Europe's Cities Delivering the Big Global Agendas
Europe’s Cities Delivering the Big Global Agendas
Brussels, 10th October 2017, 11:15 - 13:00 hrs
Wielkopolska Region Brussels Office Rue Montoyer 21, 1000 Brussels
Cities for Global Agendas Workshop code: 10B20
www.regions-and-cities-europa.eu
Cities for Global Agendas
EUROPE’S CITIES DELIVERING THE BIG GLOBAL AGENDAS
The new Global Urban Agenda, adopted at the recent Habitat III Conference in Ecuador, will guide Europe’s urban development policies for the next twenty years. It will be a cornerstone in how we deliver the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), agreed upon as the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, and the other major international agendas, in particular the Paris Agreement. It will give an important European boost to SDG 11, which calls for cities and settlements to be “inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”.
The Urban Agenda for the EU is based on the understanding that an integrated and place-based approach to urban development, together with a long-term vision, is necessary to promote prosperous cities in a sustainable and economic way.
After the Lisbon Agenda and Europe 2020 objectives, the EU must reflect on its new strategic goals post-2020. These will notably include the new Cohesion Policy, to replace the current 2014-2020 programmes, which leverage around EUR 500 billion across the EU and cover almost all the SDGs; furthermore, sustainable development is embedded in both current and future Cohesion Policy as a binding horizontal principle. In parallel to the new Cohesion Policy, other key EU tools, such as next research Framework Programme, will be decided.
In the present debate, we aim to showcase how local and regional authorities are already implementing the big global agendas on the ground. We will do this for each participating area in two ways: • First, by examining the strategic level, what structures and strategies they have in place that relate to the global agendas • Secondly, by giving a practical example – an innovative local project for delivering the agendas.
We will end with a discussion of how the EU could integrate these local lessons in a new strategy for Europe and in the cohesion policy post 2020.
The discussion will be structured around five main questions: 1. How does your local government implement the SDGs? 2. Which are the current challenges and policy priorities in your local administrations? Do these challenges match the SDGs? What obstacles can you identify when you implement these goals at local level? 3. What is an example of a local project undertaken by your administrations implementing the SDGs. Which SDGs have you addressed? 4. Do you think the future cohesion policy post 2020 should address the SDGs more broadly so that we can get a better local delivery of these goals? 5. Do you think the full range of SDGs should be a cornerstone in the EU budget post 2020?
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PANEL DISCUSSION:
KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
Mr. Christophe YVETOT, Permanent Representative to the European Union, Director of UNIDO, Brussels Office
Mr. Nicolas GHARBI, Policy Analyst - Directorate General for regional and urban policy, European Commission
CHAIR:
Ms. Eva BAÑOS DE GUISASOLA, Policy Adviser - Environment, Energy and Climate, Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR)
SPEAKERS:
Mr. Josep RODRÍGUEZ, Tourism Technical Office, Management of Tourism Services, Economic Local Development Area, Spain Mrs. Iwona MATUSZCZAK-SZULC, Director of the Department of City Development, Poznań City Hall Mrs. Cora HERMENAU, Regional Commissioner for Public Health and Security, IT Coordination and European Affairs, Hanover Region Prof. Andy SHAW, Professor of Industrial Microwave Technologies, Liverpool John Moores University Ms. Lena WETTERSKOG SJÖSTEDT, Director Sustainable development secretariat, City of Malmö Ms. Mette SKOVGAARD, Senior adviser, City of Copenhagen
KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
Christophe YVETOT Permanent Representative to the European Union, Director of UNIDO, Brussels Office
An international lawyer and economist by background, Christophe Yvetot has been working in international organisations for more than 20 years. As Director of the Brussels Office, he supports the policy dialogue and cooperation between UNIDO and the European Union on issues such as the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. UNIDO and the EU are working together in more than 100 countries around the world.
He regularly participates in international conferences and negotiations related to the impact of industrial activities on growth and jobs and on the transition towards green industry and sustainable cities. That includes issues related to Sustainable Energy (SDG7), Sustainable Industrialization (SDG9), Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG11), Sustainable Consumption and Production (SDG12) and Climate Action (SDG13).
