Application Form for the European Green Capital Award 2021

2. Climate Change: Adaptation Refer to Section 2.2 of the Guidance Note

2A. Present Situation

Describe the present state of climate change adaptation in the city. Thereby, include an answer to each of the following questions:

Awareness and Commitment

▪ How does the city assess the level of awareness on the need to adapt to climate change with different stakeholder groups - administration, politicians, citizens, business etc.? ▪ How has the city organised the responsibility for adaptation in the administration and established collaboration between different departments? ▪ Does the political level show commitment and in which way? ▪ Is the city part of national, European or international adaptation initiatives like the 'Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy'?

Vulnerability and Risk Assessment

▪ Does the city have a systematic vulnerability and risk assessment to identify and prioritise the future climate change impacts in your city? Please describe this. ▪ Please describe the assessment approach including:  The climate impacts (temperature, different types of flooding, droughts, vulnerability of certain population groups, etc.);  Sectors it considers (e.g. transport, water management, health etc.);  The identified specific climate challenges for the city.

Vision

▪ Has the city set an overall vision/target to adapt to climate change impacts? Name it.

Climate Change Adaptation Strategy/Action Plan

▪ Does the city have a climate change adaptation strategy and/or an action plan? Please describe:  Is it draft/adopted/implemented?  Is it a stand alone document or part of other strategic documents of the city? In the latter case, please name these and provide cross references to other relevant indicators where these have been described;  Name the impacts and sectors considered;  Provide the targets and milestones set.

Adaptation Measures

▪ Does the city implement or plan adaptation measures?

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▪ Does the city have a comprehensive adaptation action plan or systematic list of measures? ▪ Which types of measures does the city consider (technical measures, green and blue infrastructure, soft measures like regulation and behavior)? ▪ Describe key measures. Eventually reference to adaptation relevant measures in other indicator areas and explain how these are designed to support adaptation; ▪ Do you mainstream measures into other sectors like water management, climate mitigation, green spaces or other to use win-win-options? Please, describe and cross reference to other relevant indicators where appropriate; ▪ What share of the budget is invested in climate change adaptation?

How does the city involve stakeholders, like citizens, other sectors, public and private owners etc. in awareness raising, planning and implementation?

How does the city monitor progress in terms of the implementation of measures and of actual reduced vulnerability/risks?

(max. 1,000 words and five graphics, images or tables)

Climate adaptation risks, vulnerabilities and main targets were identified in 2018. Adaptation work is part of the Covenant of Mayors 2030 Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP) that will be ready in 2019. SECAP is a continuation of SEAP2020, in which Lahti has 44 actions to mitigate climate change. Now, adaptation is also a part of the strategical action plan. Assessment of vulnerability indicators, and prioritizing the most important coping capasities will be done in autumn 2018.

Awareness and Commitment

These are the key areas for the success of the adaptation work. Lahti's values are Openly, Responsibly, Together. These values have been concretely embedded in all actions. Vulnerabilities have been discussed with the citizens at five ‘My Lahti’ participation events 2018. As part of the Resin (EU Horizon2020) project Resilient Cities and Infrastructures [1], a cross-sectoral adaptation working group has had so far six meetings in 2018. The working group coordinates the Climate Change Risks and Vulnerabilities Assessment. A stakeholders’ workshop was held in summer 2018. Fifty people, presenting different stakeholders and departments, gathered together for a Lahti Adapts workshop, where the main impacts, risks and vulnerabilities as well as coping capacities were identified and listed in IVAVIA tables (Fig.A1). After the workshop, the results were published on Lahti website and also sent to an iteration round for a wide range of stakeholders. Further on it will go to the Lahti Executive Committee and the Mayor to prioritaze the actions during autumn 2018. The Environmental Development Unit, which is under the City Group Administration, is responsible for the adaptation work.

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Figure A1. The IVAVIA tool, developed in the Resin project, was used at the Lahti Adapt stakeholders’ workshop in 2018.

