Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
expertise and involving competence on water integrated management with net-
works and localization of new settlements
4
.
Germany and the United Kingdom have already successfully started assessment
and monitoring of the adaptation plan using environmental indicators.
Urban and Regional Adaptation Policy Measures are still to be defined (like in
several British counties: Staffordshire, South East).
Several cities are making specific plans to solve problems caused by climate
change (Birmingham, Madrid, Stuttgart, Sfantu Gheorghe, San Sebastian) while
Rotterdam, Copenhagen and Aalborg are examples of smart adaptation strat-
egy (EU, DG Clima
2013
).
Even Italy is creating a new adaptation policy, since it doesn't have appropriate
existing measures on the subject (environmental preservation, prevention of natural
disasters, sustainable management of natural resources and health preservation).
The Italian Ministry of Environment, awaiting for the National adaptation
strategy, in 2013 published the ''Public consultation document'' containing the
guidelines to collect the suggestions of the stakeholders and to promote cooper-
ation agreements (MATTM
2013
).
The main objective of the national adaptation strategy is to develop a national
perspective on how to face future impacts on climatic change, to identify actions
and methods to tackle climate variability and extreme weather conditions. By
implementing actions it will be possible to reduce to the minimum the risks arising
from climate changes.
Other objectives are the protection of health, welfare and goods of the popu-
lation, the preservation of the natural asset, the maintenance and improvement of
the adaptation capacity of the natural and socio-economic systems. The imple-
mentation of the adaptation plans will potentially offer advantages and opportu-
nities. The document was written taking into account the general and already
well-established experiences in other European countries like Belgium, Denmark,
Finland, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain and Switzerland.
Furthermore, the reports and technical articles of the European Environment
Agency (EEA) were taken into consideration.
As far as city policies are concerned, three relevant actions were enforced in the
last few years: the creation of the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Urban Policy
(CIPU), ''Plan Cities'' for the requalification of degraded urban areas, predisposed
by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport and the project of national interest
''Smart Cities'' funded by the Ministry of Education and Research in collaboration
with university research groups.
4
Since 2005, sixteen Member States have formally adopted strategy of adaptation: Finland
(2005), Spain (2006), France (2007), Hungary (2008), Denmark (2008), The Netherlands (2008),
UK (2008), Germany (2008), Sweden (2009), Belgium (2010), Portugal (2010), Switzerland
(2012), Malta (2012), Ireland (2012), Austria (2012), Lithuania (2012).Twelve other states are at
an advanced stage adoption of a strategy: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece,
Italy, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia.
