MUNICIPALITY OF VOLOS

Climate change is now widely recognized as the major global environmental problem. The continuous build-up of “greenhouse” gases (GHG) emitted by human activities, especially the increase in carbon dioxide levels due to emissions from fossil fuel combustion, is causing discernible climatic and environmental changes. In the long term these changes threaten to cause serious impacts on humans and the society as a whole. Effects of climate change such as sea level rise, extreme weather events, extended periods of drought and desertification that are likely to be felt in the Mediterranean region, will eventually affect the Volos area as well. The response to the challenge of climate change is huge for all nations and it is already in the forefront agenda of the European Union.
 

The participation and contribution of local governments in addressing and mitigating climate change is of vital importance, an effort that is strongly supported by the European Commission, technically and financially. Local governments will be expected to take action in several or all of their possible roles:
 

(a) consumer and service provider,
(b) planner and developer and regulator,
(c) advisor and motivator and
(d) producer and supplier.
 

A growing number of European cities are taking action to reduce their GHG emissions. Several municipalities have signed voluntary agreements and committed to join forces to help combat climate change, through the implementation of sustainable energy action plans (e.g. Covenant of Mayors). Energy-related actions are the key measures of the action plans, considering the fact that cities consume ~80% of the world’s energy.
 

In this context, the CLIM-LOCAL2020 project, titled “Developing Local Plans for Climate Change Mitigation by 2020” was proposed for co-funding to the EC LIFE+2007 program, aiming at the active participation of the local authorities in the global and national efforts made for climate protection. The project was implemented from January 2009 until June 2012 in the city of Volos under the coordination of the Municipality of Volos, in association with the Municipal Enterprise for Water Supply and Sewage Treatment of the greater Volos Area (DEYAMV), the Volos Development Company (ANEVO) and the private consulting firm Environmental Planning, Engineering and Management (EPEM SA).
 

Its main objectives included:
 

1. Develop a systematic approach and appropriate tools that would enable local authorities to substantially reduce Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions in their region.
2. Develop appropriate monitoring and assessment activities related to GHG emissions reduction at local level.
3. Promote awareness, provide training and disseminate of information on climate change and its mitigation.
4. Initiate GHG emission reductions at local level (the Municipality of Volos) within a 10-15 years horizon with the active participation of citizens.

The actors responsible for implementing the measures were classified in four broad categories, which are presented below:
 

• Local government: the Municipality of Volos (and potentially other adjacent municipalities, whenever feasible). The Municipality of Volos has the central role in the implementation, coordination and monitoring of the proposed measures. In addition, the Municipality of Volos supports the promotion of the actions that will be taken by residents and enterprises. The latter could be realized through awareness campaigns and active policies (e.g. municipal taxes).
• Public sector: public utilities such as DEYAMV (Municipal Enterprise for Water Supply & Effluent Treatment and Discharge in the greater Volos area), ANEVO (Volos Development Company), the University of Thessaly and the General Hospital of Volos. DEYAMV has a discrete role for the actions of the sector “water supply and sanitation”.
• Private sector: enterprises of the tertiary sector (banks, hotels, commercial shops, offices etc.).
• Residents: citizens of the greater Volos area.

3,5 years (2009 – 2012)

The implemented methodology, in accordance with the project Actions, is presented below.
 

1. Calculation of present local GHG emissions.
2. Projection of local GHG emissions.
3. Identification of GHG emissions reduction options.
4. Economic and environmental evaluation of GHG emission reduction measures.
5. Defining priorities for GHG emissions reduction measures.
6. Public consultation and finalization of the Local Action Plan (LAP):
 

• Formulation of a draft LAP, internal project meetings and public consultation (invitation for written comments & open workshop / public consultation).
• Finalization of the “Volos Local Action Plan on Climate Change 2010 – 2020” that consists of the CLIMLOCAL2020 project main output. It was officially approved and endorsed by the Municipal Council of Volos in April 2010. The Plan is wide enough to cover not only energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, but all greenhouse gases (GHG) and all the sectors of the economy that emit GHG emissions, in line with the national inventories, obligations and programmes for GHG emissions. It includes the activities of the greater Volos area that emit GHG emissions, but do not operate under specific national legal or institutional rules.
 

Considering the national GHG emission obligations and the carbon footprint of the Volos area, the overall goal of the Local Action Plan on Climate Change for the greater Volos area is to reduce GHG emissions by 7% below 2007 levels, by 2020. According to current estimations GHG will be reduced by 70 thousand tons CO2 eq., by 2020. The LAP analytically presents the selected measures (49 proposed in total) that were grouped in six sectors / emission sources: buildings, transportation, water supply and sanitation, municipal solid waste, city operation and prospect actions:
 

(Α) Buildings: The measures aim at enhancing the energy efficiency of the buildings through energy conservation, renewable energy applications (e.g. solar collectors, photovoltaics) and energy efficient systems (e.g. cogeneration). The proposed actions refer to (i) building shell (ii) cooling and air conditioning systems, (iii) energy generation and consumption and (iv) new building infrastructure.