Increasing precipitation (+5–36%, depending on scenario and month) and increasing temperatures (+2.9–8.2 degrees C, depending on scenario and month) were the two phenomenas recognized as the most threatening at the stakeholders’ workshop. Other hazards that Lahti will have to adapt to are heavy rains, heat waves and storm winds. Exposured sectors are 1) land-use planning and construction, 2) infrastructure, 3) biodiversity and urban green and blue spaces, 4) social and healthcare, 5) water and wastewater management and 6) rescue management. There is a variety of specific challenges identified for Lahti, i.e. stormwater management and ageing people. Area of Lahti was laserscanned in summer 2017 and a new spatial model is being constructed. Urban flood risk map will be finalized in autumn 2018. It can be layered with other maps, such as elderly population and ecosystem service hot spots.

Stormwater management is increasing its importance in land-use planning and special flood conveyance routes are being planned in every new urban plan. Stormwater detention quotas for every city block (mm per rain event) will be implemented in the master planning process in 2018. A Climate-Proof City – The Planner’s Workbook at ilmastotyokalut.fi database, is in use. Many ongoing actions are presented in Table A2.

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Table A2. The City of Lahti is currently implementing several climate change adaptation actions.

Main Identified [1] Lahti City Monitoring and Climate Estimated Cost Consortium Performance Change Action, Project Name Partners Year (€) and Funding Staff Evaluation Hazards and Source Allocation Scheme Challenges in Lahti

City centre Lahti School of 10 000 Assessment, did City Floods vulnerability Applied Sciences 1 2014 not contain assessment (LUAS), City of Lahti LUAS, student monitoring thesis Circa 2 M€

City of Lahti, Finnish Large-scale University of Government Monitoring investment and R&D Helsinki, Smart & 2017-2018. (quantity and 2017- Eutrophication project Hybrid Clean Foundation, 2 quality of storm 2020 Solutions for Urban LADEC, City of Applications will water) is part of Storm Water Helsinki, Espoo and be sent to several the project Vantaa other funding sources

District cooling system City of Lahti, Lahti Planning costs, No investments analysed for new Energy, private 1 2012- 10 000 € made. residential areas companies

Heat Waves and Health Good network of Risks street trees (Tilia vulgaris) Circa 3 000 City of Lahti, private Maintenance Maintenance is 1 1900- trees in the centre of companies 150 000 €/a. monitored Lahti and 10 000 overall (Fig. B4)

Effects on Prevention of invasive Treated areas Green Spaces plant species Luontoturva Ky, City 1 + are monitored 2017 50 000 € and of Lahti, volunteers volunteers by Luontoturva Biodiversity Voluntary work Ky programme (Fig. A3)

Several M€ Storms and Storm-proof electricity Lahti Energy 2010- Monitored by 2 Strong Winds network Company Ltd 2030 Lahti Energy Lahti Energy Ltd. Company Ltd

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Finnish Geological Survey, City of Lahti, Mikkeli and Helsinki (FI), St. Petersburg water company Quality and Groundwater Risk 120 000, City Vodokanal (RUS), quantity of Assessment and budget share Voeikov Main 2018- groundwater is Modelling (Fig. A4), 2 30 000 € Geophysical 2020 monitored

Observatory (RUS), continuously by RAINMAN ENI-CBC (EU) Federal State the City of Lahti Impacts on Budgetary Ground Water Institution "State Reservoirs Hydrological Institute" (RUS)

Ice prevention of city 2017- 300 000 € annual Monitored centre streets: change 2018 City of Lahti 1 extra cost continuously by from NaCl use to test the City of Lahti EcoMelter product period

City of Lahti

Figure A3. A joint volunteer work campaign by Luontoturva and the City was launched in summer 2017 to prevent the invasive species.

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Figure A4. A large part of Lahti urban structures lie above one of the most valuable drinking water resources in Northern Europe.

