The installation of the High Local Council for Climate and Biodiversity took place this Monday, February 13. Christian Estrosi expressed his desire to be surrounded by the best specialists in all fields, in order to better guide the strategies taken by the executive and to adapt the territory.
Our geography and the urban planning we have inherited undoubtedly position us as the most exposed territory in France to climate change, from the Mediterranean coast to the peaks of the Mercantour. Here, we face all natural risks, whose intensity and frequency will be multiplied, and our vulnerability is heightened by the density of population and activities.
Christian Estrosi
The Mayor emphasizes that climate change is accelerating rapidly, with particularly measurable consequences. Increasing deterioration is to be feared in the coming years, such as catastrophic impacts on biodiversity, mortality, or health…
Territories represent the most direct and operational level of action in the face of climate emergency. Christian Estrosi defines his main responsibility as Mayor to be the protection of the population. The Metropolis possesses all the means to act across 51 municipalities, representing 550,000 inhabitants. It is with this perspective that the Mayor wished to convene a High Council for Climate and Biodiversity, collaborating with the best specialists in all fields.
A High Council to illuminate major upcoming decisions
Christian Estrosi calls on the community to find solutions to climate change:
We need your knowledge and your experiences in all fields to co-construct the adaptation strategy for the metropolitan territory in the face of climate change, alongside mayors, elected officials, and our administrations.
Christian Estrosi
The Mayor and the elected officials of the High Council are expected to make decisions, particularly some that will have a direct impact on citizens and their activities. These major decisions will be the subject of in-depth studies, addressing topics such as:
- Subsidy policy for mobility
- Transportation policy in less dense and more difficult-to-access hill areas
- How to promote carpooling when financial aid alone is insufficient to speed up the movement?
- How to accelerate the energy renovation of private buildings?
- How to better integrate rainwater and urban runoff into development projects?
2023 Roadmap: Presentation of the territory’s adaptation strategy
This new adaptation strategy for the territory aims to combat climate change and address the erosion of biodiversity. With this in mind, a new adaptation plan is set to be established by the end of 2023. It will unfold in four stages:
- Spring 2023: meetings of various working groups
- By this summer: a new plenary session of the High Council to consolidate the work
- October 2023: public presentation of the adaptation report and deliberations of metropolitan and municipal bodies
- Incorporation of measures during the preparation of the 2024 budget
The organization will be divided into four thematic working groups, with titles and content still being validated:
- Anticipation and preparation for extreme climate events
- Resource management: forests, water, energy, food
- Sustainable territorial development and biodiversity protection
- Mobilization and engagement of the population and local actors
Finally, the Mayor adds that a lottery will be organized in March 2023 across the 51 municipalities. The 100 designated citizens will be tasked with working on new environmental strategies throughout this year and the following ones.
