LIFE-CLIMCOOP

LIFE-CLIMCOOP

Cities and local businesses working together for climate adaptation

LIFE19 CCA/HU/001320

Short summary

The overall objective of the LIFE-CLIMCOOP project, which focuses on the implementation in Kazincbarcika, is to develop a public-private partnership – cooperation between the municipal government and local business actors, in our country and in socio-economically similar areas in Central and Eastern Europe, where stakeholders act collectively to reduce local climate risks and take concerted action to strengthen joint climate adaptation in vulnerable urban and business areas.

In the first phase of the four-year project, Kazincbarcika and BorsodChem Zrt. have developed a joint adaptation climate strategy based on a climate vulnerability assessment, a methodological guide and a related water management model, which will be followed shortly by an online adaptation good practice collection. All of this is intended to contribute substantially to the joint climate adaptation strategies of other municipalities and local companies, both at home and abroad.

Kazincbarcika and BorsodChem Zrt. have developed and continuously operate cooperation mechanisms to promote climate change measures: the city and the company have established a joint Climate Platform as a coordinating body, a unique Climate Fund to support local small-scale adaptation measures, and a Future Research Group to raise climate awareness and knowledge base. In addition, the integration of climate change adaptation considerations into the operational practices and regulations of Kazincbarcika and BorsodChem Zrt. is actively ongoing, and a joint heat alert plan of the city and the industrial company will be prepared soon.

Small-scale nature-based adaptation measures in Kazincbarcika include rainwater management, expansion of urban green areas, green roofs, conversion of former industrial sites into multifunctional adaptation facilities, creation of ecological corridors and climate-related updates of the urban irrigation plan. The project has developed and tested smart adaptation tools to increase the adaptive capacity and knowledge base of the population, including the development of an urban tree inventory and an interactive inventory of local small watercourses.

In order to reuse grey water of different origins (industrial wastewater, municipal rainwater, treated municipal wastewater) and to optimise the water use of BorsodChem Zrt., a prototype device was developed, which will help to reduce the water withdrawal from the Sajó River for industrial purposes in the long term by applying the solutions tested during the project period on a large scale. Joint activities also include education and training programmes to disseminate the results widely, as well as ongoing communication and dissemination work. Progress and monitoring of the environmental, social and economic impacts will be ensured through extensive monitoring activities during the project and in the follow-up period.

LIFE19 CCA/HU/001320 – LIFE-CLIMCOOP 

• The LIFE-CLIMCOOP project was supported by the LIFE Programme of the European Union, the Western Balkans Green Center Nonprofit Llc and the Ministry of Energy.