The INTERREG Italy-Croatia Joint_SECAP Project: A Collaborative Approach for Adaptation Planning

Timothy Daniel Brownlee,Piera Pellegrino,Chiara Camaioni,Stefano Mugnoz,Stefano Magaudda

doi:10.3390/su14010404

Timothy Daniel Brownlee, Piera Pellegrino + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010404

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Abstract

With regard to the scientific debate which highlights the potential of joint climate planning, there are few concrete experiences in Europe where this approach has been applied. This contribution focuses on critical methodological and application aspects of the processes underlying the development of Joint Plans for Sustainable Energy and Climate in the supra-municipal area as emerged from the direct participation of the authors in the Joint_SECAP project funded by the Interreg Italia-Croatia programme. This paper presents a comparative analysis of nine case studies in Italy and Croatia with a focus on fundamental aspects of the planning process: the governance model, shared knowledge framework, risk and vulnerability assessment, and participatory process. The analysis and comparison of the Joint_SECAP experiences confirm that joint climate planning, developed in the framework of the European Covenant of Mayors (CoM) initiative, is effective for creating synergy between local authorities and for defining and implementing strategies and actions for adaptation to the territorial scale. Finally, the research indicates some recommendations to overcome the barriers that impede the spread and effectiveness of this approach to climate planning. In particular, it highlights the need to enhance collaboration between local authorities, regions, and CoM coordinators.

Highlights

In the last decade, the European Commission has made significant efforts to promote sustainable energy and climate policies in member states
Joint_SECAP project, most local administrations involved in the pilot areas already had an awareness of the objectives set by the Covenant of Mayors (CoM)
The analysis and comparison of the nine case studies in the Joint_SECAP project confirm that the joint climate planning developed within the framework of the CoM urban adaptation tool is effective for creating synergy between local entities and defining and implementing local adaptation projects and actions

Summary

Introduction

The European Commission has made significant efforts to promote sustainable energy and climate policies in member states (from the 2008 Climate and Energy Package and Directives 2009/28/EC, 2010/31/EU, and 2012/27/EU to the 2021 EUStrategy on Adaptation to Climate Change). The 2021 Strategy vision is that “in 2050, the EU will be a climate-resilient society, fully adapted to the unavoidable impacts of climate change”, thanks to a “smarter, swifter and more systemic [adaptation]” and by “stepping up international action”. This can be translated into “improving knowledge and data; supporting policy development and climate risk management at all levels; and accelerating adaptation actions” [1]. In 2015, the CoM evolved into the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, intensifying the objective of mitigation and integrating two other pillars: adaptation and access to energy.

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