(Β) Transportation: The measures focus on three targets: (i) increase energy efficiency of municipal vehicle fleet (ii) invest in transit improvements and infrastructure (iii) initiatives to citizens.

(C) Water supply and sanitation: The measures mostly relate to the operation of DEYAMV enterprise (apart from its buildings and vehicles). The activities under consideration are the water supply system, the sewage treatment plant and the energy production from renewable energy sources.

(D) Municipal solid waste management: This sector provides measures to increase paper and biodegradable waste recycling. These two solid waste fractions significantly contribute to methane emissions when disposed to landfills.

(Ε) City operation: This sector includes measures that reduce energy consumption in public lighting and adaptation measures (urban tree planting).

(F) Prospect actions: This sector provides the actions to be taken for future infrastructure, including prospects in regards to land rehabilitation.
 

• Development of “Practical guidelines per measure” that describe the competent bodies, the preparatory actions needed for their implementation, as well as practical steps with respect to supply of required devices / machinery / appliances, operational and maintenance tips etc.
• Formulation of a Monitoring Plan (MP) in order to measure and review the progress of the LAP in a systematic way.
 

7. Implementation of measures in the LAP.
8. Communication and dissemination:
 

• A conference, a workshop and public consultations were organized.
• A campaign on energy savings, an information day for school teachers on climate change and energy saving issues (10 schools) and information days on house composting took place.
• Press conferences, radio spots and articles in newspapers were delivered.
• A website, notice boards, CDs, posters and leaflets were produced.
• A board game concerning climate change, named “change for climate”, was prepared by the Municipality of Volos together with 4 teachers from the Local Department of Primary Education. It was distributed to sixth-grade students of the primary schools in Volos (~1.400 students).

9. Overall evaluation of the LAP’s progress and planning of its future operation.

EPEM A.E., ANEVO, DEYAMV

There was a good response by the municipal employees to some actions of the project, especially to the one concerning recycling in the offices. Before engaging the paper recycling bins the percentage was less than 5%, and after was even 70%.

Volos Municipality, as it was before Kallikratis Law

The main results of the CLOMLOCAL2020 project, concerning tools, plans and awareness material:
 

• A set of user-friendly tools for the calculation of emissions of GHG and basic air pollutants per emission source at local level.
• A local GHG emissions inventory.
• A set of tools for the projection of GHG emissions at local level up to 2020.
• A set of methodologies for assessing the emissions reduction potential of measures.
• A calculation tool for undertaking Cost-Benefit analyses of GHG emissions reduction measures, including environmental externalities.
• A Local Action Plan for drastic and long-term GHG emissions reductions.
• A set of practical guidelines for measures’ implementation.
• A monitoring plan and relevant indices for evaluating the progress of the implementation of GHG emissions reductions measures.
• Training activities and development of educational material on climate change addressed to schools (teachers and students), including the board game “change for climate”.
• Dissemination of results and awareness activities.
 

The following project findings, concerning the greater Volos area, are also worth mentioning:
 

• Energy consumption is dominated by the energy consumption of industrial installations participating in the EU-ETS. A totally different allocation of energy consumption per sector and fuel is obtained when excluding energy consumption of EU-ETS installations from the analysis: the residential sector is the major energy consumer, followed by road transportation. This allocation is considered as more representative for an urban area.
• Total GHG emissions for the greater Volos area are estimated at 4.575,72 kt, representing 3,5% of the total GHG emissions at national level (excluding Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry). The major contributors are the big industrial installations in the area that fall under the EU-ETS.
• Excluding EU-ETS installations and indirect emissions from electricity consumption, the share of emissions from mobile combustion is increased to 28%, while the waste sector accounts for 25% of the total.
• Total GHG emissions are expected to decrease from 2007 to 2020 by 1,6%. This decrease is mainly attributed to changes in the fuel mix for the electricity generation sector that results to a continuous decrease of the average emission factor. If indirect emissions from electricity consumption are excluded from the total figures, then the developed scenario projects a total increase of 2% for the period 2007 – 2020. If both indirect emissions and emissions from EU-ETS installations are excluded, then a total increase (for the period 2007 – 2020) of 3,2% is projected. [please note that projections were made during 2009 and, as such, the financial crisis in Greece was not taken into account].
• The energy sector represents the main source of GHG emissions throughout the period 2007–2020. Road transportation and the Tertiary sector have the highest increase within the sector (30% approximately). Such an increase is obviously not in line with the provisions of the EU legislative package on energy and climate change that calls for GHG emissions reduction targets for the non-ETS sectors (a reduction of 4% in 2020 as regards 2005 levels is foreseen for Greece). It is evident that policies and measures both at national and local level should address this issue.