Christophe Yvetot particularly promotes the role of Sustainable Cities as Hubs of Innovation, Jobs, Industrialization, and Climate Action1). As the world continues to urbanise rapidly, the
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importance of cities that are both sustainable and smart has begun to receive widespread recognition by national, state and local governments around the world. Sustainable and inclusive industrialisation of cities provides opportunities for developing synergies, such as decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation, while at the same time creating employment.
1) See Sustainable Cities as Hubs of Innovation, Jobs, Industrialization, and Climate Action, UNIDO at: https://www.unido.org/fileadmin/user_media_upgrade/What_we_do/Topics/Energy_access/13.Sustain able_Cities_Brochure.pdf
KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
Nicolas GHARBI Policy Analyst - Directorate General for regional and urban policy, European Commission
Nicolas Gharbi holds a degree in Political Philosophy and Sociolinguistics from Universitat de Barcelona, and a Bachelor of Arts in Social Science and Anthropology from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia.
Furthermore, Nicholas Gharbi has a Master’s Degree in International Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, a Master’s Degree of Science in Urban and Regional Planning from the Institute of Regional and Urban Planning- University of Aix-Marseille, a Master’s Degree of Science in Urban Design and Renewal from the University of Lisbon, Faculty of Architecture and a post-graduate certificate in Financing Public Services and Environmental Sustainability from United Nations University.
Since October 2012, Nicolas Gharbi works as a policy analyst in the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy in the European Commission, where he is located at the Competence Centre for Inclusive Growth, Urban and Territorial Development.
Among other projects, Nicolas Gharbi coordinates the preparation of the Common Position of the EU and its Member States for the Third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) - New Urban Agenda and the negotiations and programming of the urban and territorial dimension of the European structural investment funds with Spain, Italy, France and Portugal for the programming period 2014-2020.
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CHAIR:
Eva BAÑOS DE GUISASOLA Policy Adviser - Environment, Energy and Climate, Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR)
Eva Baños De Guisasola is a Spanish graduate in European law, with Legal Practice and accountancy diplomas and a French D.E.A in environmental law. Her work experience includes: Executive Director at Aqua Publica Europea, Policy Officer for the Environment over nine years within EUROCITIES – the European Network of 140 large cities, as officer at the European Commission in Directorate General Environment/Climate Change Unit, as consultant at Eamonn Bates and at Lovells Boesebeck Droste International law firm. All these positions have been in Brussels, and this since 1999.
She has also coordinated European projects as director (Integaire) and been involved in various projects with a focus on the environment (PreSUD on peer reviews) and climate change (Joint Programming Initiative on Climate, Climate KIC Adaptation Services Platform). She worked in Bologna for three years (from April 2012) at CMCC in the SERC division , as Senior Scientific Manager in charge of climate services strategy, networking and liaison on climate services at international level with other organisations or initiatives such as the Mediterranean Climate Change Cities Consortium. Since April 2015 Eva has been working for the Council of Municipalities and Regions in Europe as senior policy advisor on energy, energy and international negotiations on climate. She is involved in the Global Covenant for Climate and Energy and the Covenant in Sub Saharan Africa. Secondments in Birmingham, Vienna, Gothenburg, Washington and Barcelona.
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PARTNER DETAILS:
Name: Province of Barcelona NUTS Level: NUTS 3 Country: Spain Region: Catalonia Capital: Barcelona Area: 7,719 km² Population: 5,552,050 Density: 719.3 inhab./km²
The Province of Barcelona is currently one of the most active territories in the Mediterranean region. It lies within the region of Catalonia and includes the city of Barcelona, its capital, and 310 other municipalities. With a population of 5.5 million inhabitants (73% of the population of Catalonia), it has historically been an enterprising and outward-looking territory. The Government of the Province of Barcelona constitutes the local government in the territory of Barcelona and Mrs. Mercè Conesa i Pagès is its President.
