7th European Conference on Sustainable Cities and Towns

A Green and socially responsible economy: a solution in times of crisis

Nearly 1000 registered participants gathered up in Geneva to hear and to discuss if the sustainable Europe could be created through green and socially responsible economy. UBC Commission on Environment participated the conference by facilitating a session on future sustainability management.

Basis of any economy will always lay on natural resources, but what else would a shift to green and socially responsible economy require?

Firstly, the plenary speakers concluded that we have to admit that currently our economy is socially and environmentally irresponsible leading us to vicious circles of unsustainability. Also, there is a need to clarify what are the reasons of the current economic crisis and what are the consequences and make sure that we do not mix them. Unfortunately, there was no time for discussion but obviously there was certain disagreement in the audience regarding the reasons and consequences expressed by the panelists.

In the same moment when the new Community-Led Local Development initiative was introduced, it became clear that the European Commission has acknowledged that the local authorities play a key role on a shift to new economy. One of the urgent tasks listed for the local authorities to start working with was that sustainable investments should be included in the investment portfolio of local authorities.

Between the plenary sessions, discussions in several parallel sessions were getting hot along with the weather outside. Finally, the participants were allowed to see the sun while entering the multiple excursions demonstrating the existing sustainable practices in the beautiful City of Geneva.

On the way to hotel my head was filled with questions: Are the cities able to make the necessary changes or will everything continue as it has always been? Are the cities able to reorganize their resources to be able to respond to the current challenges instead of the challenges of the 20th century? Are there enough initiatives for this change? Is there enough information and support available for the right decisions and can we communicate that information properly.

Text by our rapporteur in Geneva, Switzerland, Pekka Salminen.
7th European conference on sustainable cities & towns

QUEST project gathers together cities interested in sustainable urban mobility planning

 

 Many European cities are facing challenges when it comes to set up and implement truly sustainable mobility policies and measures.  QUEST project has developed a Quality Management tool to help small and medium sized cities to set-up and further develop their sustainable mobility policies with the assistance of an external expert - the QUEST auditor. The aim of QUEST is to support cities in making real progress towards a more sustainable urban transport system and help them to find solutions to achieve excellence in sustainable urban mobility planning!

During the QUEST project nearly 50 cities, with different levels of experience and contexts, from 14 European countries have gone through the QUEST process, demonstrating that there is a high level of demand for advice on sustainable urban mobility planning.

QUEST cities meet in 5 international workshops

QUEST does not aim only to help cities to improve their policies but wants to facilitate active exchange of experiences with other cities. During the spring 2013 QUEST organises 5 workshops, where cities involved with QUEST have a chance to discuss the most pressing challenges in relation to urban mobility with their European peers, but also share their good practices. During the workshops the cities also have an opportunity to compare their experiences about the QUEST tool.

The workshop participants admire the public bicycle hire scheme in Bath was  introduced  as part of the Civitas Renaissance project. 

 

6 QUEST cities met in Bath, England

5 QUEST cities Halmstad and Lidköping, Sweden; Opava, Czech Republic; Ptuj, Slovenia and Satu Mare, Romania  were invited to Bath, a World Heritage site, to familiarize themselves with the mobility solutions Bath has implemented and to discuss the results and outcomes of QUEST. UBC Commission on Environment  assisted the organisation of the workshop.

The workshop results showed that QUEST had helped cities to reflect upon their mobility policies in a critical way and  it really helped them to take a next step towards sustainable urban mobility policies. The external QUEST auditor facilitated the process and helped to view the work from different point of view and to find blank and weak spot in own planning and policy practices, but in a collaborative manner acting as a critical friend. One of the biggest benefits of QUEST is that it helps cities to identify which measures are effective in achieving energy savings in transport, and which are possible to achieve. In other words QUEST helps cities to make the right choices.

During the workshop the participants discussed the measures the cities had implement in different fields of urban mobility.

QUEST also facilitated the establishment of a dialogue among different groups like the city departments, service providers, end users, private companies etc. and the creation of a common problem understanding among local stakeholders.The participants agreed that transport and mobility planning is a cross-sectoral issue that concerns many different fields such as education, urban planning and health sector.

If your city is interested to join the QUEST family, please contact the project team and it will find the right auditor for you! QUEST is also looking for new auditors to join the QUEST team of experts.

More information about the QUEST tool can be found at: www.quest-project.eu.
Download the QUEST Brochure!

