Date
10th June 14:00-16:30

Conveners

Eva Banos de Guisasola Euro-Mediterranean Center for Climate Change, Bologna, Italy	Jan C. Semenza European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Stockholm, Sweden
Eva Banos de Guisasola Euro-Mediterranean Center for Climate Change, Bologna, Italy Eva Banos de Guisasola is senior scientific manager at Climate Services (SERC) Division of the Euro-Mediterranean Center for Climate Change (CMCC). She graduated in Madrid on European law and holds a French D.E.A. in Environmental Law. She was the Executive Director at European Association for Public Water Operators, Aqua Publica Europea, and Policy Officer for environment within EUROCITIES –the European Network of 140 large cities. She has worked at the European Commission on climate change and energy issues, the Eamonn Bates, Public Affairs Environmental Consultancy Firm and the law firm Lovells Boesebeck Droste. Eva. Banos de Guisasola has coordinated European projects as director. She has taken secondments in Birmingham, Vienna, Gothenburg and Washington. She recently participated in the Water Caravan in Palestine. close [x]
Jan C. Semenza European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Stockholm, Sweden Dr. Semenza is the Head of the Health Determinants Programme, at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), a public health agency in Europe, where he directs the work on environmental and social determinants of infectious diseases. He was a faculty member at UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, Oregon Health and Science University, and at Portland State University where he taught in the Oregon Masters Program of Public Health. Dr. Semenza was an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) where he led the CDC response to the heat wave in Chicago in 1995. Currently he leads the climate change effort at ECDC in Stockholm. His research has been published in high-impact journals such as Cell, New England J of Medicine, Lancet ID, Science, Nature Climate Change and in several books. close [x]

Session lead
Jan C. Semenza (ECDC)

Rapporteur
Eva Banos de Guisasola (CMCC)

Summary
Global environmental change has implications for public health in Mediterranean cities. Urban dwellers can be at risk from climate change impacts such as heat waves, floods, or infectious diseases. Adaptation to these challenges calls for targeted interventions and effective integrated and cross sectoral governance structures. This session will discuss impacts, adaptation and governance issues as they relate to metropolitan areas in the Mediterranean.

Structure
- Short interventions of 5 minutes each
- Questions and answers for clarification (5 min each)
- Two sub-sessions on best practices for:
   (1) Adaptation approaches
   (2) Governance strategies

Aims of the session
- Discuss and disseminate best practices for adaptation and governance as they relate to global environmental change in the Mediterranean
- Strategize how to target vulnerable groups with adaptation interventions

Questions to be answered through the session
1. What lessons have we learned?
2. What is the added value?
3. What are the main barriers?
4. What has changed in the field?
5. Link to governance?
6. How can this scope be open to other important issues?
7. How citizens have been involved in this?

Interventions

Shlomit Paz (Univ. Haifa) "Climate Change and Health in Mediterranean Cities - Policy Recommendations for Extreme Weather Events", pdf

Shlomit Paz Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Haifa, Israel "Climate Change and Health in Mediterranean Cities - Policy Recommendations for Extreme Weather Events", pdf Dr. Paz is a faculty member at the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Haifa, Israel. She is a climatologist who analyses the impacts of climate change on the human health with a special attention to the effects on the transmission of vector-borne diseases. Her studies for Europe, the Mediterranean, East Africa and India appear in leading peer-review journals in both fields of atmospheric sciences and environmental health. Dr. Paz is involved in many research projects including for the EU-FP, the European Science Foundation (ESF), the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the Israel Ministry of Environmental Protection among others. close [x]

Jan C. Semenza (ECDC) "Urban interventions to advance community resilience to climate variability and climate change", pdf