The aim of the Government of the Province of Barcelona is to support municipalities in the provision of quality services throughout the territory, in order to foster municipal development and the welfare of all citizens. This commitment is particularly important in a territory where half the municipalities have a population of fewer than 3,000 inhabitants.
Province of Barcelona on “Cities for Global Agendas”
The role of local and regional governments in implementation of the SDGs is increasingly being recognised. In the past year, local and regional leaders have strongly expressed their political will to contribute to the SDGs through policy action at the local level. They made this commitment clear in the Bogotá Commitment — which came out of last year’s United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) World Congress — and in the Declaration of the World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments at Habitat III, the global conference on sustainable cities that took place in October.
Local and regional leaders also have committed to “localisation “of the SDGs, the process of aligning local policies with this global agenda, of bottom-up implementation of related goals, and of local leadership in all of this. Localisation will give communities, cities and territories an opportunity to play their part in achieving sustainable development for all. In particular, localisation aims to create an environment that can enable local and regional governments to put their citizens’ priorities and needs at the centre of national and global policies — and to develop strategies to promote sustainable development.
The Barcelona Provincial Council (BPC) is committed to aligning their strategic plans with the SDGs, as well encouring the municipalities in its territory to do the same.
The goal is to put the localisation of the 2030 Agenda at the centre of their strategies, at those two levels: within the institution and fostering municipalities in this task. The first step is to raise awareness and support peer-to-peer learning on linking the global goals to local action, through sessions aimed at both managers and technicians. The second stage will be the implementation of the SDGs and the last stage will be monitoring and reporting on the implementation and localisation done.
Thus, the Barcelona Provincial Council will support local governments offering capacity building and awareness-raising as well as technical and financial assistance to get the alignment of global agendas with local strategies.
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The United Nations adopted 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism Development for Development. This has been an excellent framework to raise awareness and enhance the role of tourism as a driver for change and promoter for economic growth in a responsible manner. The year is strongly linked to the implementation of the global agenda defined by the Sustainable Development Objectives (SDGs). In particular it should be highlighted the Contribution to the Objectives number 8, 12 i 14.
As a practical example, the project Vies Blaves (Blue Ways) to create a 300km of greenways for pedestrians, bikes and horses along the river Llobregat and its major tributaries will illustrate how a tourism project can contribute to SDGs from a multi-dimension approach.
SPEAKER:
Josep RODRÍGUEZ Responsible for International Relations, Tourism Technical Office, Tourism Department, Barcelona Provincial Council
Josep Rodríguez is responsible for European projects and international relations in the tourism department of Barcelona Provincial Council. He has degrees in agricultural engineering and humanities and he is senior advisor of European projects with twenty years of experience in this field. His job involves providing information, guidance and training, mainly to local authorities. He also has experience as an external evaluator for the European Commission. His main field of expertise is the involvement of local authorities within the framework of structural funds programmes - both national operational programmes and European territorial cooperation with specific focus on tourism projects.
CONTACT DETAILS:
Local: Brussels: Diputació de Barcelona | Barcelona Provincial Diputació de Barcelona | Barcelona Provincial Council Council Direcció de Relacions Internacionals | Brussels Office International Relations Directorate Av. des Arts 3-4-5 c. Londres, 55, 1ª planta 1210 Brussels (Belgium) 08036 Barcelona (Spain) Tel. +32 (0) 2 2233521 Tel. +34 (0) 93 4022055 Fax +32 (0) 2 2233527 Fax +34 (0) 93 4022473 [email protected] [email protected] www.diba.cat/ri/
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PARTNER DETAILS:
Name: Wielkopolska Region NUTS Level: NUTS 2 Country: Poland Region: Wielkopolska Region Capital: Poznań Area: 29,826 km² Population: 3,481,625 Density: 117 inhab./km²
Wielkopolska is one of the biggest regions in Poland. Its area is comparable to Belgium’s and the number of inhabitants is slightly higher than the population of Latvia and Estonia combined. It is a competitive and innovative region, as well as one of the fastest developing regions in Poland. It enjoys steady economic growth, has an unemployment rate of 4.4% (the lowest in Poland, against a national average of 7.1%), possesses a well-developed industry and is open to external markets. Poznań, the capital city of Wielkopolska, is located between two European capitals: Warsaw and Berlin. The city is a science and business centre of the region. Around 112,000 students study on eight public (including five universities) and fifteen private higher education institutions. The number of companies in Poznań amounts to 109,359 (411,028 in the region) and about 99 % of them are small and medium enterprises. These businesses have an excellent base that enables and supports their development: professional research facilities, availability of EU funding, infrastructure, but also the Poznań International Fair – a leader in this industry in Poland. It is also the premier trade-fair organiser in Central and Eastern Europe. Poznań has the lowest unemployment rate in Poland - 1.8% - and its inhabitants are known for being practical, hardworking and thrifty. Poznań has also been the location of many important international events: in 2008 representatives of the United Nations debated in the capital of Wielkopolska during the Climate Change Conference and in 2012 it was also one of the UEFA European Championships’ host cities.
