The
Centre of Innovation of Intelligent Infrastructures (CI3) has been put in charge of carrying out a study about the
climate change mitigation process in the city of
Guadalajara. It works as an advisor for the local authorities in this field. Recently, it has handed in a
climate change diagnosis to the city council. This diagnosis is aimed at showing the situation of Guadalajara regarding this phenomena.
Climate change mitigation plan
A working plan with different stages has been defined as part of the Climate Change Local Strategy for the city of Guadalajara. The result of the first stage is the aforementioned Diagnosis that, simultaneously, is structured in three modules.
The module called
“Inventory and current situation” shows the identification and analysis of the main
greenhouse emission points. Besides, it includes a compilation of the measures that have already been applied in different diagnosed sectors.
The second module, about
“Climatic Risks”, analyzes the
vulnerability of the city before the changes in climate that have already been identified. Such analysis is useful in order to evaluate the impact that those greenhouse gases may have, so
pressure on natural resources can be diminished and sustainable management models can be promoted.
The third module comprises a series of
“Participative Studies” which have been carried out in the city of Guadalajara and that provide the diagnosis with relevant information. These studies contribute with additional data about citizen perception and opinion regarding climate change.
As a conclusion of the first stage it could be said that although Guadalajara’s starting point in relation to the fight against climate change was not bad, it could be improved. There are sectors in which challenges against climate change are
remarkable, such as
water, public lighting, parks and gardens. However, there are other sectors which could be significantly improved, as for example street cleaning and waste management, mobility and urban transport. Finally, there are sectors in which is totally necessary to achieve an improvement. These sectors would be energy efficiency in buildings that belong to the city council, industrial and residential buildings.
Relation of this project with Ferrovial Services
Ferrovial Services is in charge of several contracts in the city of Guadalajara: supply and management of lightning in public spaces, traffic lights, CCTV traffic cameras, access control in urban roads, and control center in the city of Guadalajara.
One of the main CO2 emission points are streetlights. Nevertheless, thanks to the LED technology that has been incorporated during the last year and to a luminosity remote control system, the situation has become better. There will be a 68,78% of energy saved and a reduction in the emission equivalent to the mitigating action of more than one million trees.
Local strategy regarding Climate Change
Thanks to this diagnosis there is a good starting point for Guadalajara City Council, which continues to work on the reduction of local emissions of greenhouse gases.
Moreover, during the development of the Climate Change Local Strategy there will be a calculation of the Carbon Footprint in Guadalajara. By means of this , the emissions caused directly and indirectly by different agents will be quantified. Then, different measures, politics and performances could be identified to mitigate its effect and to
increase the level of action of the city against climate change.
