A combined system of thermal panels (SWH) with heat pumps (HP) and photovoltaic panels (PV) was installed on the site of Navahrudak district hospital. It was the first time that such a combined project using SWH, HP and PV was implemented in Belarus. Now two buildings of the district hospital have independent heating, electricity system and hot water supply.
Category: Power supply
Renewables in Cities
The report gives an overview of the status, trends and developments of renewable energy in cities, using the most up-todate information and data available. The REC’s neutral, fact-based approach documents in detail the annual developments in policies, markets, investments and citizen action, with a particular focus on renewables in public, residential and commercial buildings as well as public and private urban transport. The REC complements REN21’s Renewables Global Status Report, which covers renewable energy market, industry and policy trends. Jointly, these reports contribute to making renewable energy visible in the global debate, drawing decision makers’ attention to renewables and continuously providing better data and tracking to inform energy decisions worldwide.
REC 2021 is the result of a collaborative effort, building on REN21’s unique data and reporting culture (p see Data Collection and Validation section), with more than 330 data contributors and peer reviewers and over 30 individual interviews from around the world.
Climate Resilient Urban Development in Southeast Europe
From October 26th until November 6th 2020 around 30 urban practitioners from 11 Southeast European cities (from 8 different countries Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Belarus, Serbia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Germany) came together virtually to exchange their experiences and expertise in the field of Urban Mobility and Green Urban Infrastructure. Especially challenges in waste management, transportation and public lighting system and water revitalization were discussed intensively, as they represent pressing issues for many Southeast European cities.
The aim of the workshop was to jointly work out comprehensive project plans which can be the basis for technical and financial proposals for funding. The workshop focused on the following topics:
- Green Infrastructure – based on the notion that protecting and enhancing nature and natural processes are consciously taken into consideration in the context of spatial planning and territorial development.
- Urban Mobility – developing and implementing sustainable urban mobility plans (SUMP) including private as well as public transportation.
The event was a follow-up to the virtual dialogue event conducted in June 2020 with representatives of 24 municipalities as well as international experts. Where, based on innovative methodologies such as Design Thinking, participants from 9 countries worked on their first project ideas.
These two weeks of synchronous and asynchronous workshops were participated by the officials from institutions, representatives from urban networks that share the project’s objectives, and experienced professional from the civil society and the private sector, who work in the thematic areas as well as academia in the field of urbanism, spatial planning, geography, climate change and other disciplines. During the workshop, also donor organizations were invited to get to know the projects, to answer questions of the municipalities and to support financial proposals and grant applications written in a professional way.
Local Development Program for the City of Agadir in Morocco
Agadir municipality has pursued ambitious policies aimed at enhancing the quality of life of the city’s inhabitants, while protecting the environment and fostering sustainable development. The undertaken efforts targeted various key areas, in which the requirements and responsibilities for achieving environmental, social and economic sustainability were met.
C40 Mayors’ Agenda for a Green and Just Recovery
As the tragedy of the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, mayors’ immediate priority is to face this unprecedented crisis and protect lives. At the same time, the city leaders who together established the Global Mayors COVID-19 Recovery Task Force are leading in taking the first steps towards recovery. They have committed to providing the swiftest and strongest possible rebound for their citizens and reaffirmed commitment to the principles of the Global Green New Deal — to protect our environment, strengthen economies and build a more equitable future – and reach out to other cities, youth, unions, business and civil society to join in this effort.
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By taking a sustainable path at this critical juncture, by respecting science, fostering unity and embracing a spirit of innovation and purpose, cities will secure the best recovery they can and avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis. Amid the devastation of this global pandemic, mayoral leadership has never been more important.
Nine principles for a green and just recovery are elaborated that can support cities’ recovery efforts.
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Municipal Response to Covid-19 Pandemic II
More than 30 municipal representatives from around 20 cities in MENA and Sub-Sharan Africa participated in the second virtual event of the knowledge-exchange series on Municipal Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Municipal representatives from both political and technical levels were invited and they engaged in knowledge-exchange to analyse and discuss practical examples of municipal response related to provision of urban basic services such as water and solid waste management.
