Cities facing climate change
Cities both drive climate change and suffer its effects. As havens of innovation, however, they also have the ability to change. The ETH Klimarunde invites residents to discuss challenges and solutions for cities experiencing climate change.
Cities are growing, both worldwide and locally. Half of the world’s population currently lives in cities, and it’s expected to be two-thirds by 2050. This doesn’t just raise fears of logistical breakdowns in cities. Urban regions consume enormous amounts of energy – currently three-quarters of global consumption – and produce the equivalent amount of greenhouse gases, making them the driving force behind global climate change. And ironically, this has a particularly severe effect on cities themselves.
One example of this is the heat island effect: in summer, built-up areas heat up by several degrees more than the surrounding countryside. Extreme weather events are also more likely to occur in the future. The number of storms, floods, heatwaves and droughts is increasing, which also has a particularly strong impact on the sensitive infrastructure of urban areas.
Dialogue with experts and researchers
How severely are global and regional cities affected by climate change, and what can we do about it? This is the topic of the ETH Klimarunde on Wednesday 8 November. The Center for Climate Systems Modeling (C2SM) and the Energy Science Center (ESC) invite you to ETH Zurich to discuss meaningful answers and strategies alongside other participants.
“We have to make our urban infrastructure and our society as a whole more resistant to climate change,” says Nicolas Gruber, Professor of Environmental Physics and founder of the Klimarunde. “For example, what can we do about overheating, how can the transport sector reduce its emissions and what can be done for human health?”
Answers to these and other exciting questions will be discussed by climate researchers and energy experts together with building services engineers, architects and city planners during the first part of the event: direct dialogue at round tables (“Tischgespräche”). The second part of the event will involve several lectures and two panel discussions on challenges for cities experiencing climate change.
The event is open to the public and free of charge. You can register directly here.