• It represents an essential step towards Valladolid's objective of climate neutrality as set out in the cities mission and for European fundraising
• Developed within the European project ‘Green Cities Cencyl’, it shares a common vision with other partner cities of this Interreg initiative
The Strategy, approved by the Governing Board this week, responds to the commitment made in the European project Ciudades Verdes Cencyl, a Spain-Portugal cooperation initiative managed by the Department of Innovation, Economic Development, Employment and Trade, through the Innovation Agency, in which the City of Valladolid shares a consortium with other cities such as Salamanca, Ciudad Rodrigo, Aveiro, Figueira da Foz and Guarda.
Valladolid, therefore, is working with all of them on a common, holistic and integrated vision when it comes to tackling the measures needed to adapt to climate change. All this in order to achieve the objective of climate neutrality by 2030, so that the Valladolid City Council's Climate Action is positioned and in line with the different national and European policies in this area in order to facilitate access to European funds.
The document also integrates the vision and contributions of other municipal areas, especially that of Environment and Sustainable Development, and addresses the key challenges of the 21st century that are included in various international, national and regional plans such as the European Green Pact, the 2015 Paris Agreement and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda.
Valladolid's Climate Change Strategy is an essential contribution to Valladolid's adherence to the 100 Smart and Climate Neutral Cities Mission of the Horizon Europe programme, to which Valladolid aspires, and also includes the main lines of adaptation and mitigation already existing in other municipal plans. In this way, it embodies a collective action to address the inevitable impacts of climate change for the health and well-being of people in all its aspects (measurement, transparency, prevention, mitigation, active participation and governance). It includes measures in different areas of municipal management, from urban planning, the environment, health, education and citizen participation to mobility and energy efficiency, which enable the impacts associated with climate change to be tackled effectively.
The aim of the strategy is to reduce the effects of greenhouse gases by 100% by 2030, as well as to increase the city's resilience to climate change, through digitalisation, data management and integration of information and innovation, which are used as the basis and levers to achieve climate neutrality and to deal more efficiently with the risks associated with the impacts of climate change, with citizens as a key element in this process.
It includes 9 clusters: climate, water resources and risks; natural systems, biodiversity, agriculture and livestock; city: urban planning and building and infrastructures; public health; mobility and transport; energy; industry, services, financial system and insurance activity; tourism and cultural heritage; education, R&D&I and society, and 150 lines of action for adaptation and mitigation.
The lines of action include digital transformation as a lever to generate smart solutions that protect the city and its citizens from risks associated with climate change, such as disasters or poor management of water resources; nature-based solutions to reduce pollution; refurbishment of buildings to save energy and achieve positive energy districts; protection of biodiversity; improvement of air quality; promoting clean and sustainable mobility for pedestrians, cyclists and users of public transport and non-polluting vehicles; increasing the use of renewable energies; fiscal measures that favour sustainability; promoting ‘green’ employment as well as the participation of citizens, the co-creation of innovative projects under a public-private partnership model and promoting public awareness of the impacts of climate change and the measures necessary to adapt to it.
The strategy is based on 4 pillars
Climate neutrality in Valladolid by 2030
Part of the path towards neutrality is already consolidated in the area of Innovation and Economic Development with projects such as REMORUBAN, URBAN GreenUP and R2Cities, which have allowed the development of two districts with almost zero emissions; in the area of Environment and Sustainable Development, with energy efficiency measures, among others, and a Municipal Energy Agency. Likewise, in the area of Urban Planning and Housing, there is a PGOU updated to 2020, with major environmental requirements and a Housing Plan 2021-2025 in which urban regeneration, sustainable development and the protection of vulnerable areas are the main protagonists. On the other hand, in mobility, the City Council has several programmes to support public transport, with lines dedicated to electric vehicles, non-motorised transport and reduction of traffic flow with the aim of giving prominence and space to the pedestrian in the urban design, all of which is specified in the Integral Plan for Urban, Sustainable and Safe Mobility of the City of Valladolid (PIMUSSVA). In addition, the Circular Economy plays a fundamental role as a policy lever in climate objectives, as reflected in the Circular Economy Action Plan, approved in January 2022.
An adaptive capacity, with the following goals:
- Maintain and improve meteorological observation for early warning of adverse weather and climate events
- Promote preventive actions against risks to health and well-being from higher temperatures
- Identify and promote sustainable adaptation practices in water use and management, as well as extreme events
- Incorporate climate change adaptation criteria into the strategic planning of different sectors
- Promote access to information, awareness raising and effective communication on climate change impacts and risks and ways to avoid or limit them
Integration, digitalisation and innovation
In terms of digitalisation and smart city solutions aimed at supporting the transition towards climate neutrality, Valladolid has the Smart City and Innovation Plan (SmartVA!), which aims to achieve a new sustainable and smart economic model driven by digital transformation. It includes several relevant measures for decarbonisation, such as electric, digital and connected mobility, the Intermodal logistics platform, urban distribution of goods (DUMinVALL), smart tourist destination (DTI), ECCUS Hub, Innovation and Sustainability Hub. Moreover, the Circular Economy Action Plan promotes the use of data, innovation and digitisation to achieve the goal of reducing waste generation as much as possible.
Citizenship as a key climate action driver
This Climate Change strategy proposes an analysis of the current framework and new governance model that requires intense collaboration between all stakeholders through a participatory process at all levels and with the citizen as a key focus.