EIT Climate-KIC invites all partners and external parties who are active in the field of Nature Based Solutions (NBS) to take part in the Matchmaking Event ‘Building Green, Resilient Cities‘ on 21 March in Utrecht.
Together we can increase the impact of nature based solutions
The application of NBS remains limited and fragmented within cities. Grey infrastructure continues to dominate urban development. In order to explore how innovative NBS can make a contribution to creating more resilient cities, EIT Climate-KIC will bring together public authorities facing adaptation challenges with organisations developing and implementing NBS.
The primary objective of this event is to matchmake demand side players (cities) facing adaptation challenges with NBS providers to scale NBS implementation.
It provides stakeholders with the opportunity to:
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Co-create solution pathways for the specific cases put forward by cities;
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Explore potential innovation project ideas and the development of solutions and/or products;
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Develop and nurture the EIT Climate-KIC community active in the field of NBS, to understand our collective expertise and ambitions;
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Engage in meaningful dialogues and identify potential synergies.
The challenges of participating cities
Four European cities – Region of Gothenburg, Lisbon, Strovolos, and Vejle, have shared their challenges and what kind of solutions they are looking for. Click here for an overview.
Click here if you would like to read more about our recent projects focused on Nature Based Solutions.
Programme
13:30-14:00 Welcome & Registration
14:00-14:10 Introduction
14:10-14:40 Keynote ‘Nature-Based Solutions; From Conception to Reality’ – Frans van de Ven, Senior Advisor, Deltares
14:40-15:20 Concrete adaptation challenges in need of solutions – dedicated case by case discussion on real-life adaptation challenges experienced by cities from across Europe: Region of Gothenburg, Lisbon, Strovolos, and Vejle.
15:20-16:30 Speed dating Matchmaking Session
16:30-17:30 Networking with drinks & snacks
Venue
EIT Climate-KIC
H.R. Kruyt building
Padualaan 8, First Floor – Learning Space
3584 CH Utrecht
The Netherlands
About Nature-Based Solutions
Climate change will have far-reaching impacts and consequences for urban Europe, such as severe floods, droughts and heat waves. These events can spell disaster for cities and the inhabitants in them. Between 1980-2010 Europe lost €300 billion due to storms, landslides, floods and mudflows, and saw 75,000 deaths as a result of heatwaves. In Copenhagen alone, extreme rainfall in 2011 caused widespread flooding and damage when the sewers could not cope with the huge volume of water. Insurance damages alone were estimated at €650–700 million. EIT Climate-KIC’s community aims to address this challenge by 2030 by bringing nature back into cities and harnessing the power of nature in infrastructure and drainage to boost resilience, improving how we live in our cities. Come and join our community in delivering this ambition on 21 of March by working on real-life resilience challenges.
How can Nature-Based Solutions help?
Adaptation to climate change is the adjustment of natural or human systems (e.g. cities) in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects. It moderates harm or seeks to exploit the beneficial opportunities resulting from climate change. The Paris Agreement, Sustainable Development Goals (especially Goal 11 on sustainable cities), Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, and New Urban Agenda place unprecedented importance on actions to help society adapt, and increase ambitions that all countries and cities will do their part to promote greater climate resilience.
Adaptation involves a range of interventions, such as nature-based solutions (NBS), that can be taken to reduce the vulnerability of society and to improve urban resilience. NBS are natural, service providing infrastructural entities that are often more resilient and more capable of meeting social environmental and economic objectives than ‘grey infrastructure’. They offer several opportunities for cities; improved air quality and comfort levels (health benefits), improved water management, improved climate resilience, improved land and property values, aesthetic improvements, noise reduction, and improved biodiversity.
For more information about Climate-KIC’s urban transitions area of focus click here.