The study was completet by the Information Centre for
Climate Change Adaptation collaboratively with Local Government
Denmark, the Coordination Unit for Research in Climate Change
Adaptation and the market research institute YouGov Zapera.
The objective of the study is to improve the Danish Portal for
Adaptation to Climate Change and make it easier for local
government to exchange knowledge and experience about climate
change adaptation. The study will also provide input on the
organisation of future climate change adaptation efforts in
general.
The study consists of a questionnaire, asking questions about
e.g.:
-
how climate change adaptation is included in local government
work;
-
how far municipalities have come with strategies and concrete
initiatives;
-
the degree to which municipalities have the required knowledge base
for carrying out climate adaptation work;
-
the extent to which municipalities know and are using the Portal
for Adaptation to Climate Change.
The study's target group is the 98 Danish municipalities. A total
of 73 municipalities responded to the questionnaire within the
deadline, corresponding to a response rate of 74%.
Generally, in the following, percentage figures relate to only
those municipalities which responded to the questionnaire.
Therefore, "50% of the municipalities" means "50% of the
municipalities that responded to the questionnaire in the
study".
Main conclusions
In overall terms, the study indicates that climate change
adaptation is high on the municipal agenda. Work is in progress to
map and establish strategies, as well as to establish measures to
manage increased water volumes. Fewer municipalities are
establishing measures in other areas and many municipalities lack
knowledge and tools.
Many municipalities are expecting more flooding in the future from
precipitation and from the sea. The majority of the municipalities
therefore identify sewage/wastewater and planning as their areas of
priority with regard to climate change adaptation efforts in the
years to come.
Around half of the municipalities are cooperating with other
municipalities about climate change adaptation, and quite a few
have involved the public in their work in some way or
another.
The main conclusions are outlined in more detail below.
Climate change adaptation included in plans and
strategies
Climate change adaptation has been included in the municipal plan
of every 4 out of 5 municipalities. A majority of
municipal plans state that the municipal plan must take climate
change into consideration, and a quarter of the municipal plans
include a specific outline of climate-change consequences and
mitigation measures. A total of 42% of the municipalities have
prepared a special climate change adaptation strategy or
plan, and among those municipalities who have not yet prepared such
a document, two thirds (67%) state that they intend to prepare one
within the next few years. Adaptation to climate change has
moreover been taken into account in 82% of sewage and wastewater
plans; 74% of local development plans; and 51% of urban development
strategies.
Increased water volumes - the most urgent climate challenge, say
municipalities
In far the majority of the municipalities, climate change
adaptation is about establishing protection against increased water
volumes from precipitation - leading to greater pressure on sewage
and wastewater management - and against rises in groundwater levels
and sea levels.
This focus is probably due to the fact that these are concrete
phenomena which the municipalities and the public can already see
are in urgent need of solutions. A total of 81% are to a great or
to some extent expecting more floods from precipitation in the
future, while 65% of the coastal municipalities are expecting more
challenges from flooding events from the sea in future.
The municipalities have gone great lengths to identify the scope of
the problem and identify risk areas. A total of 73% have to a great
or to some extent mapped areas vulnerable to flooding from
stormwater, groundwater or sewage, and a total of 67% of the
coastal municipalities have mapped areas vulnerable to flooding
from the sea.
Only a few municipalities can provide precise budgets for climate
change adaptation. As one of the municipalities in the study says,
the financial situation in Danish municipalities in general is
characterised by short-term decisions and, so far, investments in
future climate adaptation measures are not a vote winner.
Concrete measures and future action areas of the
municipalities primarily address water challenges
The concrete measures already launched by the
municipalities to mitigate the damage caused by climate change
reflect that predicted increased water volumes are the most urgent
challenge:
-
34% have to a great or to some extent refrained from designating
land for development due to the risk of flooding, and a further 15%
are planning to refrain from similar designations in 1-2
years.
-
60% have to a great or to some extent invested in refurbishment of
their sewerage systems, and a further 12% are planning similar
actions in 1-2 years.
-
47% have to a great or to some extent recommended or stipulated
requirements for certain terrain heights or foundation elevations
in building projects, and a further 8% are planning similar actions
in 1-2 years.