Call for participants: Municipal Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
A series of virtual events will be organised with the focus on municipal response to the pandemic. This municipal knowledge-exchange activity aims at analysing and discussing practical examples from municipalities in MENA, Sub Saharan Africa and Germany. The event will thus provide a platform for learning how to plan, manage and evaluate effective measures to curb the impacts of the pandemic. It will also be possible to discuss individual questions with urban practitioners. Municipal representatives from both political and technical levels are invited to participate in the exchange.
Thematic focus of the events
1. Public health and municipal administrative processes:
All countries evoked the public health legal framework and the WHO guidelines to enforce measures to reduce the spread of the virus. Nevertheless, the pandemic has revealed shortcomings in municipal capacities to overcome its implications. Investing in digitalizing municipal administrative processes, IT systems as well as the overall healthcare infrastructure is being prioritized by many localities. Countries have also applied a combination of measures and technologies to monitor and control the situation at both the local and national levels. This session will focus on the possible strategies and measures implemented by public health and administrative municipal actors.
2. Municipal service delivery including water, sanitation and solid waste management:
Maintaining high standards of hygiene requires adequate provision of urban services such as water, sanitation and solid waste management which are key in combatting the spread of the virus. In many regions, the pandemic has heightened the existing shortcomings in the provision of these services. Some municipalities have provided temporal measures in order to improve the service delivery. Urban informal settlements in particular, are struggling with the situation, especially where social distancing rules cannot be effectively enforced. This session will focus on municipal service providers in the water and sanitation sectors.
3. Economic impact:
The pandemic has negatively impacted the economy on all levels. Most countries resolved to partial or complete lock down that resulted in paralyzing many economic sectors. It is in those cities that imposed the strictest lock down measures that the negative economic impacts are most apparent as per initial observations. A significant part of the labour markets in developing countries is informal and is comprised of daily wagers who have suffered immensely from the lockdown measures that impacted their livelihoods and ability to pay for services. These measures have also had a negative impact on the revenue stream for the municipalities. On the flip side, some economic sectors are witnessing growth. For example, many cities are relying on local manufacturing enterprises to produce medical equipment like masks, protective gear and ventilators which they would import in the past. This session will focus on possible measures to cushion the negative economic impacts of the pandemic on the local level.
More information: Call for Participants
Contact
If you wish to participate kindly email Dr. Muna Shalan (muna.shalan@giz.de) for MENA region, Sophia Kamau (sophia.kamau@giz.de) for Sub Saharan Africa and Alex Wagner (Alexander.Wagner@engagement-global.de) or Thiago Garcia (Thiago.Garcia@engagement-global.de) for German cities and counterparts
Towards ecological urban development in Palestine
For the Palestinian town Ajja, transitioning into a sustainable growth path was a result of a comprehensive vision by its municipal council backed up by the local population to build resilient municipal infrastructure that utilizes renewable energy sources and promotes sustainable management of the town’s resources.
Dealing with the Corona Virus
Local utilities all over the world face unprecedented challenges in dealing with the Corona Virus. German utilities have exchanged their respective experiences and the measures they have taken in order to support one another and learn from one another. The German Association of Local Public Utilities has compiled, written down, and translated these experiences into English so that they may benefit utilities worldwide.
Plastic waste: the contribution of municipal waste management to tackle the issue
Almost 40 local practitioners from 13 cities, 9 countries and 4 continents intensively exchanged their experiences on the topic of “plastic waste” and jointly developed solutions and project ideas. They followed the invitation of Connective Cities and the City of Hamburg to a dialogue event on “Plastic Waste – The Contribution of Municipal Waste Management Systems to Tackle the Issue”, which took place from 3 to 5 December 2019 in Hamburg.
Increasing amounts of plastic waste pose challenges for local authorities around the world. Only small quantities can be recycled by type to create closed cycles. But even recycling into lower types of plastic can alleviate landfills and generate income for vulnerable groups. However, avoiding plastic waste is the best option. Therefore, plastic waste is first and foremost a social challenge: changing the behaviour of consumers and producers is crucial.
Based on an exchange of experiences on good practices and projects in the cities implementation challenges were identified and finally eight project ideas were developed for eight cities, which could lead to an improvement of the respective strategies and implementation plans.
The event concluded with three parallel excursions to a waste incineration plant, a sorting station and a waste collection point in Hamburg.