Creating an Innovation Platform: Hybrid Solutions for Treating Urban Stormwater

Finding the best solutions to treat urban storm water is currently high on priority on the city’s agenda, as the city is implementing a large-scale investment project called “Hybrid Solutions for Urban Stormwater Management”. This improves the 1) climate resiliency of Lahti City and 2) water quality of nearby Lake Vesijärvi. The project received a Finnish Government Programme Key Pilot Project status and funding for 2017- 2018. The idea is to create both large and small-scale solutions for treating urban stormwaters and to combine them into two urban development areas in Lahti (Fig. A5) [15].

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Figure A5. Project “Hybrid Solutions for Urban Stormwater”.

2B. Past Performance

Describe the cities situation of climate change adaptation five to ten years ago and how the action evolved over time to reach the present situation. Which climate and adaptation challenges was the city facing, how did the city overcome these and what actions were taken? Use the questions under Section 2A as a guide to formulate the response.

(max. 800 words and five graphics, images or tables)

In 2012, PACT [5] was produced by project consultant Alexander Ballard Ltd. to assess the organizational capacity of Lahti to respond to climate change effects. The results were as shown in Figure B1.

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Figure B1. PACT assessment result: the state of Lahti's adaptation programme on climate change, in September 2012.

Lahti participated in a project called Adaption Strategies for European Cities (EU Cities Adapt) [2] during 2012- 2013. The project surveyed municipalities’ adaptive actions and the overall ‘adaptive capacity’ of individual cities, and created a base for adaptation programme planning. Together with specialists, key climate change risks were identified. A working group was established for adaption planning within the consortium.

An impact and risk assessment was performed during the EU Cities Adapt project. Ongoing actions (Table A2) have been chosen on the basis of the analysis. After the EU Cities Adapt, Lahti continued working with climate change adaptation within the ERDF funded national ILKKA project (2012-2014) [3]. At that time, Lahti started to draft a climate change adaption programme focusing on areas described in Section 2A. The ILKKA project provided a large number of planning tools, such as the Green ratio calculator for climate change adaptation, which are currently in use in the urban planning of many cities in Finland, including Lahti. A database, the Climate-Proof City – The Planner’s Workbook (ilmastotyokalut.fi) was created in the project. Also, the first carbon storage and carbon sink maps about the municipal area were created.

Urban Ecosystem Approach in the Lahti Adaptation Work

Since early 2000, the City of Lahti has coupled city development work with university research. Department of Environmental Sciences (UH-DES) of the University of Helsinki [6] is mainly located in Lahti and receives strategic funding from the city. The aim of this co-operation is to increase city resiliency. The department has a strong focus on urban ecology and climate change research questions.

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Increasing precipitation that causes, i.e. urban and river flooding, is expected to be one of the most problematic climate change impacts [7] in Northern Europe. The City of Lahti has built and studied stormwater structures in new residential areas (Fig. B2) during 2008-2018, using scientific knowledge from UH-DES (Fig. A5). According to the research results [8] from these study sites, stormwater systems reduce the speed of water flow from retention area to the water body, and diminish the leaching of nutrients and heavy metals.

Figure B2. Stormwater management structures in the Karisto residential area, Lahti 2017.

Cities can greatly benefit from and create a more adaptable infrastructure by utilising ecosystem ecology research results. The University of Helsinki has studied green roofs and their impacts on nutrient leaching loss in northern climates [8], proving that these are important structures for balancing urban hydrology.

Forestry adaptation questions are highly relevant throughout Finland, including Lahti, as the city owns roughly 7 000 hectares of forest. A large part, circa 60%, of the forest consists of approximately 80-year-old spruce [9], which makes it prone to, e.g. mass colonization by certain damaging insects, such as Ips typographus, which additionally benefits from climate change induced warmer summers and increased wind damage. These threats are considered in the new forest management practices of Lahti [10].

Mitigating the Health Risks of Climate Change

As in the Southern Latitudes, climate change poses risks to human health in Northern Europe, although the

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effects occurring may not be that severe or sudden. Some preliminary actions are described in Table B3, but further analysis and attention is needed.

Table B3. Climate change induced risks for human health and their mitigation in Lahti.