-
69% have to a great or to some extent stipulated requirements for
local storm water drainage in connection with new buildings, and a
further 11% are planning to do so in 1-2 years.
-
Of the 18% of the municipalities that to some extent have adapted
towns or urban districts to climate change, the majority have done
so by finding creative uses for water.
-
36% have a contingency plan for flooding from lakes, rivers and
sewerage systems, and 33% of the coastal municipalities have a
contingency plan for flooding from the sea.
-
18% of coastal municipalities have been involved in coastal
protection projects that include climate change
considerations.
84% of the municipalities identify sewage and wastewater, and 79%
planning, as the areas in which they will be giving priority to
climate adaptation in the coming years, while flooding and building
and construction are areas that will be given priority by 70% and
63% of the municipalities respectively in the coming years.
Nature in focus
Next to water, planning, and building and construction, nature is
the area receiving most attention. A total of 39% expect that
climate change to a great or to some extent will provide more
undesired plant and animal species, and 14% expect fewer natural
assets. A total of 22% of the municipalities have to a great or to
some extent examined climate change impacts on natural areas. A
total of 23% have considered climate change in their nature
management, including in the form of control of invasive species
and when selecting tree species, and a further 35% are planning to
do so in the long term. A total of 42% have to a great or to some
extent established wetlands, and a further 16% are planning similar
actions in 1-2 years. Many municipalities indicate that they have
designed wetlands so they can be used as flood retention basins
during heavy downpours.
Only few efforts in other areas
Transport and roads are afforded relatively low priority. Only 10%
of the municipalities have to some extent adapted their roads to
cope with increasing amounts of precipitation, and only a further
10% plan to do so in 1-2 years.
Although 38% of the municipalities to a great or to some extent
expect more storm damage in future, only 8% state that they have
insured public buildings, parks and installations against storm
damage, and only 15% are planning to do so in the long term.
According to the responses to the questions, health is the area
which is afforded the least priority in relation to climate change
adaptation. However, efforts in other areas, including prevention
of floods, are also significant for the prevention of health
problems that could arise e.g. from humid buildings.
On the other hand, 11% of the municipalities answered that they to
some extent expect health problems as a consequence of health
waves, and 20% expect an increased incidence of allergies and
infections due to climate change. Of the 18% that have adapted
buildings and institutions to climate change, the majority have
established solar protection.
Municipal collaboration about climate change
adaptation
More than half of the municipalities (52%) answered that they
collaborate with other municipalities on climate adaptation.
Examples show that collaboration projects include concrete projects
on stormwater/surface water retention, on sewage/wastewater
management and on establishing dikes; as well as exchange of
experience via municipal and regional climate networks.
The public is interested and is being involved in
efforts
As many as 67% of the municipalities answered that they find the
public is interested in climate change and in possibilities for
adaptation. A total of 41% have to a great or to some extent
involved the public in climate adaptation, while 28% have informed
the public and enterprises about what they themselves can do to
adapt to the climate of the future, e.g. through information
folders, information boards, and websites, for example with
information about local stormwater drainage.
Many municipalities lack knowledge and
tools
Only 7% of the municipalities believe that they to a great extent
have the knowledge and tools necessary to make decisions about
climate adaptation. A total of 41% to some extent have the
knowledge and tools necessary, while half of the municipalities
believe that they do not, or only to a little extent, have the
knowledge and tools to make decisions about climate adaptation. The
majority of these lack knowledge about the consequences of climate
change in different sectors and local areas, as well as knowledge
about concrete options available for climate change adaption in
municipalities.
They are also looking for tools to perform socioeconomic analyses
and risk analyses, and they lack decision-making tools for
prioritising efforts, as well as tools for mapping flood-threatened
areas.
Half of the municipalities are familiar with www.klimatilpasning.dk
A total of 49% say that they to a great extent or to some extent
are familiar with the Danish Portal for Adaptation to Climate
Change atwww.klimatilpasning.dk. A
total of 36% are only to a little extent familiar with the portal,
and 12% do not know about the portal. One third (35%) of the
municipalities that know about and have visited the portal have to
a great or to some extent found it useful.