Speech of Mr Keith Whitmore

FEDRE Conference on Climate Change, Geneva 23 January 2006

Allow me first to thank the FEDRE and Mr Haegi for having invited the Congress to take part in this important Conference. I am happy to be here again in Geneva to bring the contribution of the Congress’ Sustainable Development Committee that I am honoured to Chair.

“The planet is warming. More severe and extreme weather events necessitate urgent action to ensure adaptation measures be taken to protect public health, strengthen infrastructure, apply appropriate urban and regional development plans, and advance economic development”

The sentence perfectly summarize the feeling that the Municipal Leaders had in Montreal some weeks ago during the U.N. Climate Change Conference.

Even though there is legitimate debate about its causes, the extent of global warming and climate change is now well known: the earth is getting warmer. Temperatures could rise during the 21st century by as much as two degrees. We are expenciencing periods of drought, accompanied by more frequent forest fires, while the amount of winter precipitation and flooding is increasing; this is exacerbated by a rise in sea levels along parts of the European coastline. Coastal erosion and flooding by the sea have also a considerable impact. Most of the European coastline is vulnerable to both coastal erosion and flooding by the sea. The danger from flooding by the sea and coastal erosion is not always recognised by the public or by local politicians. However, coastal erosion leads to significant costs for local authorities and the community in general.

The damage and loss these events cause to communities, businesses, commerce, housing, the cultural heritage, transport, communications and the environment are considerable and may threaten the very survival of the affected communities. They can also have appalling consequences for the environment: an accumulation of toxic substances in the food chain, the wiping out of tons of fish, plankton, etc., adverse effects on natural habitats, lasting contamination of soil, sediments and underground water and the destruction of self-purification capacity. Climate change impacts also pose grave danger to public health and many local governments have already experienced these effects.

We know that these phenomena are heightened as a result of global warming and dependence on technology and dense transport networks.

We do feel that action by local and regional authorities is vital in order to understand and respond to these challanges: in the field of climate changes and natural hazards, local authorities are in fact in the front line, as they suffer their immediate impact.

Local and regional authorities have in fact responsibilities in regard to land use and protection of people, including cultural and environmental assets but they also have duties in informing and educating the public on risks, in promoting planning operations, in coordinating emergency services, in providing assistance to people in the wake of a disaster and, finally, in applying lessons learnt.

As far as public authorities are concerned, the necessity of establishing a true partnerships between the actors involved is of paramount importance. Administrative compartmentalisation and lack of consultation sometimes prevent coordinated efforts between local authorities, the State and its regional/local offices. In many countries climate change action and risks management involves too many administrative levels - local, regional and national - which have powers to act, but are not necessarily responsible for preventing situations from arising or alleviating their impact. People and property continue to be at risk as a result of the piecemeal approach to these problems. The situation is exacerbated by a lack of inter-municipal agreements and by an unclear apportionment of responsibilities between the different levels of government, which encourages them to take preventive action in isolation. The command of operations on the ground, with organisations with differing cultures and statuses working together, is a further source of difficulties. This can lead to a proliferation of centres of decision-making, resulting in vague or even conflicting orders being issued.

As stressed by the Municipal Leaders during the U.N. Summit, climate change is a a challenge that requires urgent and concerted action and collaboration by all levels of government. Local and regional Authorities have the possibility to change the current trend of global warming but they do need incentives to implement polices and practices.

National governments very often give local authorities large responsibilities without providing them with the resources and structures that are necessary for formulating a collective response. In small municipalities the technical services are extremely limited in terms of capacity and staffing. (It is also important to provide training for local elected representatives and professionals on climate change impact, its consequences and the means of preventing or reducing it).

Agreed measures for monitoring the impact of chemical substances, limiting pollution caused by motor vehicles, for promoting the use of more ecologically sound energy sources, for ensuring adequate safeguards exist against pollution from industrial sites and for reducing the environmental impact of public utilities are needed. In this respect there is a need to reinforce the legislation regular maintenance of transport and communications infrastructure (it is important to ensure that maintenance is conducted regularly and that major structures such as road and rail tunnels deliver maximum safety standards to users and have as little impact as possible on the environment). This would invole a close cooperation between industries and the state. There is also a need to conduct a survey of industrial and commercial installations infrastructures and facilities. It is important that states and firms work together for identifying the hazards associated with certain industrial activities and plan and implement measures to deal with them. In this respect Local governments have the duty of accelerating the application of clean technologies with a particular view on renewable energy options.

What we could also do is to boost partnerships and collaboration with non-governmental organizations, industrial sectors, as well as non-governmental organizations, in order to reduce climate changes and Another important initiative could be to develop jointly funded programmes to make the public aware of climate change dangers. Local authorities could stage public hearings and debates in their municipalities and distribute leaflets and brochures explaining climate challanges and how to react in a responsible way and also disseminate to the public this information through posters, public meetings, the media and new technologies.

It is essential to increase preventive education everywhere and for everyone through partnerships for education. Local authorities should work in co-operation with the academic sector for ensuring education to evironment and on climate change consequences, (providing information on it and improving its understanding). This will involve continuing training of teachers, and should be also conducted in partnership with environmental associations.

Although it can be argued that the application of these ideas is liable to have perverse effects on local economic development, municipal management, employment prospects, property prices and even tourism, these considerations must be balanced against the inalienable right of citizens to be informed of the risks in their immediate environment.

We are convinced that, it is important to combine all efforts with a view to controlling events and managing the consequences as efficiently as possible so as to save human lives. It is important that all partners and different institutional levels work together having this aim in mind.