A holistic approach towards climate neutrality: Integrating climate change mitigation & adaptation

Hybrid session  
Online session  
Physical session  

20 October 9:45 - 11:45

Actions to mitigate climate change and those to adapt to its impacts are two sides of the same coin: both are fundamental components of effective climate policy, as well as being central to the commitment made by European Covenant of Mayors (CoM) Signatories that undertake to develop Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAPs).

It makes sense to consider these streams of action together – not only to exploit synergies (reducing climate risks at the same time as carbon emissions) but also to avoid lock-in to counterproductive measures (e.g. investing in energy infrastructure likely to be damaged by extreme weather events). Yet despite the many good reasons to integrate them, there are barriers to doing so.

Within a city administration, one major obstacle to overcome is that responsibilities for mitigation and adaptation are likely to belong to staff in different departments. This means that disciplinary silos need to be bridged in order to bring the two streams together, which may demand changes to inter-departmental dynamics and working processes. In addition, interactions between measures with potential for both mitigation and adaptation continue to be under-explored.

This session brings together a range of perspectives and concrete examples on integrating adaptation and mitigation, with a view to inspiring further thinking and action on this subject. Challenges and potential ways to overcome them will be discussed.

Guiding questions
  1. How can benefits and trade-offs of integrated measures be identified? 
  2. How can an integrated climate working group help overcome “silo-thinking”? 

Speakers

Evi Tzanakaki

Project Manager, CRES-Centre for Renewable Energy Sources and Saving

Evi Tzanakaki, Project Manager,  CRES-Centre for Renewable Energy Sources and Saving

Architect, MSc, Senior Energy Expert with 30 years experience in CRES on sustainable energy in buildings and the urban environment.  She has managed numerous European projects on integrated energy design and has participated in several relevant legislative initiatives. Since 2012 she is Covenant of Mayors National Coordinator Contact and has supported Greek municipalities in developing and implementing SEAPs. She is also instructor for the e-learning post-graduate program of the University of Athens ‘Sustainable Energy Design of Buildings and the Built Environment’, a reviewer of the Journal ‘Energy in Buildings’ and ‘Solar Energy’ a trainer of building energy inspectors.

Katharina Schrot

Researcher and coordination team of LIFE project Evolving Regions, TU Dortmund University

Katharina Schrot, Researcher and coordination team of LIFE project Evolving Regions, TU Dortmund University

Katharina’s work focuses on climate change adaptation on a regional level in rather rural areas, social innovation and transformative governance.

Oliver Moran

Chair, Climate Action Committee, Cork City Council

Oliver Moran, Chair, Climate Action
Committee, Cork City Council

Oliver Moran is a Green Party councillor for the north east ward of Cork City Council. He was elected in 2019 and is chair of the city’s Climate Action Committee.

Nermina Suljevic

Head of Department for Project Management, City of Sarajevo

Nermina Suljevic, Head of Department for Project Management, City of Sarajevo

Head of Department for Project Management at the City of Sarajevo, working on projects from different fields, but with the same goal- to make Sarajevo the best city to live, work and visit and to improve the quality of life for all residents of Sarajevo.

Jānis Ikaunieks

Director, Riga Energy Agency

Jānis Ikaunieks, Director, Riga Energy Agency

Janis Ikaunieks is a certified energy auditor. As a director of the Riga Energy Agency, Janis is leading the implementation of building renovation wave, development of Riga City Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan and decarbonization of district heating systems. Janis is also a member of the Riga City Council Heat Supply Commission. Throughout his career, Janis has gained experience in different Horizon 2020 and Interreg projects related to energy efficiency, renewable energy sources, circular economy, district heating and other topics. Janis graduated Riga Technical University with a master’s degree in environmental science. Over the last three years, he focused on developing new financial instruments for energy efficiency.

Moderators

Giorgia Rambelli

Coordinator, International Dimension, Covenant of Mayors Office

Giorgia Rambelli, Coordinator, International Dimension, Covenant of Mayors Office

Giorgia coordinates the International Dimension of the EU Covenant of Mayors and also works with the Secretariat of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy.

Arthur Hinsch

Officer, Covenant of Mayors Office

Arthur Hinsch, Officer, Covenant of Mayors Office

Arthur is part of the Covenant of Mayors Office bringing together signatory cities to engage in peer-learning and capacity building around climate change mitigation and adaptation measures.