ministry of the Environment and
Conservation, Agriculture and Consumer
Protection of the State of North RhineWestphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia Strategy for Adaptation
- Results
 Climate-induced changes in NRW have different impacts:
 farming is likely to profit from climate changes
 considerable increase in risk of windthrow in forests
 moderate to sharp increase in sensibility to heat
 Impacts of climate change in NRW likely to be
manageable – if adequate adaptation measures are timely
implemented
Ministry of the Environment and
Conservation, Agriculture and Consumer
Protection of the State of North RhineWestphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia Strategy for Adaptation
- Measures and projects
 Special fund (10 M €) to promote innovative approaches to
climate change adaptation
 39 projects und measures sponsored by the NRW
environment ministry
 Examples:
 trial cultivation of different tree species
 „Urban Climate Manual“
 „ActionClimatePlus“
Ministry of the Environment and
Conservation, Agriculture and Consumer
Protection of the State of North RhineWestphalia
Action Climateplus – NRW Climate Town of the
Future
 Action Climateplus competition to promote climate
protection and adaptation in towns and local government
areas
 Objective: developing a climate protection and adaptation
strategy for two designated NRW Climate Towns
 to serve as models
 Funding volume: 3.3 million Euro
 Projects: expanding the cycling path network, improving
the energy efficiency of older buildings, adapting to heavy
rainfall events, ….
Ministry of the Environment and
Conservation, Agriculture and Consumer
Protection of the State of North RhineWestphalia
Interregional Co-operation
 Since 2004, NRW has been chairing the working group on
climate change of the ENCORE environment network
 27 - 29 October 2009: international symposium on
„Strategies for Adapting to Climate Change in the
Regions of Europe“ in Düsseldorf
 Some 100 experts participated in 5 workshops (water,
forestry, tourism, urban management, biodiversity)
Ministry of the Environment and
Conservation, Agriculture and Consumer
Protection of the State of North RhineWestphalia
Conclusions and next steps
Conclusions
 Regions play a crucial role in developing strategies for
adaptation and implementing concrete measures
 Many regions, cities, towns and local councils are already
actively involved
Next steps
 Implementation of „no-regret“ measures
 Regional, national and Europe-wide exchanges
 Integration of the adaptation issue into other policy fields
Ministry of the Environment and
Conservation, Agriculture and Consumer
Protection of the State of North RhineWestphalia
Thank you very much for your attention
Dr Alexander Schink
State Secretary
Ministry of the Environment and Conservation,
Agriculture and Consumer Protection of the
German State of North Rhine-Westphalia
Ministry of the Environment and
Conservation, Agriculture and Consumer
Protection of the State of North RhineWestphalia