North Rhine-Westphalia
Download
Report
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
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