Possible Risks that Changing Climate Actions Taken to Estimated Cost (€) and Partners Year Poses to Human Mitigate the Risk Funding Source Health in Lahti

Milder Winter with Increasing Amount of Text-message warning City of Lahti, other Freeze-thaw Cycles + system of slippery cities, YIT service 2014- Part of service cost Aging Population = weather conditions, centre PANU Increasing Amount of free for users [11] Slip and Fall Accidents

So far, only planning costs of several City of Lahti, energy thousand euros, but District cooling system companies, property 2012- investment is on several owners M€ scale. No decisions made.

Heat Waves and Health Lahti has a good Risks network of street trees (Tilia × vulgaris) that shade the buildings in Street tree network the city centre. Circa City of Lahti 1900- maintenance 150 000 3 000 trees in the €/yr. centre of Lahti and 10 000 trees overall (Fig. B4).

Several M€ Storm-proof electricity Lahti Energy Company 2010-2030 network Ltd Lahti Energy Company Ltd Storms and Strong Winds Forest and street tree City of Lahti, forest Part of forest 2011- management practices harvesting companies management budget

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Figure B4. Lahti has a good network of street trees (Tilia × vulgaris).

2C. Future Plans

Following on from the present situation described under Section 2A, describe the future short and long term objectives and proposed approach for further ‘climate-proofing’ and adaptation to the impacts of climate change. Describe planned measures, including timescales, and emphasise to what extent plans are supported by commitments, budget and staff allocations, participatory approaches and monitoring and performance evaluation schemes.

Make reference to any long-term strategy employed and how it is integrated with other environmental areas.

Briefly explain the rationale for choosing these future measures and highlight any innovative financing arrangements.

(max. 800 words and five graphics, images or tables)

Lahti is aiming at becoming a climate-resilient city by 2030 by cutting the majority of our CO2 emissions (-70% from 1990 level by 2030) and building a society able to cope with the changes [12, 13]. We are currently designing a new SECAP for 2030 with even more ambitious CO2 reduction targets: by 2021 -70 % from 1990 level and carbon-neutrality by 2030 at the latest.

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In Northern Europe the expected temperature rise [7] is much higher than the global average: there will be a decrease in snow coverage, an increase in river flows and storm water, a northward movement of species and an increase in crop yields. The majority of climate change effects pose serious threats to ecosystems and risks to building infrastructure and human health. One positive impact may be the decrease in the need for energy in heating. The Forests and Green Areas Master Plan and Biodiversity Master Plan are under development. These strategical programmes will provide a strong adaptation basis. The more green areas and biodiversity Lahti has, the better the coping capacity is. The mapping of Lahti carbon storages started in 2012 and will be updated in 2018. Adaptation measures are included in the Lahti Environmental Programme that was accepted 2018. These will be revised in 2021 and 2030. Adaptation measures will be followed up also in SECAP 2030. Nature conservation actions will be made in order to protect and increase carbon sinks (Fig. C1). A compensation programme will be established before 2021.

Figure C1. Nature conservation areas are important for providing carbon sinks and biodiversity hot-spots in changing climate conditions. Although the SECAP of Lahti City is as yet under preparation, we are implementing several climate change adaptation measures with a future perspective (Table C2).

Table C2. Current and future adaptation measures of Lahti City.

Main Identified Lahti City Monitoring and [1] Climate Action, Year of Planned/ Estimated Cost Consortium Staff Performance Change Hazards Partners Conducted (EUR) and Allocation Evaluation and Challenges Project Name Measures Funding Source (persons) Scheme in Lahti

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Lahti School City centre of Applied Assessment, did 10 000 € LUAS, vulnerability Sciences 1 2014 assessment not contain student thesis assessment (LUAS), City monitoring of Lahti City Floods Further LUAS and research and other possible universities, 1-2 2017-2020 Unknown Unknown investments in property warning system owners

circa 2 M€: City of Lahti,

University of 0,6 M€ Finnish Helsinki, Government Large-scale Smart & 2017-2018; investment and Clean Monitoring

R&D project Foundation, (quantity and 2017-2020 R&D, 0,3 M€ Smart & Eutrophication Hybrid Solutions Lahti 2 quality of storm investments Clean for Urban Storm Development water) is part of Foundation Water Company the project

LADEC, City Applications will of Helsinki, be sent to Espoo and several other Vantaa funding sources

So far, only District cooling planning costs of City of Lahti, system analysed Planning started several Lahti Energy for new in 2012, no thousand euros, No decision Company, 1 residential areas decisions made but investment made. private and for Lahti on investments is on several M€ companies city centre scale. No decisions made.

