EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Pawel Zaboklicki
EDITING & LAYOUT
Anna Dargiewicz
EDITORIAL BOARD
Ewa Kurjata
Anna Dargiewicz Pawel Zaboklicki
Viktors Buls
PUBLISHER
Union of the Baltic Cities
Secretariat
Waly Jagiellonskie 1
PL-80853 Gdansk
POLAND
tel. +48 58 3010917
tel. +48 58 3019123 fax +48 58 3017637
e-mail: info@ubc.net
www.ubc.net
ISSN 1506-6266
PROOF-READING
Ewa Kurjata
COVER PICTURE
by Indrek Aija
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Dear UBC Friends!
It
is not a nightmare, it is a fact - our cities have
to face the extreme weather events like intense bursts
of rainfall, floods, landslides, storms and heat waves
more often than ever. The statistical analysis has
shown that the risk of such events has already increased
considerably due to man-made climate change. They
are no more rare single cases. Occurring regularly,
they are becoming an alarming trend.
"Europe will not be
spared", says the European Commission starting
the Europe-wide consultation on preventing the climate
change consequences and adapting to the new conditions.
Presumably none of the ambitious targets of the EU's
environmental policies concerning this burning issue
will be achieved without the involvement of the local
authorities. The UBC responded to the EC suggesting
that the climate protection needs not only the intergovernmental
settlements, but also the commitment of the municipalities
and its inhabitants.
The negative effects of
the climate change are multi-dimensional and reach
not only ecosystem but also physical infrastructure.
Economic sectors - from agriculture, forestry and
fisheries to tourism - will also suffer directly.
Intense rainfalls and melting ice will make many Baltic
cities, harbours and other developments along rivers
more vulnerable to flooding.
What exactly can we do
to prevent or reduce the consequences of the climate
change? This issue of the Bulletin clearly shows the
double challenge the cities and its inhabitants must
face: to anticipate and prevent the negative effects
of the climate change and to cope with living in the
changing environment. A large number of our members
is aware that what we are experiencing now are only
the first dangerous symptoms of the irreversible process
of the global warming. The climate change strategies,
regulations, researches, projects and new risk management
policies are being implemented. The most tangible
results have been obtained in such areas as public
transport, renewable energy sector or energy savings.
Moreover, the consequent policies aimed at the significant
cuts in the greenhouse gas emissions in industry as
well as in individual households have already borne
fruits in several cities.
The UBC called its members
for action adopting unanimously the Resolution on
Climate Change during the IX General Conference in
Pärnu. Surely, we cannot stop this process but
at least we shall try to minimize its harmful effects.
With Baltic greetings,
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Per Bodker Andersen
President of UBC
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Kolding, April 2008
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