Urban Klima 2050 presents its coastal adaptation actions at COP28
02/12/2023
The Director of Natural Heritage and Climate Change, Adolfo Uriarte, took part in the session on 'Nature-based solutions on the coast: Adaptation opportunities', in which he detailed the actions carried out in Bakio, Bermeo and Zarautz.
The Department of Economic Development, Sustainability and the Environment’s Deputy Regional Minister for the Environment and Sustainability, Aitor Aldasoro, and the Environmental Advisor, Imanol Goenaga, complete the Basque Government delegation that has travelled to Dubai to participate in various events.
Through the Basque Government, the LIFE IP Urban Klima 2050 project is at the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2023 (COP28) which takes place from 30 November to 12 December in Dubai (United Arab Emirates).
The Basque Country's largest climate action project is one of the experiences that the Basque delegation has presented as an example of the Basque Country's long history of local and regional planning to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
It was presented at the Local Climate Action Summit, which brings together national and sub-national leaders from 1-2 December to establish a new paradigm for fully integrated climate action at all levels. At this event, the Basque Country is at the helm of more than 40 sub-national governments and regional networks that have signed a joint declaration with the aim of claiming their fundamental role in the deployment of climate action, as well as greater recognition in order to accelerate it.
Urban Klima 2050 coastal adaptation measures in Bakio, Bermeo and Zarautz
On Friday 1 December, Adolfo Uriarte took part in the session 'Nature-based solutions on the coast: Adaptation opportunities', along with representatives from Andalusia and Catalonia, with the aim of fostering collaboration and learning through the exchange of good practices.
More specifically, Uriarte presented the coastal adaptation actions being carried out by Urban Klima 2050 in three Basque municipalities: Bakio, Bermeo and Zarautz. The aim of the Bakio project is to protect the Estepona River against flooding and to improve the environment by creating a marsh and a flood forest next to the river to reduce the risk of floods affecting the urban centre. Bermeo, for its part, is working on the recovery of the Tonpoi natural space, developing a peri-urban green infrastructure, located next to the town centre, for public use with criteria adapted to climate change. Zarautz is continuing with the blue-green ring for adaptation to climate change in the municipality and is working on the study of alternatives for the adaptation of the urban waterfront.
Active participation of the Basque Country in different events
The delegation led by the Deputy Regional Minister for Environmental Sustainability, Aitor Aldasoro, and the Director of Natural Heritage and Climate Change, Adolfo Uriarte, will present the main advances achieved in terms of adaptation to climate change in the Basque Country thanks to the policies implemented by the Basque Government. It is precisely the European Urban Klima 2050 or Regions4 Climate projects, the Kostaegoki project, or its membership of the Mission for Adaptation to Climate Change that have led to the Basque Country being recognised as a leading region in this field within the European Union.
COP28 will serve to share these experiences through participation in different events and an agenda of bilateral meetings with other governments and sub-national regions.
The agenda began with the participation of the Deputy Regional Minister, Aitor Aldasoro, in the round table on 'Decarbonisation and Resilience in Sub-national Governments in Latin America and Europe. From theory to implementation', along with representatives of European and Latin American cities. Furthermore, the Basque Country will take part in the General Assembly of the Under2 Coalition on 3 December, of which it is a member of the Executive Committee, and the Director of Natural Heritage and Climate Change will take part in two events in the pavilion of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on 6 December.
