ClairCity newsletter ClairCity newsletter January 2019 | Page 5

Changing cities, changing times Find out the new challenges and opportunities that are facing each of our partner cities and regions. Since ClairCity started in 2016, our partner cities and regions have undergone their own changes. As well as defining their baseline situation, ClairCity keeps up with the shifts in policy and action. Gas-free Amsterdam Going “gas-free” (ending the use of fossil gas for heating in the built environment) has become an important framing of national policies in the Netherlands, due to a decision in early 2018 to leave the remaining domestic gas reserves in the ground and to strive for a natural gas-free built environment by 2050. The first neighbourhood in Amsterdam to become gas-free has been chosen and received national support. The city elections in March 2018 brought in a centre-left coalition, who are aiming for a gas-free city by 2040, and a carbon emission free city (within the city ring) by 2025. Natural gas fields Carbon neutral Bristol In late 2018, Bristol City Council unanimously voted for the city to become carbon neutral by 2030, the most ambitious target of any UK city. The decision was taken to reflect the warning of the United Nations International Panel on Climate Change 2018 report, announcing that for global warming to remain below 1.5C, action had to be taken within 12 years. 5 Slovenia drives change The Slovenian Ministry of Infrastructure drafted an action plan on alternative fuels in transport in June 2018. Transport contributes almost one third of greenhouse gas emissions in Slovenia and is a significant source of air pollution in towns. The government announced a shift towards sustainable mobility and electrified transport. The long-term objective is to reduce emissions from transport by half of 1990 levels by 2050. Over 1,000 kilometres of cycling surfaces and suitable solutions for pedestrians will be built within urban areas, and between satellite villages around larger towns in the next four years. Sosnowiec shifts Air pollution has moved higher up the national Polish agenda and gained more local traction in Sosnowiec since 2016, although public awareness on the issue remains low across Poland. The good news is that concentrations and exceedances declined from 2014 to 2016. New state-funded programmes have been introduced to encourage households to switch to alternative fuels, district heating and/or to upgrade their boilers, and a city bike-sharing scheme has been introduced in Sosnowiec. However, pollution levels are still massively exceeding EU limit and target values, especially in winter months. Genoa’s road woes On the morning of 14 August 2018, the Morandi bridge - part of the A10 motorway - in Genoa collapsed. A complete reorientation of traffic flows in the city in the coming years is therefore required. In September 2018 substantial amounts of public money were allocated to local transport and city planning. However, authorities expect that air pollution will get worse in the most affected parts of the city due to congestion until alternatives to the bridge have been constructed. Central Genoa Aveiro on wheels In July 2018 a national plan for the expansion of the cycling network was published in Portugal. The plan involves the construction of 1,000 kilometers of bicycle paths in the next 10 years, requiring an investment of 300 million euros. The financing is a mix of national and local funding. While the investment in cycling has been welcomed by sustainable transport and air quality campaigners, in Aveiro it remains to be seen whether this will support “cycling as a mode of transport” or whether the improved facilities will be focused on leisure and tourism routes. These updates are drawn from our D6.4 “Multi-level and SWOT analysis of air quality” report, available in the “Academic” section of our online reports archive. To find out more, visit www.claircity. eu/reports