CLIMATE STRATEGY OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT OF ERZSÉBETVÁROS, DISTRICT VII, BUDAPEST
Global climate change is one of the most significant challenges of our time, with a major direct and indirect impact on the life of society. Great emphasis must be placed both on significantly reducing emissions and on adapting to impacts that are already appearing and those to come. Although climate change is a global process, dealing with its impacts takes the form of local tasks. Adaptation to the expected changes is determined by local conditions, but for success it is important that the local strategy can be integrated into Budapest-level, national and global systems.
The Local Government of Erzsébetváros, District VII, Budapest prepared its climate strategy as part of the KEHOP 1.2.1 project1. Under the terms of the call, the Climate Strategy must be prepared based on the Methodological Guide2 (hereinafter: Methodology) prepared under the supervision of the National Adaptation Center Department of the Mining and Geological Survey of Hungary, commissioned by the Alliance of Climate-Friendly Settlements.
This Climate Strategy was prepared in parallel with the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan for 2030 (SECAP, hereinafter: Climate Protection Action Plan), prepared based on the methodological guide of the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, which the Council of the Local Government of Erzsébetváros, District VII, Budapest discussed at the consultation on December 16, 2020, and which the Mayor then adopted in resolution no. 964/2020. In the Climate Protection Action Plan, Erzsébetváros committed to achieving a 40% emission reduction as a result of mitigation measures, and developed an adaptation action plan and related measures to strengthen its capacity to adapt to climate change.
Read Erzsébetváros’s climate strategy here
Climate strategy in Erzsébetváros – what is it all about?
Erzsébetváros also agrees that urgent action on climate protection is needed at the local level too: Council resolution 399/2019. (XII.18.) declared a climate emergency, and the local government prepared the district’s Climate Strategy and Climate Protection Action Plan.
Let’s be clear: climate change does not threaten the existence of planet Earth, but us – the people living here – making our living conditions much worse, if not downright unbearable. Beyond us, it endangers other forms of life, above all by causing the extinction of many animal species, which is already happening. Let’s act against it! Individually and together.
Global warming is caused by excessive amounts of greenhouse gases – in particular carbon dioxide and methane – so it is above all their emissions that must be reduced, yes, here locally too.
In a big city, the effects of climate change that cause the most suffering are overheating, drought, sudden and unusually heavy rainfall, and floods on a scale not seen before. We have already experienced these in recent years. We need to transform our homes and streets so that they offer relief and protection against these effects.
We need a new mindset, we need to learn new routines, and we need to pass this knowledge on to each other, young and old, so that many generations of Erzsébetváros residents can continue to live here and enjoy city life.
Fortunately, Erzsébetváros has no heavily polluting industry. Still, let’s see what makes up most of the district’s greenhouse gas emissions. Indeed, the largest share, almost half, comes from heating and energy use in residential buildings! Educational, healthcare and office buildings, together with commercial and hospitality buildings, account for another third. As the district covers a very small area, emissions from motor vehicles directly affecting the district are relatively low.
Erzsébetváros has set the goal of reducing the district’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 40% by 2030 compared to the 2011 base year. Why exactly this much? Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports that, to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees by 2030 and prevent irreversible, runaway warming processes from starting, everyone has to achieve this much – even small players such as a Budapest district or a family.
To achieve this, the first goal is effective insulation of buildings, as it reduces heating demand in winter and cooling demand in summer. Increasing the efficiency of heating systems plays an important role, so that the desired indoor temperature can be reached with less fuel. Wherever possible, electricity demand should be met with renewable energy, which in Erzsébetváros may mean solar panel systems.
The number of transport and delivery vehicles in Erzsébetváros must be reduced not only to cut greenhouse gases, but also because their particulate emissions are unhealthy for residents, and greening has to share the space taken up by on-street parking and traffic.
Adapting to a warming climate – that is, preserving our quality of life – requires even more visible changes. In such a densely built-up inner-city environment, overheating in summer can become unbearable: temperatures can be 5–10 degrees higher than in the garden suburbs, and the overheated pavements and buildings do not allow cooling even at night. This is called the heat island effect. We can counter it by increasing green areas and the number of leafy trees – at the expense of currently paved surfaces: be it a shady pedestrian street, a green roof, a green wall, a new park or street trees.
Greening also improves the ability of surfaces to retain rainwater, avoiding the floods that occasionally sweep through our streets after a cloudburst.
Vulnerable groups, above all older people and small children, must be especially protected from heat that is hard for the body to bear.
Erzsébetváros considers it important that these goals are achieved through the cooperation and shared will of all stakeholders (all groups of residents, the local government, other institutions, employers and service providers). This also requires that we all get to know the good ideas and opportunities the district and the community offer, and adopt the new mindset and patterns of action that help us preserve humanity on Earth.
The Erzsébetváros Climate Strategy presents the measures that can achieve the 40% emission reduction in Erzsébetváros.