Urban Klima 2050 has presented the progress of its second phase in a report
15/01/2025
The 2024 Progress Report includes the actions carried out in 2022 and 2023 in three areas: urban/peri-urban, river basins and coasts.
The LIFE IP Urban Klima 2050 project has published its 2024 Progress Report, which includes the actions carried out throughout 2022 and 2023. On terminating this second phase, 4 years of the most ambitious climate action project in the Basque Country led by Ihobe and involving a further 23 partner entities have been completed.
Investment since its start in 2019 until December 2023 exceeds €9.3 million out of a total of €19.8 million, with 15 interventions having been carried out directly in the territory over this period. Furthermore, actions to empower citizens towards climate action have reached more than 30,300 people.
The European Commission has granted a one-year extension to the project's initial deadline of the end of 2025, extending it until the end of 2026.
Main milestones achieved during Phase 2 of Urban Klima 2050
ANALYSE Block
With regard to the analysis of Basque energy-climate planning and the extension of the Basque Country's climate risk analysis, the second phase of Urban Klima 2050 has contributed towards:
- Analysis of the Climate Change and Energy Transition Plan 2021-2024.
- Extension of the climate risk analysis in the Basque Country with variables such as humidity, wind and radiation.
DEFINE Block
In terms of defining how, where and when to act to reduce GHG emissions, increase carbon sequestration and achieve territorial resilience, progress has been made in:
- Definition and prioritisation of the best climate change actions through the future long-term Energy Transition and Climate Change Roadmap and its Strategy 2030.
- Effective integration of the energy and climate transition into territorial planning and sectorial policies.
ACT Block
Until 2024, 15 direct interventions have been carried out in the territory within the framework of Urban Klima 2050, aimed at increasing resilience to climate change. Some of the most important actions carried out during the second phase of the project include:
- Key green infrastructure to improve urban-rural connection and the resilience of the territory.
- Sustainable and healthy mobility with the installation of secure bike racks in different municipalities in Araba.
- Implementation of renewable energies through a photovoltaic solar plant on the roof of the Bilbao Exhibition Center (BEC).
- Natural solutions in river basins to recover the natural riverbed and vegetation on the riverbank in Donostia/San Sebastián.
EMPOWER Block
In the field of empowerment, the project has intensified its efforts to involve citizens, reaching more than 30,300 people through the activities developed. During the second phase of the project, the following progress has been made:
- Development and deployment of various empowerment plans at a regional and municipal level.
- Progress in the development of different citizen science projects that will be integrated in the Urban Klima 2050 citizen science platform.
- Launch of Lanbide's first work experience programme on climate change and energy transition.
MANAGE Block
Finally, in relation to the creation of structures to facilitate climate governance and the observation and monitoring of climate change, Urban Klima 2050 moved forward in:
- Development of a climate change hub: observation and monitoring system.
- Design of new governance models for actions to address climate change.
Commitment and challenges for the future
The report underlines the fundamental role of LIFE IP Urban Klima 2050 as the most ambitious climate action project in the Basque Country, with a total investment of €19.8 million, 52% of which is financed by the European Union's LIFE programme.
In its final stretch, the project faces important challenges, such as:
- Consolidating the results achieved.
- Scaling up climate solutions in the territory.
- Ensuring the sustainability of actions beyond 2026.
Read the full report here: 2024 Progress Report
