A “potential” zero-carbon footprint is the energy-efficiency target for MUZA, Valletta’s new fine arts museum in a renovated 16th century building.
It’s a good resolution for 2018 but there is more to be done if we are to become a future-resilient city and nation.
Clear signs of climate change reaching these islands should be making us think about finding ways to cope in an uncertain future.
As we are already seeing, a warmer, drier scenario has been the general forecast for Malta. Add to that the odd flash flood and rising seas in the longer term.
In a detailed breakdown of what may be in store for us, a sectoral impact report for Malta points out that these are not actual predictions, but based on accepted sets of scenarios. The report is based on software used by the International Panel on Climate Change.
The task of defining a global average for changes in store for our planet has been long and complex. Narrowing it down to a regional scale is where it gets more difficult.
When the scientists looked at a spectrum of possible futures, they explored how systems would be likely to respond under a range of assumed conditions. Projections for the next few years (up to 2020) are less uncertain than those stretching to a more distant time horizon (2050).
For now, this is what we have to go by:
“Climate change impacts on local economic development are likely to be widespread, affecting all sectors of the economy, in particular tourism, fishing and public utilities.”
With higher winter temperatures more insects survive the cold seasons to carry disease and harm crops. At the same time, higher temperatures are known to reduce the effectiveness of certain pesticides. Heat-related death is already affecting a percentage of the population with diabetics especially at risk.
The Mediterranean Sea region could become less attractive as a holiday destination within the coming years. Within three or four decades from now, even the northern shores of the enclosed sea may have to shift their summer tourism to autumn and spring for visitor comfort, avoiding exposure to extreme temperatures.
First used in military parlance then in the financial world, the term “drawdown” refers to actions leading to a retreat in which atmospheric greenhouse gases begin to decline yearly. Climate drawdown is a goal for reversing climate change, eventually returning global average temperatures to less dangerous levels for life on Earth.
Away from the political arena, organisations and individuals around the world have been quietly working on solutions to global warming. Project Drawdown brings them together in a drive to measure the collective impact of a broad range of solutions which can be adopted on a wide scale.
The project looks at what humanity is capable of achieving with the broad range of tools already in use around the globe rather than focusing on just one or two solutions.
The Maltese Islands’ population density is on a par with sprawling, water-challenged Adelaide, yet our own impending water crisis may prove to be greater.… helping cities to improve water management and build green infrastructure in the face of the acute water shortages facing their regions
Geo-engineering proposals are viewed with healthy scepticism. At the American Geophysical Union conference last December, a glaciologist from Princeton University suggested a new concept to prevent the collapse of Antarctica’s glaciers. Could underwater barriers installed in front of vulnerable glaciers stop warmer ocean water from melting them?
Project Drawdown has chosen its list of solutions carefully. A solution must be currently available and economically viable. If there are negative side-effects (pollution, reduced food security, land conversion) these must be outweighed by the benefits. There also has to be enough data to model a technology so it can be applied on a global scale.
To be accepted, any proposal to capture or cut down on carbon must enable a reduction of at least 50 million tons of greenhouse gas over 30 years.
Project Drawdown is making all data and tools freely available. The website is a repository for information on solutions allowing communities to engage and take local action.
Another pioneer of the resilience movement has been set up to change how cities are approaching the challenges of the 21st century.
The 100 Resilient Cities Network sees itself as a starter project, providing selected cities with access to resilience-building tools and services supplied by chosen partners in the private, public, academic and non-profit sectors.
The network promotes planning for potential shocks (chronic water shortages, fires, floods etc.) while tackling everyday stresses such as inefficient public transport. It hopes to expand to tens of thousands of cities if take-up is positive.
The Nature Conservancy (based in Virginia, USA) and World Wildlife Fund are just two of the 100 RCN partners helping cities to improve water management and build green infrastructure in the face of the acute water shortages facing their regions. A network partner since last November, the National Observatory of Athens has come up with a real-time alarm system for extreme temperatures. A heat wave alert app warns citizens on their mobile phones. EXTREMA also acts as a dashboard for local authorities to manage cooling centres and monitor hotspots across the city.
Five cities suffering drought, intermittent flooding, vulnerability to sea level rise and an aquifer crisis (Amman, Cape Town, Mexico City, Miami and Hull) have been appointed by design and engineering firm Arup to develop a global water resilience framework.
In the driest state, on the driest continent, Adelaide airport uses recycled water for toilet flushing. A stormwater facility in the car park feeds the Australian terminal’s cooling system and landscaped areas have been upgraded with drought-tolerant species.
The Maltese Islands’ population density is on a par with sprawling, water-challenged Adelaide, yet our own impending water crisis may prove to be greater.