Lahti has a good Heat Waves and network of Health Risks street trees (Tilia × vulgaris) Street tree City of Lahti, that shade the 2 (maintenance network is private buildings in the work is maintained with Maintenance is gardening 1900- city centre. performed by annual city monitored service Circa 3 000 companies) budget of 150 companies trees in the 000 €. centre of Lahti and 10 000 trees overall.

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Prevention of invasive plant species, especially Impatiens glandulifera and Luontoturva 2017 pilot, Treated areas Effects on 1 (project uses Heracleum Ky, City of probably are monitored Green Spaces large amount of 50 000 € persicum-group Lahti, continues in by Luontoturva and Biodiversity volunteer work) volunteers 2018 Ky Voluntary work programme probably continues in 2018 Storm-proof electricity network, Several M€ investments are Monitored by Storms and Lahti Energy performed as 2 2010-2025 Lahti Energy Strong Winds Company Ltd Lahti Energy part of the city Ltd. Company Ltd electricity network investments Finnish Geological Survey, City of Lahti, Mikkeli and Quality and Helsinki (FI), quantity of St. groundwater is Petersburg monitored water continuously by company 120 000, City City of Lahti, Groundwater Vodokanal budget share Environmental Risk Assessment (RUS), Services and 2 2018-2020 30 000 € and Modelling, Voeikov effects of RAINMAN Main ENI-CBC (EU) climate change Impacts on Geophysical on groundwater Ground Water Observatory will be Reservoirs (RUS), modelled by the Federal State Finnish Budgetary Geological Institution Survey "State Hydrological Institute" (RUS)

Ice prevention 300 000 € of City centre annual extra Monitored streets: change 2017-2018 test City of Lahti 1 cost continuously by from NaCl use period the City of Lahti to EcoMelter product City of Lahti Selection was based on projects [1-2] and our impact and risk assessment analysis (Table B3).

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2D. References

List supporting documentation, adding links where possible. Further detail may be requested during the pre- selection phase. Documentation should not be forwarded at this stage.

(max. 400 words)

1. Resin project (English) 2. EU Cities Adapt Project 2011-2013 (English) 3. ILKKA project ERDF 2012-2014 created planning tools for Climate proof cities (English) 4. Smart & Clean Foundation of Helsinki Metropolitan Area and Lahti (English) 5. The PACT framework was identified by the UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKIP) in 2010, as the best framework available to support cities in their work on adaptation. 6. University of Helsinki, Department of Environmental Sciences studies many climate adaptation questions, such as effects of green infrastructure on cities microclimate and hydrology 7. EEA, 2015. Climate change impacts and adaptation (English) 8. Huttunen, J. 2014: Natural Stormwater Management in New Residential Areas of Karisto and Kytölä in Lahti (Finnish) 9. The UH Fifth dimension research project studies green roofs (English) 10. Forest management practices of Lahti 2013-2025 (Finnish) 11. Text-message warning system of slippery weather condition, designed by YIT Engineering Company 12. Lahti City Strategy (English) 13. Lahti Environmental Program 2030 (English) 14. Hybrid Solutions for Urban Stormwater Management project (Finnish)

Word Count Check

Please complete the below word count check for Indicator 2: Climate Change: Adaptation, Sections 2A, 2B and 2C.

As per the Guidance Note (Annex 2 of the Rules of Contest), the word count includes text in graphics/tables and the body of text. The word count excludes text in the original application form and captions.

Number of words in Number of words in Total number of words in Max. Section graphics/tables body of text graphics/tables and body of text words 2A 998 1,000 2B 789 800 2C 798 800

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