Cities and municipalities are doing this to combat climate change

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A city without trees? Hardly imaginable. Trees not only beautify urban spaces, they also have a major influence on the urban climate. By casting shadows, by evaporative cooling. In short: they make our cities more liveable – especially in hot summers.

One of the people who takes care of the trees in the city of Zurich is Andrea Gion Saluz (35), head of Urban Tree Coordination at Grün Stadt Zurich. His job: to make sure the trees in the city thrive.

Saluz does this, among other things, with the software program “i-Tree” developed in the US. It enables the quantitative registration and monetary conversion of ecosystem services of urban trees and forests.

Switzerland is particularly hard hit by climate change

With “i-Tree”, Saluz can determine how much particulate matter a tree filters out of the air, or how much rainwater is retained in the root area. And how much it would cost to divert this amount of water differently without causing damage or purifying the air. Such measures are becoming increasingly important.

Because Switzerland is particularly hard hit by climate change. In this country, the average annual temperature has already risen about 2.5 degrees compared to the pre-industrial era. That is significantly more than the increase in the average temperature on earth by about 1.2 degrees.

The summer of 2022 showed it clearly: the consequences of climate change are being felt throughout Switzerland. Record temperatures were measured in the cities. Meadows and fields dried up. Rivers carried little and – if any – only very warm water. The result: many fish died.

50 climate change adaptation projects

Heat and dry periods like last summer are increasing. But there are also risks such as heavy precipitation, flooding, drought and mudslides. At the same time, cold winters with snowfall at low and medium altitudes are becoming increasingly rare.

That is why in 2013 the federal government launched the pilot program ‘Adaptation to climate change’ led by the Federal Agency for the Environment (FOEN). It supports innovative projects in the cantons, cities and municipalities. They are intended to show how Switzerland can specifically adapt to climate change.

This week, after ten years, the project was concluded with a professional conference in Bern. 50 projects were proposed to help our country adapt to climate change. This also includes the “i-Tree” program, which is now used in several Swiss cities.

«Greenest alley in Switzerland» in Bern

There are plenty of other examples. For example, innovative road surfaces that contribute to cooler cities. These are coatings with a lighter surface that have been tested in the cities of Bern and Sion. They reflect more solar energy and therefore heat up less. Measurements showed that the maximum temperatures of such coatings were, at best, six degrees lower than conventional surfaces.

Aquatic life is also affected by climate change. That is why the Competence Center for Fisheries (SKF) in the cantons of Aargau, Basel-Landschaft, Bern and Freiburg is investigating how cold-loving fish can be better protected in summer. The SKF came to the conclusion that hydraulic engineering measures, cold water zones, shading and connecting different water bodies are necessary to promote fish migration.

And in the city of Bern – for research purposes – the “greenest street” in Switzerland is to be built. Residents can make the Postgasse in Bern’s old town green as they see fit. Residents must take care of the plants themselves. A research team from the University of Bern wants to measure the effects of greening on temperature, biodiversity, water management and quality of life.

Source:Blick