Sustainable development in Poznań The sustainable development goals (SDGs) were indicated as crucial in the primary strategic document of the city, which is the development strategy for the city of Poznań 2020+. Sustainable development of the city and the society - broadly defined as the environment, ecology, counteracting social exclusion, demographic changes, lifelong learning, technological and social innovations, making a social business city, equal access to infrastructure and services, openness, equality, cooperation and social dialogue. These challenges, which correspond to many of the SDGs - were a basis to create Poznań’s development strategy. This strategy focuses on the residents and their needs and allows everyone to join the process of creating a friendly city, carried out respecting the rule of responsibility toward future generations. The strategy of the “city for people” is based on a sustainable society applying the rules of equality, openness, tolerance and social dialogue. Poznań is developing to become a city free of discrimination and open for diversity. It invests in human and social capital. The city has successfully introduced major policy and support for families, run by among others the Senior Activities Centre and Family Activities Centre. Poznań is improving standards of public spaces and social housing availability for people with disabilities. Foreigners and repatriated people can benefit from interactive activities and from the city-supported Migrant Info Point. Poznań is the second Polish city to sign the European Diversity Charter and is also a member of the WHO Global Network for Age-friendly Cities.
A high quality of life for all residents is a primary goal of the development strategy for the city of Poznań 2020+. Among the infrastructure needs to meet, there are activities connected to the
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climate goals which comprise complex system activities to make urban transport sustainable, prioritising ecological public transport and cycling and walking on short distances, creating an ecological system of car sharing, and rental networks of city bikes and electric scooters. The city aims to increase the share of bicycle travel by 4.5 times in the next six years. The next activity is to develop green city areas and social pocket gardens and preserve naturally valuable forest and park areas. Poznań belongs to the European cities in which the WHO standard regarding the city greenery per capita is exceeded twice over. An example of activities successfully combing both the social and infrastructure spheres is the process of implementing the city revitalisation programme, which comprises public space and social groups that need the support of the city in various forms. The process of revitalisation in Poznań began in 2005 and within twelve years has contributed many positive changes not only in the public space but also in the economic and social spheres. Poznań is one of the leaders in revitalisation in Poland. Also here Polish urban planners adopted the Poznań charter of public space; this contains the rules of shaping and using public space and encourages increasing the participation of citizens in the process. During 20 years of implementing the development strategy, the city of Poznań has confirmed that social dialogue and public participation are crucial to effective city development.
SPEAKER: Mrs. Iwona MATUSZCZAK-SZULC Director of the Department of City Development, Poznań City Hall Mrs. Matuszczak-Szulc graduated from the University of Adam Mickiewicz in Poznań and holds a master of administration in geography and a title of master of business administration (MBA executive). She has extensive experience, over fourteen years, of working for the Polish cities’ administrations. As head of the city development department of Poznań City Hall, Mrs. Matuszczak-Szulc is responsible, among others, for the process of updating and monitoring the development strategy for the City of Poznań and for the coordination of Poznań’s contribution to the Urban Agenda of the EU. She also coordinates the foreign relations of the City of Poznań. In the framework of the two, recently conducted, international projects (“Cities of change – cooperation of cities in the field of cities development” and the “Gen-Y City – Get into the swing of the city!”), with the use of EU funding, she created an efficient policy and knowledge-exchange network involving many European cities. She also got to know the reality of the non-governmental sector, as former CEO of the association of The Good Neighbourhood Grant Fund for Ostrów Wielkopolski. Mrs. Matuszczak-Szulc shares willingly her experience and knowledge with students. A series of her recent lectures at University of Social Sciences in Łódź was entitled “civic dimension of the strategic management of the city". She has also produced several scientific publications on the strategic management and development of cities.