For more information, please contact:
Maija Rusanen
Project Coordinator
Union of the Baltic Cities Commission on Environment
e-mail: firstname.lastname@ubc.net

Mobilizing political will and commitment to address water issues in Belarus

"Joint actions for clean water" was the title of the Water Management Policy Forum that was organized on 27 March 2013 in Minsk, Belarus. After the Environmental and Technological forums, it  was the third  bilingual event organized by the international technical assistance project PRESTO (Project on Reduction of the Eutrophication of the Baltic Sea Today) lead by UBC Commission on Environment. PRESTO project develops joint actions between the EU and Belarus to combat transnational pollution risk and eutrophication of the Baltic Sea. The project has been officially registered in Belarus in May 2012 and supports the goals of both the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region and the National strategy for sustainable development and Water strategy of the Republic of Belarus for the period to 2020. Project supports Belarusian cities in their attempt to reach the HELCOM recommendation in nutrient removal from their wastewaters.

"It is impossible to solve the Baltic Sea’s challenges without the holistic approach to its entire basin. EU cannot achieve a healthy status of the Baltic Sea alone and thus cooperation with Russia and Belarus are of great importance" said Mikhail Durkin from Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, HELCOM.

Water Management Forum participants. Photo by Tuuli Ojala, John Nurminen Foundation

More than 100 invited guests from Belarus and Baltic Sea Region including representatives of Ministries, research experts and NGO’s attended the Forum. Intention of the Policy Forum in Minsk was to accelerate cooperation, investments and funding possibilities between EU member states and Belarus by drawing together different experts across the water management sector. The Forum provided a platform for policy dialogue and promoted best practices in sustainable management of water resources.

“Sustainable water management is essential for our future and requires international cooperation. Year 2013 is officially recognized by UN General Assembly as International Year of Water Cooperation. We hope to intensify the cooperation in the Baltic Sea region to increase cost effectiveness of our common actions towards better water management and better state of environment” stated Björn Grönholm from UBC (Union of the Baltic Cities) Commission on Environment which is responsible for overall management of the project.

Laura Saijonmaa from the Ministry of Environment of Finland spoke at the Forum and highlighted the importance of communication across the borders and common goals in the framework of HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP). “It has been calculated that in a long term, benefits of BSAP implementation will significantly exceed the costs thus more action from all stakeholders in the region is needed. New innovative approaches, capacity building and alignment of funding lies in the core of the future success” said Ms. Saijonmaa.

According to Sergei Zavyalov from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus “Much has been done recently in the field of water resources management in Belarus but much more is ahead. We are actively working on implementation of objectives of the Water Strategy for the period up to 2020 which foresees among others harmonization of EU and Belarus water legislation, revision of Water Code of the Republic of Belarus and increased public participation in decision-making”. Belarus has signed two transnational agreements regarding river basin management: trilateral agreement Belarus-Lithuania-Russia and bilateral intergovernmental agreement with the Russian Federation.  

In the afternoon session the possibilities of investments in water sector in Belarus and available financing instruments in the Baltic Sea Region were presented to all participants. Invited speakers shared their experiences on public-private partnerships and presented examples of successful investments in Belarus.

Panel discussion lead by prof. Dr-Ing Matthias Barjenbruch from Technical University of Berlin.
Photo by Tuuli Ojala, John Nurminen Foundation

The Forum concluded with the panel discussion where not only successful stories but also challenges in water sector were discussed. It became clear that overcoming these challenges requires sustained commitment, cooperation and investment of all stakeholders. Involvement and active communication is crucial for developing and implementing new opportunities and solutions for more sustainable water management policies and practices in future.

For further information please contact:

Pekka Salminen
Project Manager

Union of the Baltic Cities Commission on Environment Secretariat

Phone: +358 44 9075999

e-mail: firstname.lastname@ubc.net

Check the Forum newsflash from the local media coverage.

Text by: Agnieszka Ilola, UBC EnvCom, Project Officer, PRESTO Project

BSR InnoShip roundtable in the Baltic Sea Day, St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg hosted the XIV International Environmental Forum “Baltic Sea Day” on the 20-22nd of March, which gathered over 600 participants from the HELCOM member countries. 

This year a lot of special attention was paid to international projects and initiatives which make input for fulfillment of international commitments. As BSR InnoShip (Baltic Sea cooperation for reducing ship and port emissions through knowledge- & innovation-based competitiveness) has had close and successful co-operation with the City of St. Petersburg in implementing the project actions, this year we had a chance to host an own roundtable session during the Baltic Sea Day.

Mr. Dmitry Frank-Kamenetsky presenting
the emission measurements around
the city of St.Petersburg

The topics discussed concentrated mostly on the main outputs of the project, presenting a cause and effect –chain. The Meteorological Institute of Finland submitted AIS-data about ship traffic and emissions collected between the years 2006-2011, from which it could easily be defined that although the traffic on the Baltic Sea is increasing, it is also highly affected by the dominant economic situation. The actual negative impacts of emissions were discussed on a Pan-Baltic level, but also more regionally by the examples from the measurements around the area of St. Petersburg. Also some new technologies for diesel engine exhaust treatment (e.g. a combined DBD reactor-catalyst assembly) were introduced.