The pilot demonstration part of the CLIM-LOCAL2020 Program was carried out for 2 years (until the end of June 2012), with the implementation of specific actions and measures that are brieflypresented below:
 

1. Energy audits in municipality buildings. Energy audits were implemented BY ANEVO in 15 Municipality buildings (13 schools).
2. Reduction of energy consumption in municipal buildings. Construction works (at the 2nd and 3rd Kindergarten and the Kindergarten "Nefeli" of Volos) were concluded in June 2012 and included dismantling of the old roof and installation of new insulation and changing of windows and frames.
3. Reduction of electricity consumption in municipal lighting. About 800 light bulbs were replaced with energy saving ones in the streets and parks of Volos. Also, within the CLIMLOCAL2020 project, 1.155 energy saving light bulbs were put in the classrooms and other locations of 10 different schools in Volos.
4. Purchase of environmental friendly vehicles and promotion of environmental friendly driving. Six new vehicles were purchased through leasing for the Department of Cleansing Services: 3 vehicles for waste (garbage) collection, 2 vehicles for street cleansing and 1 vehicle for washing the waste bins in the streets. These vehicles were in accordance / products of the “green” EURO 5 technology. A seminar on eco-driving was organized and addressed to 33 municipal drivers (Department of Cleansing Services) by a certified instructor on eco-driving.
5. Activities related to water utilities. Interventions were performed in the Volos Municipal Enterprise of Water and Sewage, concerning the upgrade of the electromechanical equipment and replacement of water pumps systems in order to reduce electrical energy consumption. An informational leaflet (on the possibilities of water consumption reduction) was delivered through mail to its clients (85.000 citizens of Volos). A study on “Available technologies and procedures for the treatment of sludge produced by the Wastewater Treatment Plant of Volos” was also elaborated.
6. Recycling initiatives. Approximately 650 big paper bins were purchased and distributed to all the municipal offices and many schools. They all bear the LIFE+ logo and a slogan (“In the city of Volos we change our mentality, we change our climate”) on them. An informative meeting was subsequently organized with all the municipal cleaning personnel.
7. Management of organic waste (household bins and pilot composting plant) 350 garden (home)-composters (bins) were distributed to the citizens of Volos, following a lottery procedure that took place in the Town Hall (April 2012) in front of the local TV channels and many citizens. A separate webpage, a leaflet and a questionnaire/application form were prepared. The Mayor’s press conference and an open seminar on composting (attended by 400 citizens of Volos) further promoted the activity. In the future the measure will be supported by the established “Office on house composting”. A Pilot Composting Plant was sited in the Sesklou area and appropriately licensed (environmental permit). The Plant will accept green waste from the maintenance of parks and trees in the city of Volos, as well as organic waste (bio-waste) produced in households. Proper fencing was put around the area, a CLIMLOCAL2020 LIFE+ notice board was placed in the entrance and a small information kiosk was constructed. Forty (40) special and appropriately marked bins (for greens and organic waste collection) were purchased and placed in designated spots in the city of Volos, for the citizens’ use. The full implementation of the energy conservation measures, which are included in the LAP for the municipal buildings (medium and high priority), will lead to an annual reduction of energy expenses by ~80.000€. Other significant savings will be achieved from the separate collection of greens and organic waste in the Pilot Composting Plant: ~190.000€ was paid every year for the disposal of green waste (the profit for the Volos Municipality will be double, as the lifetime of the existing sanitary landfill will be also extended).
 

Other positive impacts that are related to the long-term capacity of the Municipality of Volos for the assessment of climate change mitigation actions include:
 

(a) The developed emissions inventory (together with the associated emissions projections), that provides a base (or reference) year for setting targets and for the assessment of the effectiveness of related policies and measures.
(b) The developed tools that built capacity within the Municipality of Volos and DEYAMV in issues related to GHG emissions inventory and projections. The application of these tools can provide the basis for any future integrated assessment of climate change mitigation actions.
(c) The Local Action Plan (and the associated Monitoring Plan) for climate change mitigation in the greater Volos area, especially when considered its formal adoption by the Volos Municipal Council, on the one hand indicates the commitment of local authorities for reducing emissions and on the other hand provides a guidance on how to achieve the target set.