CONTACT DETAILS: Local: Brussels: Poznań City Hall Wielkopolska Region Brussels Office City Development Department Rue Montoyer 21 Plac Kolegiacki 17 1000 Brussels (Belgium) 61-841 Poznań (Poland) Tel. +32 (0) 2 7340941 Phone: +48 (0) 61 8785695 [email protected] [email protected] www.wielkopolska.eu
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PARTNER DETAILS:
Name: Region Hannover NUTS Level: NUTS 3 Country: Germany Region: Lower Saxony Capital: Hanover Area: 2,290 km² Population: 1,132,474 Density: ~ 495 inhab./km²
Hanover Region is situated in Lower Saxony (Northern Germany). Since 2001 Hanover Region has been a model for city regions in Germany. With its 1.1 million inhabitants, Hanover Region is responsible for youth and social welfare, regional planning, business and employment promotion, public transport, health and consumer protection, environmental protection, waste management and hospitals. Hanover Region has 21 municipalities of ranging in size from 14,000 inhabitants up to 550,000 in Lower Saxony state capital Hanover. The decisions are made by a regional parliament with 85 directly elected members on a five-year mandate. On the executive side, the President of Hanover Region, Hauke Jagau, who has been re-elected by the inhabitants of Hanover Region for a further seven years, governs the regional administration, with approx. 3,000 employees. A lot of the tasks of Hanover Region are implemented by twenty subsidiaries employing about 16,000 people. Situated at the most important European logistic intersection between East and West, North and South, Hanover Region has a long tradition as a business location and has asserted its role as trade- fair location. It is headquarters of Volkswagen commercial vehicles, Continental tyres and TUI Touristic Travel.
Hanover Region on “Cities for Global Agendas”
The United Nations agreed at the end of September 2015 the 2030-agenda. It formed a new global framework for sustainable development and the fight against poverty, involving stakeholders at all levels and therefore also the local level. At European level, the European Commission has worked closely since 2012 with the member states to ensure an ambitious global outcome. The agenda reflects many of the EU's priorities for sustainable development. The Commission will roll out the agenda with a dual approach. First, to implement the SDGs together with the European Parliament and European Council in the European policy framework. Secondly to look how to implement them in a long term vision, for example in the MFF post 2020. On the local level the German associations of cities prepared a model resolution for their members, which was also adopted by Hanover Region in June 2016. But even before, in 2010 Hanover Region adopted seven strategic goals for development, which always referred to SDG goals: - To be a model region for sustainable actions and climate protection - To enable social participation and different life plans for all - To increase gender-neutral opportunities for education and levels of education - To ensure and increase employment and added value - To ensure financial freedom of action - To ensure basic public services - To strengthen service quality Hanover Region welcomes the recognition of municipalities as central actors for sustainable development through SDG 11, sustainable cities and communities. But what does this mean for Germany and Hanover City Region? Implementation of the SDGs in Hanover Region
As a city region we administrate urban and suburban or rural areas. This enables us to develop an integrated approach for the whole region with its 1.2 million inhabitants. Therefore, in all
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administrative or political considerations, the implementation of SDGs is taken into account. The Hanover region is, for instance, responsible for social services, spatial planning and environmental issues. These topics are dealt with regard to the sustainability goals. These objectives will focus on the environment, health, education, participation and the quality of service of the public administration.
