Brezno thinks about the future of its inhabitants. It is already implementing measures to mitigate the effects of climate change

News EN 12 July 2023 Hits: 528

According to a scientific study, the average temperature in the town will increase by almost two degrees Celsius by 2050, while the biggest climate threats will be extreme heat waves, drought and torrential rains. The town is already trying to eliminate these negative phenomena today through the individual measures of the Action Plan.

The goal is aimed at saving energy, ecological transport, green infrastructure, waste management and intelligent solutions to ensure adequate quality of the residential and natural environment in the near future.

Resilience and ability to respond

A few years ago, the municipality of Brezno joined the call of the Ministry of the Environment called SK-Climate and received a grant of 1.4 million euros from the Norwegian Financial Mechanism and the national budget. Thanks to these resources, it is gradually able to implement activities based on the strategic document called Action plan and measures of the town Brezno aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change, which should lead to increased resistance to climate change as well as the ability to react to its negative effects.

These measures are aimed at increasing the energy efficiency of buildings, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by investing in electromobility and non-motorized means of transport, saving energy thanks to the use of intelligent public lighting, cooling the environment by expanding green and blue infrastructure, capturing rainwater for reuse or creating conditions for thorough separation of biodegradable waste. In addition to investment activities, the project also focuses on educational activities and enlightenment in the field of environmental awareness in the online space (breznoklima.sk), but also through professional conferences. On June 22, 2023, the second in a row took place on the town's grounds.

Where we are and where we are going

At the beginning of the conference, the vice-mayor of Brezno, Miroslav Fašang, spoke to those present, who highlighted the town's active cooperation with individual organizations, external partners and the town's residents in the implementation of the necessary adaptation measures. "I think it´s very important to meet like this, to exchange experiences and at the same time present examples of good practice. We are all aware that the climate is changing, warming is coming, there is also a problem with water, but also with precipitation, which is extreme for our conditions, and we will have to deal with all of this," said Fašang.

The invitation to the professional meeting was accepted by specialists in the environment, climate change, monitoring and analysis of key meteorological parameters, as well as developers of smart technologies that contribute to improving the current situation. After the online presentation by Denis Knotka from the Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic, who presented the grant Program SK-Climate, Milada Šimkovičová, head of the project management department in Brezno, followed the contribution called Where we are and where we are going, in which she explained the activities, progress and benefits of the Action Plan. According to that, the planned investments to increase the energy efficiency of kindergartens in Hradby and Božena Němcova Street have so far been implemented, where rainwater collection containers were also installed for the purpose of its further use. The town also delivered an electric car and ten bicycles for official purposes for employees of the office and Technical Services, and progress also occurred in the area of waste management, when the purchase of 50 containers for biodegradable waste improved its separation and ecological recovery.

After the presentation of the Norwegian partner - city of Ullensvang, it was time for the analytical part, in which the representative of the Action Plan processor, Jan Matouš, based on the collected data, named the main climate threats for the town Brezno and identified vulnerable locations on its territory. Vladimír Demčík from the company that will supply the town with equipment for online monitoring of environmental pollution, presented an innovative network of sensors designed to collect data on air quality and other meteorological parameters. Peter Tichý, head of the Department of Environment and Building Regulations in Brezno, spoke about the manifestations and impacts of climate change and Martin Kremler, who heads the air quality monitoring department at the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute, shared his knowledge and practical experience. Ivan Kamenský, head of the investment department in Brezno, gave his last speech, summarizing the city's projects aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change.

"I assess the second conference within the project as successful and beneficial. I am very happy that our invitation was accepted by the representatives of the companies that ensure the implementation of the two activities, the representative of Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute and other experts on climate change. I thank all the presenters for the useful and interesting information they shared with us and also my colleagues - the entire team of the project management department - for the excellent organization of this event. I believe that we will successfully implement all the activities of the project and we will inform about them at the final conference in the spring," concluded Milada Šimkovičová. The public can also view individual professional contributions and presentations on the website of the project breznoklima.sk.

Brezno thinks about the future of its inhabitants. It is already implementing measures to mitigate the effects of climate change

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