During all discussions in both the Baltic Sea Day and BSR InnoShip roundtable it became clear, that the attitudes towards emission restrictions from shipping are still somewhat different around the Baltic Sea area. Although the IMO regulations are ratified widely, the attitudes vary from east to west – as the western part sees also possibilities in the regulations, the east is more worried about the negative economic influences and modal shift. A more explicit guidance for implementing the regulations is needed from the governmental level especially in Russia.

The St. Petersburg flood prevention facility complex

In connection to a project partner meeting, BSR InnoShip partners also had an opportunity for a site visit at the St. Petersburg Dam. The dam is originally built for protecting the city from storm surges, and it separates the Neva Bay from the rest of the Gulf of Finland. The principles of all functions were presented to us by local employees. The dam also serves other important functions, as there are numerous wastewater treatment plants around the dam for cleaning the water in Neva Bay. As one of the greatest construction projects in Russia, the sight was really impressive.

So, this time the BSR InnoShip partners had the pleasure of enjoying the Russian hospitality and had also a glimpse of the beauty of the city – St. Petersburg is definitely a place to visit!

Author: Mia Hytti, project coordinator, BSR InnoShip project

European Sustainable Energy Week - Time to display how UBC member cities lead in sustainable energy initiatives

 

The European Sustainable Energy Week 2013 (EUSEW)  is an event organised by the European Commission that promotes renewable energy and energy efficiency. Every year, hundreds of European municipalities take part by organising their local Energy Day. By doing so, they become part of EUSEW and a European movement, gain visibility for their projects and attract the attention from media. All organisers will receive support in communication from the EUSEW secretariat.

As a city, you can sign up with an event at the Energy Days during EUSEW, which provides citizens of the city a opportunity to learn and discuss sustainable energy solutions in their city as well as putting the city on the European map. By signing up with an event the city:

• Raise the profile and improve the image of your organisation, town, city or region
• Become a part of a European movement
• Spread your sustainable energy technologies and practices 
• Attract media attention and make headlines
• Receive additional visibility and support for your event from the EUSEW Secretariat.

To submit your Energy Day, please create an account on the EUSEW website and fill in the application form under ‘Organise an event’.

For more information visit the EUSEW website
Or watch the short introduction video below

 

Networking Covenant of Mayors - The Baltic Sea Region Covenant Club video

A new video has been produced where several European Mayors express their endorsement to the European Covenant Clubs where cities that have signed up for the Covenant of Mayors can share and discuss their ideas in order to decrease their cities CO₂ emissions by 20pct in 2020.

UBC Commission on Environment hosts the Baltic Sea Region Covenant Club. The club consists of an interactive mailing list where questions can be raised and challenges discussed. The BSR Covenant Club also arranges a series of workshop where specific elements of the obligations within the Covenant of Mayors can be discussed in an open forum. Next event will take place in Tallinn on 12 April in relation to the Joint Commission Meeting, where the overall theme is Sustainable Transport.
You are welcome to join the BSR Covenant Club discussion list or contact UBC EnvCom for further information.

Investments in four wastewater treatment plants in Belarus are accelerating!

PRESTO project aims at decreasing excess load of nutrients to the water bodies by carrying out investments in enhanced nutrient removal at four wastewater treatment plants in Belarus: Baranovichi, Grodno, Molodechno and Vitebsk. 

Preparation of investments started in 2012 with the technical audits at each of the wastewater treatment plant. The technical audits were carried out by Pöyry Finland Oy, hired by John Nurminen Foundation which is in charge of investment part in PRESTO. 

The work included gathering of needed baseline data on the current technical processes, planning of the most cost effective and feasible solutions for improved nutrient removal as well as preparing tender documentation for the investments that are going to be realized. The necessary technology to decrease the concentration of phosphorus in purified wastewater in order to achieve HELCOM recommendation was selected.

Technical reports became the solid basis for further work and showcase the diverse challenges to be addressed in each of the four waste water treatment plants. The four wastewater treatment plants are now about to complete their first tender procedure in PRESTO for the local design to adjust the technical designs into Belarusian local context. 

As a next step, tenders for construction works, equipment supply and installation will be launched.

All four PRESTO investing partners are discharging their waters to Neman and Daugava rivers which belong to Baltic Sea catchment area. As a consequence, reducing trans boundary nutrient load from Belarus will improve not only water quality of European rivers but also the state of the Baltic Sea. More information on PRESTO project at: www.prestobalticsea.eu

Investing partner Baranovichi WWTP

Text by: Agnieszka Ilola, UBC Environmental Commission, Project Officer, PRESTO Project