In particular, there are projects on electro-mobility, renewable energies, social housing, and combating youth unemployment and renaturation measures. For example the SDGs ”No Poverty“, ”Quality Education“ and ”Gender Equality“ are implemented in the following projects: In a programme against youth unemployment, cooperation between general schools and vocational schools in the region is supported. In 2017 the budget was about € 1.6m. Another project called ”SpATz“ (Sprungbrett -Ausbildung in Teilzeit of “ springboard for part- time education”) is about enabling part-time education for young mothers, with an approximate budget of € 42.000. The integration concept wants to improve the participation of people with a migration background and support the intercultural opening of the Hanover Region administration. As a housing initiative Hanover Region acquires new living areas in cooperation with other municipalities. Here the budget in 2017 was about € 5.5 Mio. Moreover, in 2017 Hanover Region spent € 15 Mio providing its vocational schools. Finally, the unit “woman and employment” is consulting women who want to return to work after parental leave. They give advice to companies for family-friendly working conditions. The budget is about € 134,000/year. Furthermore, Hanover Region gets some EU-funds of arout € 390,000, which is provided by ESF (European Social Fund) and Lower Saxony.
More projects will follow in the coming years.
SPEAKER:
Cora HERMENAU Regional Commissioner, Hanover Region Mrs. Hermenau has been Regional Commissioner for Public Health and Security, IT Coordination and European Affairs of Hanover Region since May 2015. She studied law at the universities of Augsburg and Münster. In 1988 she successfully completed her law degree. From 1988 until 2006 she worked for the Inland Revenue, the Regional Finance Office and the Lower Saxony Ministry of Finance as Head of Human Resources and the Tax Department. In 2006 Mrs. Hermenau became Secretary of State. From 2013 until 2015 she practiced as a lawyer. She is Vice President of the Board of Directors of Hanover Information Technologies Public Agency and President of the Board of the German Traffic Observatory in Hanover Region.
CONTACT DETAILS: Local: Brussels: Region Hannover Région d‘Hanovre Dep. European Affairs Eurocommunalle Hildesheimer Straße 20 Avenue des Nerviens 9-31 30169 Hanover (Germany) 1040 Brussels (Belgium) Tel. +49 (0) 511 61623216 Tel. +32 (0) 2 7401632 Fax +49 (0) 511 61623458 Fax +32 (0) 2 7401631 [email protected] [email protected] www.europaregion-hannover.de www.europaregion-hannover.de
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PARTNER DETAILS:
Name: Liverpool City Region NUTS Level: NUTS 2 Country: United Kingdom Region: North West England Capital: Liverpool Area: 724 km² Population: 1,492,181 Density: 2,061 inhab./km²
Liverpool City Region (LCR) comprises six municipalities, clustered around the city of Liverpool. They are supported by the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), which brings together local political and business leaders to help to drive the city region’s economy. In 2014, the six municipalities and the LEP further joined forces to create the LCR Combined Authority (CA). CAs are new governance arrangements for English city regions, under which municipalities may choose to pool certain functions; in return they receive extra powers and resources from central government. This has been followed in 2017 by a major new development: creation of a new post of city-region mayor (commly known as the Metro Mayor’), who is directly elected by the whole city region and leads the CA. The first ever LCR Metro Mayor was elected earlier this year.
LCR is overwhelmingly urban. It has over 37,000 enterprises, including many international ones, adding 32bn EUR to the UK economy. Key business sectors include advanced manufacturing, life sciences, financial and professional services, maritime and logistics, the visitor economy and renewable energy. LCR has a major maritime tradition that continues today and possesses excellent national and international connectivity. It is world-famous for its cultural and sporting excellence and has the largest collection of galleries and museums in the UK outside London. Its three universities also play a major role in local life and the local economy.
Despite its strengths, LCR lags behind on the following indicators (compared to the national average): GVA per capita (25% shortfall); economic competitiveness (11bn EUR output gap), economic activity (deficit of 18,500 businesses), employment (deficit of 46,200 employees), skills base (deficit of 82,000 individuals holding diploma-level qualification; a further 32,600 have no qualifications) and job creation (need for 90,000 additional jobs).
