“What is in there can be implemented very quickly. And that’s important, because we need it in the summer,” Kromp-Kolb commented in “Vienna Today” on the “heat action plan” presented by the city. However, the measures are “certainly not” sufficient. But: “I don’t think there’s anything faster.”
Link subsidies to climate protection
According to the researcher, cars also contribute to the overheating of the city – at least if they are not electric cars. “Everyone knows that the engine gets hot – and then the hot engines stand around and are basically heaters for the city,” says Kromp-Kolb. The point is to get by with far less motorized private transport.
Climate researcher on the heat action plan
Helga Kromp-Kolb, climate researcher at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna, talks about long-term measures against the heat in Vienna and the most important measures in the fight against climate change.
In addition, the climate researcher believed that ideas about living would have to change in order to make better use of the existing living space – instead of building new buildings on previously green meadows. However, the most important thing in the fight against climate change is “that wherever the state or the city takes money in hand, you make sure that this money is used in such a way that it means climate protection at the same time.” The economy needs it due to the current crises in many areas support – this should be one that is sustainable.
Measures on 60 pages
The “Heat Action Plan” presented by the city includes both long-term measures against climate change and short-term solutions. There has been an approved “climate roadmap” including a framework strategy up to 2040 since the beginning of the year. “A set of acute measures, with specific measures for the vulnerable groups,” said Environmental Councilor Jürgen Czernohorszky (SPÖ) on Wednesday, summarizing the content of the hot off the press, 60-page work, which focuses on socially just climate adaptation measures.
Prepare for hot days
The number of hot days has more than doubled in the last three decades. The City of Vienna is therefore taking new measures to make the heat bearable. Long-term measures such as more shaded areas are also planned.
Hot days with temperatures above 30 degrees, on which there is no real cooling down at night, have more than doubled in number in Vienna over the past three decades. The action plan now includes measures aimed at particularly vulnerable groups, starting with older people, small children, the homeless or people with chronic illnesses.
City Councilor for Health Peter Hacker (SPÖ) pointed out that the cold in the city had been reacting to for a long time, “in the social area we are also more affected by the issue of heat than was the case in the 20th century.”
“Cooling Zones” in accessible buildings
The city would like to offer these vulnerable groups a place to cool down, for example with “Cooling Zones”. It should be possible to spend a few hours in the cool in freely accessible buildings in the city. Outdoor work is also to be promoted further. As is already possible in Ottakring, shady workplaces in parks with WiFi should be available as a cool alternative to the office. The range of public drinking fountains is to be expanded.
Long-term measures
The acute measures on hot days are intended to complement the Vienna climate roadmap. The long-term measures of the Vienna climate roadmap include the major photovoltaic offensive. By 2025, the city of Vienna wants to increase the production of solar power fivefold. The aim is to generate sixteen times as much electricity from the sun by 2030 as in 2020. Other measures include phasing out gas and expanding the cycle and footpath network.
Vienna should also become greener in densely built-up areas, whether in parks or in the streets. The focus is on climate-friendly, robust tree species and on the Vienna tree substrate for street trees. By 2025, 25,000 new city trees are to be planted, including at least 3,000 trees in at least 500 new locations.
Heat resistant care facilities
In geriatric centers and nursing homes, high insulation standards have already been implemented, Hacker reported. The solution is passive room cooling with ceiling elements. With this, you can cool down by four degrees with a lot of technical effort, also thanks to the willingness of the city to respond to the challenge with an appropriate budget. Other measures include shading and the installation of electronic external blinds in all new buildings.
The cooperation with Wien Energie is necessary in order to supply the wall-ceiling energy systems with electricity through photovoltaics. A less costly but effective measure since the distribution of water bottles by social workers, which can then be refilled at the drinking fountains in the city, Hacker called another example of the “socially just implementation of the climate program”.
Fourth meeting of the Vienna Climate Council
At the fourth meeting of the Vienna Climate Council on Tuesday and Wednesday, the focus was also on immediate measures for climate protection and climate adaptation, which also include the “Heat Action Plan”. The Vienna Climate Council consists of three groups, so-called boards. The “Scientific Board” is the core of the Climate Council and is supported by two “Sounding Boards”. These supporting boards are made up of key people from the City of Vienna on the one hand and experts on the other.
The Greens in Vienna describe the “heat action plan” as far from concrete implementation. “The plans are reasonable, but remain largely in the planning stage. We doubt that today’s announcements will be implemented by the next heat wave,” said party leader Peter Kraus from the Green Party in Vienna.