On September 21, 2023, the first meeting of the Working Group on the development of documents to assess the vulnerability of the Dolynska city territorial community of Kirovohrad region to climate change and recommendations for adaptation and green recovery measures (Working Group) was held in the hall of the Dolynska City Council.
The Working Group was established by the order of the Mayor of Dolynska, Yevhen Zvizdovsky, dated August 25, 2023, No. 298, and its tasks are to analyze strategic documents and programs of the community, identify priority needs and requests of the community, integrate climate change adaptation plans into all strategic documents of the community, and develop draft documents on Vulnerability Assessment and Climate Change Adaptation Plan.
It should be noted that the creation of the Working Group was preceded by the adoption by the Dolynska City Council at its meeting on May 12, 2023, of decision No. 4383 on the accession of the Dolynska City Territorial Community to the European initiative "Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy", and committing to reduce CO2 emissions on its territory by at least 35% by 2030 by improving energy efficiency and increasing the use of renewable energy sources, as well as increasing resilience through adaptation to the effects of climate change.
The Covenant of Mayors is the world's largest movement for climate and energy conservation at the local level. A European initiative, the Covenant of Mayors unites thousands of local authorities that have voluntarily committed themselves to achieving the EU's climate and energy goals.
The signatories are committed to taking steps to achieve the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 35% by 2030 and to adapt to the effects of climate change.
It is worth noting that despite the ongoing hostilities, Ukraine is preparing for recovery and communities should develop post-war reconstruction plans, including plans to modernize production, industrial facilities, and infrastructure projects. The implementation of such plans is impossible without attracting investment from international donors and institutions. In 2021, the EU adopted a new European Union Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, according to which the impact of climate change on the economy, infrastructure, local and sectoral policies, and the environment must be taken into account and climate change adaptation is an integral part of infrastructure projects. For example, the European Union has created a €50 billion Ukraine Recovery Fund for the period 2024-27 to help rebuild the country after the war with Russia.
Communities that have developed and approved a Vulnerability Assessment and Climate Change Adaptation Plan at the time of applying for financial support and recovery will have advantages over other communities in receiving such funding. The higher the community's adaptation potential, the more capable the community is of developing and attracting additional international funding for the implementation of relevant projects and activities.
At the first meeting of the Working Group, Olena Vusyk, Head of the NGO "Center for International Cooperation and Project Implementation", who is the coordinator of the project "Assessment of Vulnerability of Dolynska Community of Kirovohrad Region to Climate Change and Recommendations for Adaptation and Green Recovery Measures", briefly presented to the Working Group participants information on the benefits of community participation in the Covenant of Mayors, how to develop and implement the Community Adaptation Plan to Climate Change in accordance with the recommendations of the European Commission, how to adapt to the realities of Ukraine by the Association of Energy Efficient Cities, the need to plan adaptation and green recovery measures, and the benefits of attracting funding for such projects and measures.
The members of the Working Group will continue to develop documents on Vulnerability Assessment and Climate Change Adaptation Plan for Dolynska community on water supply and sanitation, energy saving and energy efficiency, thermal insulation of buildings and structures, waste management, achieving clean water in rivers and urban water bodies, stormwater management, etc, which will form the basis for the implementation of priority climate change adaptation and green recovery measures in the future and submit these documents for consideration and approval by the city council.
* The project "Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment of the Dolynska Community of Kirovohrad Region and Recommendations for Adaptation and Green Recovery Measures" is being implemented in cooperation with the Center for Environmental Initiatives "Ecodia" with the financial support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action within the framework of the International Climate Initiative (ICI) project "Strengthening Civil Society in the Implementation of National Climate Policy".
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