Liverpool City Region on “Cities for Global Agendas”
The newly elected Mayor has created a 100-day plan, which sets out the immediate key priorities for the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. The plan is structured around the themes that underpin the vision for the future of the City Region – “Ambitious, Fair, Green, Connected and Together” - which incorporates action on a number of SDGs. Examples include: Agreement to sign the UN Compact Cities Programme Plans to set a new long-term, evidence based strategy to accelerate growth and enable the City Region to deliver prosperity and opportunity for all of its communities Commitment to ensuring that fairness is at the heart of policy and decision-making, including: consultation on the development of a fair-employment charter; commitment for the Combined Authority to become a Living Wage employer and actions to enable apprentices to travel more affordably across the city region Commitment to creating a green city region and improving air quality. Examples include: development of a strategy to encourage more walking, cycling and use of public transport; awarding the first tranche of electric vehicle charging points at locations across the city region; further roll-out a fleet of low-emission buses; and active engagement in the current UK National Clean Air Consultation. Commitment to sign up to the commitments of the Global Covenant of Mayors
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Building on work done to date to ensure that health and social-care provision takes into account local needs, including taking action to improve mental health Developing practical means for countering violence against women and girls Establishing a Mersey tidal commission to establish the viability and sustainability of a Mersey tidal barrage, which would be a major new source of renewable energy.
The specific project example we will be presenting – the Low Carbon Eco-Innovatory (LCEI) - matches up local academia with local SMEs to create or improve products, processes and services, in order to reduce negative environmental impacts; thus, it will ultimately bring about economic and environmental benefits for businesses and the community. The project is run by Liverpool John Moores University and part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.
SPEAKER: Prof. Andy SHAW Professor of Industrial Microwave Technologies, Liverpool John Moores University
Prof. Shaw graduated from Liverpool University with a BEng Hons. in Electrical and Electronic engineering, MSc (Eng.) in Materials science and a PhD titled "The Realisation of an Industrial Free Electron Laser", completed in 1995.
He worked as a postdoctoral researcher for eight years in industrial microwave applications and in 2003 became a lecturer at the University of Liverpool.
He joined the General Engineering Research Institute in 2005 at Liverpool John Moores University as a senior lecturer and then as the Head of the Electrical Engineering department within the School of Engineering.
For five years Prof. Shaw was Reader in Environmental and Sustainable Technologies within the Built Environment and Sustainable Technologies (BEST) Research Institute as part of the Radio Frequency and Microwave Research Group.
He is now Professor of Microwave Technology and heads up the BEST Research Institute.
CONTACT DETAILS:
Local: Brussels: Paul Dickson James Sharples Manager, Low Carbon Eco-Innovatory Policy Manager Faculty of Engineering & Technology Liverpool City Region Brussels Office Peter Jost Enterprise Centre Rue du Luxembourg 3 Byrom Street 1000 Brussels Liverpool L3 3AF (United Kingdom) Belgium Tel. +44 (0)151 231 2887 Tel. +32 (0) 2 229 5378 [email protected] [email protected] https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/ www.lcrbrussels.eu
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PARTNER DETAILS:
Name: City of Malmö NUTS Level: NUTS 3 Country: Sweden Region: Skåne Capital: Malmö Area: 158 km² Population: 325,000 Density: 2,056.96 inhab./km²
The City of Malmö is the largest city in the region Skåne with over 325,000 inhabitants; it is also the most important growth centre in the region. The city of Malmö has a very diverse population from more than 170 different nationalities. It has also a very young population with an average age of about 35 years. The strongest sectors in Malmö are logistics, retail and wholesale trade, construction, and property. There are also a number of well-known companies within biotechnology and medical technology, environmental technology, IT and digital media. Co-operation between colleges, science parks and companies provides a sound basis for entrepreneurs and creative development in Malmö.
Malmö is very easy to reach, whether via boat, plane, train or car. The airports of Kastrup, via the Öresund Bridge, and Sturup are only half an hour's journey from the centre of Malmö. Malmö has an international harbour managed by the Copenhagen-Malmö port authority.
Malmö has received many international awards for its focus on sustainable city development and pilot projects such as Augustenborg and the Western Harbour. Malmö was also appointed as the first Fair-trade City of Sweden.
