cities and climate change

CITIES AND CLIMATE CHANGEa knowledge management program of the MarseilleCenter for Mediterranean IntegrationDecember 2009

CMI The Marseille Center for Mediterranean In-tegration was launched in October 2009 with the mandate of creating a platform for integration in the Mediterranean region through high-level policy dia-logue, dissemination and knowledge management in key development areas which are of primary im-portance for the Mediterranean region: urban and spatial development; skills, employment and labor mobility; environment and water; transport and lo-gistics; knowledge economy, innovation and tech-nology. Founding members are the Governments of Egypt, France, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia as well as the World Bank and the Europe-an Investment Bank. Other members are likely to join the Center in the near future.

CENTER FOR MEDITERRANEAN INTEGRATION

THE MARSEILLE

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expertise resulting from their interna-tional 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 counter-parts 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 ac-tive involvement of centers of excel-lence, 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.

FOCUS COUNTRIES The Marseille Center for Mediterranean Integration makes its knowledge management ser-vices available to the countries of the southern and eastern coast of the Med-iterranean. 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 pro-moted, financed and implemented by two of the CMI partners: the Caisse des Dépôts, a French public financial insti-tution, and the World Bank. They have committed to a three-year partnership to combine the policy and technical

URBAN VULNERABILITY TO CLI-MATE CHANGE The primary threats identified so far in the Mediterranean cities are: a) sea-level rise, coastal erosion and storm surges; b) urban

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 im-pacts 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 pri-vate developers, building research centers and energy efficiency agencies in order to address some of these issues.

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flooding; c) water scarcity and decreas-ing water quality; d) increasing ambient air temperatures; and e) risks of earth-quakes and tsunamis. The program will assist central and city governments

CLIMATE CHANGECITIES AND

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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 employ-ment. It also includes improvements in the functioning and re-tooling of key urban systems, such as water distri-bution, waste water treatment, solid waste management, street lighting, and the movement of goods within the city in order to make them more energy- efficient. The program will provide the review of models, experiences and best

practices of climate-appropriate urban development initiatives in the EU coun-tries 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 eco-logical and carbon footprints in order to assist stakeholders in finding climate- appropriate solutions.

in forecasting the impacts of climate change on specific urban locations via the production of urban vulnerability maps and the preparation of adapta-tion action plans. Adaptation measures would primarily consist of urban plan-ning actions to prevent urbanization in vulnerable areas, actions to protect the built up areas and reinforce critical ur-ban infrastructure (such as coastal de-fence 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 early-warning systems and civil protection).

CLIMATE-APPROPRIATE URBAN DEVELOPMENT The concept of

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ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN BUILDINGS Single-family dwellings, multi-story apartment blocks and large facilities such as schools, hospitals, and admin-istrative centers play an important role in energy-consumption and related car-bon 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 archi-tecture and building techniques, modern construction is causing an increasing dependence on energy-intensive cool-ing, bound to get worse as ambient air temperatures will increase further. Intelligent design, appropriate insula-tion specifications and techniques, in-corporation of solar energy technology,

passive cooling systems, and energy-efficient 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 authori-ties.

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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 tech-nical and policy contributions that would facilitate the exchanges and integration across the Mediterranean region. They will bring together policy-makers, prac-titioners and academicians, will be pre-ceded by preparatory research work, and followed up with the dissemination of the recommendations, outcomes and materi-als. The impacts expected from the policy workshops are awareness-raising, con-tributing to the definition of reform pro-cesses, and providing access to updated knowledge by key practitioners. A first re-gional workshop on “Cities, Climate and

the Mediterranean” was held in Marseille in June 2009 as a program precursor.

GUIDANCE MATERIALS The pur-pose of the CMI, and therefore of its urban programs, is to be part of the debate on key development and inte-gration policy topics, and to become a pivotal part of the existing regional net-works. The program will produce and disseminate guidance materials and in-formation on the issues of urban climate change in the Mediterranean region, re-sulting from the networking, the policy workshops, the studies and technical advisory services. The programs also in-herit materials from the Europe-MENA urban knowledge program which oper-ated 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 Govern-ments 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 servic-es will be provided by the regional cen-ters 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.

DELIVERABLESPROGRAM

ProGrAM DIrECTIoNAnthony G. Bigio, World BankPascale Chabrillat, Caisse des Depôts

CoNTACT INForMATIoN Olivier Lavinal olavinal@worldbank.org (+33-4) 91 99 24 48

Pierre-Marie Villettepierre-marie.villette@caissedesdepots.fr (+33-1) 58 50 11 34

Center for Mediterranean IntegrationVilla Valmer, 271 Corniche Kennedy, Marseille, France 13007