91% of Italian municipalities are currently under risk of river and pluvial flooding, an important increase as compared to 2015 when 88% of municipalities were at risk (ISPRA, 2018). These already fragile hydrogeological conditions are worsened by the growing consumption of soil, which occurs more in Northern Italy than in the rest of the country.
Las Tablas de Daimiel National Park is a protected natural space, a unique Mediterranean wetland of great natural and cultural value due to the hydrographic basin and geology on which it sits. The confluence of two rivers in an area of minimum slope causes their waters to overflow, which together with the underground contribution of a large aquifer leads to the formation of a puddled river zone: the fluvial flats.
Author of the picture: Guillermo Cobos Campos/Fototeca CENEAM
Until the 70s, the lower course of the Arga River near the confluence with the Aragon River flowed with a meandering channel, occupying a wide flood plain characterized by intense fluvial dynamics. In this situation, it was considered necessary to carry out works to contain river floods, by rectifying and channel the section stretching from the town of Falces to the mouth of the Aragón River.
The European LIFE CERSUDS project (Ceramic Sustainable Urban Drainage System) is developing sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) that use ceramic materials of low commercial value as a filter system for construction or paving. Its main objective is to improve the capacity of cities to adapt to climate change and to promote the use of green infrastructures in their urban planning for the rehabilitation of such urban areas. To achieve this, LIFE CERSUDS has developed and implemented a sustainable urban ceramic drainage system with low environmental impact.
Losses and damages related to urban flooding and storms are likely to increase due to climate change. The insurance industry can potentially play a key role in climate change adaptation by contributing to the understanding of risks associated with climate change. By sharing data on the location of insurance claims associated with extreme rainfall or storms, the insurance industry can enable better-informed adaptation planning and risk management.
Groundwork London – an environmental regeneration charity part of the Groundwork federation - in partnership with Hammersmith and Fulham Council, received LIFE+ funding for the Climate-Proofing Social Housing Landscapes project in 2013. The project, which came to an end in September 2016, has demonstrated an integrated approach to climate adaptation in urban areas by undertaking a package of affordable, light-engineering climate change adaptation measures based around the retrofitting of blue and green infrastructure.
The United Kingdom has historically experienced severe flood events, including that of summer 2007, which resulted in the loss of essential services including water and energy supply, as well as the destruction of infrastructures, with estimated costs exceeding £3.2 billion. About half a million people were immediately affected by this event, in terms of temporary absence of energy supply. In any of such flood event, once energy supply is impacted, so are other services as water distribution, transport, communication and health care.
Groundwork London – an environmental regeneration charity part of the Groundwork federation - in partnership with Hammersmith and Fulham Council, received LIFE+ funding for the Climate-Proofing Social Housing Landscapes project in 2013. The project, which came to an end in September 2016, has demonstrated an integrated approach to climate adaptation in urban areas by undertaking a package of affordable, light-engineering climate change adaptation measures based around the retrofitting of blue and green infrastructure.
In response to climate change, one of Hamburg’s objectives is to become greener, in the city and on the roofs. In this context, Hamburg is the first German city to have developed a comprehensive Green Roof Strategy. The goal is to plant a total of 100 hectares of green roof surface in the metropolitan area in the next decade. The Hamburg Ministry for Environment and Energy is providing financial support for the creation of green roofs to the sum of € 3 million until the end of 2019.
The former industrial area “Luciline” in Rouen, along the Seine river, has been re-designed profoundly into an ecodistrict (9 hectares in total), including both climate change adaptation and mitigation solutions. Sustainable living is the core principle of the neighbourhood re-design. Sustainability aspects are implemented by means of energy, water, biodiversity, transport and planning solutions that in most of the case play an important role for climate change adaption or mitigation.