City of Malmö on “Cities for Global Agendas”
City of Malmö was the first municipality in Sweden to sign Agenda 2030 and the implementing of SDGs at local level is in progress. The city is focusing a holistic perspective on social, economic and environmental sustainability. To achieve the SDGs, important pillars are leadership, communication and system thinking.
The local perspective is crucial for countries to be able to achieve the SDGs. Priority is to achieve a high focus in all of our municipal efforts towards the SDGs. The inhabitants in our city have over 178 nationalities, so what happens in the rest of the world has a direct impact on Malmö and vice versa. The city executive board made it a priority that all of our municipal agencies know of their crucial role in making sure that Sweden reaches the SDGs by 2030. By doing this, the global and the local goals become intertwined.
All of those who are a part of our civil society play a significant role in creating a sustainable city. That includes everyone from school teachers and the nurses in our elderly homes, to our environmental protection agents. And we want everyone to see themselves as part of something much bigger.
Cooperation and collaboration, especially between the local government and the business sector, are a crucial aspect of our sustainability work. The private sector knows that a stable and prosperous society is good for business. And for development to be sustainable long-term, the public and private sector have to work together with academia, NGOs and all the citizens. Malmö is an example in connection to national policy on governmental level, serving as an example on a multi-stakeholder partnership in line with SDG 17.
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SPEAKER:
Ms. Lena WETTERSKOG SJÖSTEDT Director Sustainable development secretariat, City of Malmö
Since 1 May 2017 Lena Wetterskog Sjöstedt has been director of the Agenda 2030 Office in City of Malmö. Previously she worked as director of City District South in City of Malmö and has a long experience of management- and organisational development in different contexts.
CONTACT DETAILS:
Local: Brussels: Agenda 2030-office in City of Malmö City of Malmö EU office August Palms plats 1 Rue de Luxembourg 3 20580 Malmö (Sweden) 1000 Brussels (Belgium) Tel. +46 (0) 708 341675 Tel. +32 (0) 2 5141410 [email protected] [email protected] www.malmo.se
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PARTNER DETAILS:
Name: Copenhagen EU Office NUTS Level: DK01 Country: Denmark Region: Capital Region of Denmark Capital: Copenhagen Area: 2.568,29 km² Population: 1.811.809 Density: 710 inhab./km²
Copenhagen combines growth, development and quality of life with reduced CO2 emissions and is working hard to become the world’s first CO2 neutral capital in 2025. The wider Copenhagen region accounts for 39% of Denmark’s output and has enjoyed stable growth over a long period. This has been delivered at the same time as improving environmental performance and transitioning to a low-carbon economy.
Copenhagen on “Cities for Global Agendas”
Copenhagen is highly committed to delivering on the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The ambitious visions of Copenhagen are achieved through a transition of our energy supply, building retrofits, waste management, public infrastructure and mobility, as well as other key initiatives to support the transition on both a short-term and long-term basis. Copenhagen has recently approved an action plan to work systematically on delivering on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which will reinforce the commitment.
SPEAKER:
Ms. Mette SKOVGAARD Senior adviser, City of Copenhagen
Mette Skovgaard has more than 20 years of working experience with sustainability in both public and private sector organisations.
She is currently project coordinator of the Horizon 2020 project “Cities Cooperating for a Circular Economy” (FORCE).
She is also implementing a test facility for sorting plastics and preparing a tender for an innovative solution for this.
She has worked for several private consultancies advising on the socio-economic consequences of sustainability measures and she also worked for the Danish Ministry of the Environment.
Mette Skovgaard holds a master’s degree in Economics from the University of Aarhus, Denmark.
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CONTACT DETAILS:
Local: Brussels: Copenhagen EU Office Copenhagen EU Office c/o Region Hovedstaden Rue du Luxembourg 3 Kongens Vaenge 2 1000 Brussels (Belgium) DK-3400 Hilleroed Tel. + 32 (0) 477 95 87 28 Denmark [email protected] www.cphoffice.eu
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18 Europe’s Cities Delivering the Big Global Agendas