Valencia’s integration of adaptation and mitigation missions’
By: Ana Escario Chust, INGENIO (CSIC-UPV), Universitat Politécnica de València
Although cities occupy only 4% of the EU’s land area, they are home to 75% of its citizens. Additionally, cities account for a significant portion of CO2 emissions, more than 70%. Given this, cities stand as crucial actors in climate mitigation, being vital to support them in accelerating their green transformation. With the aim of addressing these greatest urban challenges and delivering concrete solutions, the European Commission launched an innovation program with the Mission to create “100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030”. With ambitious goals, this mission brings together local authorities, citizens, businesses, investors, and regional and national authorities to work collaboratively. At the same time, another Mission was launched to intensify efforts to build urban capacity to withstand and adapt to climate change impacts. The “Adaptation to Climate Change Mission: support at least 150 European regions and communities to become climate resilient by 2030” was then created. Since then, cities have been working in a dual approach: to address climate change, we must both reduce emissions and enhance our resilience.
Valencia, a coastal city in the eastern region of Spain with almost 800.000 inhabitants, embarked on its mission to achieve climate neutrality in 2030 through a strategic approach that started in 2020 with the approval of the Missions València 2030 strategic framework. This framework has been since then part of the Valencia 2030 Urban Agenda. In 2022, the city successfully applied to the Call for Expression of Interest addressed to cities by the European Commission, and was chosen as one of the 112 European cities taking part in the EU Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities. Since then, the València 2030 Mission initiative vertebrates, in a comprehensive and integrated approach, a systemic work to address sustainability in various dimensions such as mobility and transport, energy, economy and industry, biodiversity, housing and building, urbanism and habitat.
In the same year when Valencia was selected for the Climate Neutral City Mission, the city and the people working on the Mission acknowledged the need of adopting an inclusive approach that considers both climate mitigation and adaptation. The need to prioritize the synergies between them has been imperative for the city of Valencia, leaving no room for alternative approaches. The first local Mission was therefore redesigned to expand its scope and ambition, by including climate adaptation in addition to mitigation, and being therefore renamed as the “València 2030 Climate Mission’’. The city became also a signatory to the Charter of the Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change later in 2022, joining officially both European Missions related to climate change. By addressing these areas holistically within the “Climate Mission’’, the city hopes to get closer to effectively tackling the challenges posed by climate change, which are already a reality in the city.
Regarding climate change mitigation, Valencia possesses an inherent potential for resilience thanks to its natural attributes, including a green belt consisting of cultivated fields and a natural protected area. The foundations of the climate mitigation initiatives are therefore established around the principles of re-naturalization, biodiversity preservation, and the strengthening of these areas. The city also has abundant urban green spaces, such as the Turia riverbed that crosses the city in the shape of an 8km park, that are intended to be expanded. Other examples are the implementation of urban gardens and the future super blocks and green corridors. At the political level, the region of Valencia has showcased its commitment to addressing climate impacts through progressive initiatives, exemplified by the implementation of the Climate Change Law. This visionary legislation incorporates the notion of climate shelters within the city to combat extreme heat waves. All these initiatives serve as an example of a valuable asset for both climate adaptation and mitigation.
For Valencia, the synergies and trade-offs between adaptation and mitigation strategies to maximize their combined benefits extends beyond the realm of re-naturalization. They are also a matter of knowledge sharing (such as data, experiences and strategies), a multi-level alignment of climate policies and actions (a territorial approach that combines the city level with its metropolitan and regional area) and social equity, ensuring that both climate consequences and their mitigation do not become another source of inequality in the city.
Regarding the last, the impacts of climate change on vulnerable communities are widely recognized by both researchers and practitioners. In urban areas, for instance, these groups are particularly susceptible to the adverse effects of extreme temperatures. This can be due to reasons such as lower availability of economic resources to alleviate high temperatures at home through, for instance, isolating the house — among other measures. They can also be far from having access to invest in other green and decentralized energy sources such as solar panels. In order to avoid heading towards a transition that can deepen these social differences, Valencia recognizes the crucial need to, first, acknowledging this reality and, second, taking proactive measures to address it.
Additionally, as with the adaptation, there is growing concern about the potential effects of mitigation actions on social inequalities, as evidenced by experiences in other Spanish cities and an expanding body of literature. As an example, one phenomenon that requires particular attention is the growing desirability of green areas, which can lead to what is called green gentrification. This trend contributes to rising housing prices, speculation, and the consequent displacement of traditional neighbors and vulnerable communities to less attractive areas with lower amount of green spaces and without these climate-related features.
By merging these missions, it becomes evident that adaptation and mitigation are not mutually exclusive. They are complementary strategies that should be pursued together to effectively tackle the complex challenges of climate change. To tackle these issues, Valencia is putting emphasis, not only in the need to merge the intertwined missions, but also in the significance of a social justice approach in addressing them. By prioritizing these concerns and placing them at the forefront, the city of Valencia can actively work towards a just transition that benefits everyone rather than just a few.
Viable Cities är ett nationellt program inriktat på innovation för klimatneutrala och hållbara städer. I satsningen Klimatneutrala städer 2030 — med verktyget Klimatkontrakt 2030 — samarbetar programmet med 23 städer och sju myndigheter för att snabba på klimatomställningen. Programmet får stöd i en gemensam satsning av Vinnova, Energimyndigheten och Formas. Viable Cities samordnas av KTH. viablecities.se
This text is written in the context of the next EU Creating Green Cities conference 14–15 June 2023 — How can we create sustainable, beautiful and inclusive cities? The conference is organized by the Swedish Ministry of Rural Affairs and Infrastructure, Government Offices of Sweden, in collaboration with Boverket — National Board of Housing, Building and Planning, and SLU Movium Think Tank, and in alliance with governmental authorities in the Swedish Council of Sustainable Cities. Viable Cities is a partner in the event. The conference programme includes international keynote speakers, cross-thematic panel sessions and digital training sessions. The city of Valencia will attend the event, sharing its vision on adaptation and mitigation through Jordi Peris Blanes and Ana Escario Chust in different sessions and workshops.
