Nowadays, climate change is worldwide acknowledge as one of the greatest challenges for humanity and, in order to face it, on one hand, is necessary to MITIGATE, or reduce the greenhouse gas emissions responsible for global warming. But on the other hand, it is also necessary to work in the ADAPTATION of the climate change, taking measures to reduce its negative impacts and take full advantage of the opportunities that it generates.
Several reasons why municipal governments must work in this issue are listed below, just to name a few:
- Because climate change is inevitable,
- Because the major consequences of this issue are on a local level,
- Because the municipal administration is the closest one to the people,
- To increase the performance of the municipal government now,
- To also save resources in the future,
- To take full advantage of the opportunities that climate change generates.
What is a LCCAP?
LCCAP (from Spanish "PLACC - Plan Local de Acción frente al Cambio Climático") is an instrument that local governments use to plan and develop public policies in climate change matter. Through this tool, the information available is organized and then the implementation of strategies is coordinated. The purpose of it is to reduce the local greenhouse gas emissions and increase the adaptation to the climate change.
The LCCAP is developed in each district through the leadership of its municipal government, with an active citizenship that includes all social classes, and stimulates technological changes as well as campaigns that motivates mitigation and adaptation actions, and the adoption of more sustainable practices.
- Make an inventory of greenhouse gas emissions produced at a local level by different areas (public administration, trade, industry, agro, residential)
- Plan mitigation and adaptation actions for the climate change with the active participation of local institutions and corporations.
- Increase or improve the performance of the prevailing systems, so they work with greenhouse gas sinks.
- Motivate the use of more efficient or innovative technologies in the field of energy consumption, mobility, etc
- Increase the community awareness about causes and consequences of climate change.
The organization of the LCCAP is divided in three main areas:
INVENTORY: it is the first diagnose of the participation that the district has regarding the greenhouse gas emissions in a given base year, in accordance with the transparency, completeness, exactitude, coherence and comparability characteristics established by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) adapted for a local level. The next categories have been taken into account: energy, industrial processes, agricultural activities, Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (USCUSS) (see translator's note) and wastes.
Although a significant difficulty to access the information exists, it is important to find the way to process the necessary data.
MITIGATION: these are measures proposed by the municipal governments to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions. For most of the local governments the mitigation proceedings are related to four categories: energy, transport, industry and wastes.
In general, districts have the capacity to mitigate between 15% and 20% of the total of the emission they produce.
ADAPTATION: once the vulnerability of the district is evaluated, the level of risk is estimated and ways to increase their resilience are proposed, facing the effects of the climate variability and change.
In this field, the participation of people is essential, as they are the main spectators and witnesses of the changes happening in the climate patrons, and because of this, they are the most engaged when time to act arises.
Districts that have a LCCAP:
Since 2014, and after signing a joint project with the AVINA Foundation and the Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF), the action plan was initially introduced in the next ten districts in Argentina, all members of the RAMCC :
- District of Totoras (10,292 inh.), Province of Santa Fe.
- District of Armstrong (11,484 inh.), Province of Santa Fe.
- District of Las Rosas (13,689 inh.), Province of Santa Fe.
- District of Rafaela (92,945 inh.), Province of Santa Fe.
- Town of San Carlos Sur (2,102 inh.), Province of Santa Fe.
- Town of Correa (6,020 inh.), Province of Santa Fe.
- District of Los Surgentes (2,795 inh.), Province of Córdoba.
- District of San José (18,178 inh.), Province of Entre Ríos.
- District of San Isidro (292,878 inh.), Province of Buenos Aires.
- District of San Miguel (276,190 inh.), Province of Buenos Aires.
- District of Winifreda (2,776 inh.), Province of La Pampa.