Jan C. Semenza European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Stockholm, Sweden "Urban interventions to advance community resilience to climate variability and climate change", pdf Dr. Semenza is the Head of the Health Determinants Programme, at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), a public health agency in Europe, where he directs the work on environmental and social determinants of infectious diseases. He was a faculty member at UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, Oregon Health and Science University, and at Portland State University where he taught in the Oregon Masters Program of Public Health. Dr. Semenza was an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) where he led the CDC response to the heat wave in Chicago in 1995. Currently he leads the climate change effort at ECDC in Stockholm. His research has been published in high-impact journals such as Cell, New England J of Medicine, Lancet ID, Science, Nature Climate Change and in several books. close [x]

Polyxeni Nicolopoulou-Stamati (NKUA) "Is existing worldwide capacity building for decision making sufficient for a good life quality?", pdf

Polyxeni Nicolopoulou-Stamati Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece "Is existing worldwide capacity building for decision making sufficient for a good life quality?", pdf Professor of Pathology. Qualified Pathologist – Cytopathologist. Teaching Environmental Pathology at the Medical School of the University of Athens. Organized, implemented and directs since 2004 the 2-year Master Program of the Medical School of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens entitled: “Environment and Health: Capacity Building for Decision Making”. Engaged in Research and Medical Practice. Experienced in organizing seminars, intensive courses and congresses, in building medical curricula, in coordinating European projects. Expert at the European Commission on Environmental Health, engaged in science policy interface. Consultant in Public and Private Sector. Member of the board HCWH –Europe. Member of IPPNW, Nobel Peace Prize Awarded in 1985. close [x]

Wolfgang Teubner (ICLEI) "What can cities do to adapt in the most efficient way?"

Wolfgang Teubner ICLEI European Secretariat, Freiburg, Germany "What can cities do to adapt in the most efficient way?" Wolfgang Teubner is the ICLEI Regional Director for Europe and also the Managing Director (CEO) of the ICLEI European Secretariat, which he was already leading since 2002 in the function of Executive Director based on power of attorney. He is responsible for the strategic and economic development of ICLEI in Europe. He has more than 20 years professional experience working with local governments on sustainable urban development, climate adaptation and mitigation, Local Agenda 21, waste management, as well as sustainable urban transport policies. During his career he has been involved in more than 100 European an international projects, including several research activities. In the period between 1994 and 1999 he has coordinated ICLEI‘s European Cities for Climate Protection Campaign and ICLEI‘s European Local Agenda 21 Guidance and Training Programme. From the start in 1994 he has been involved in the European Sustainable Cities and Towns Campaign and has participated in the drafting of the Aalborg Charta as well as the Aalborg Commitments. Between 1999 and 2004 he has represented the Local Government sector on the European Environment and Health Committee and has been a speaker at many high level international events including the European Council of Ministers. close [x]

Luc Hens (VITO) "Priorities in Addressing Climate Change and Health", pdf

Luc Hens Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek (VITO), Belgium "Priorities in Addressing Climate Change and Health", pdf Luc Hens graduated as a biologist and received his Ph. D. in Biology from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Belgium. Until 2010 He was a professor and Chair of the human ecology department. He also lectures at the Technican University in Sofia (Bulgaria), at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Greece), and at Lisbon University (Portugal). He is currently a senior scientific adviser at the "Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek" (VITO), which is Belgium’s biggest environmental research organization. Professor Hens' specific area of research concerns the elucidation of interdisciplinary instruments for sustainable development. In this framework, he acted as the promoter of over 10 research projects on environmental management in ports in Vietnam and Cambodia. Luc Hens acts as an expert in environmental policy on several councils in Belgium. He is the European editor for the "International Journal of Environment, Development and Sustainability". close [x]

Alexander Ferstl (European Commission, DG Climate Action) "Mayors Adapt: Promoting local leadership in adaptation to climate change", pdf

Alexander Ferstl European Commission, DG Climate Action, Belgium "Mayors Adapt: Promoting local leadership in adaptation to climate change", pdf European Commission, Policy Officer in the Directorate-General for Climate Action, responsible for urban adaptation and insurance sector activities. Born in Austria. Studies in Graz (A) and Berlin (D), PhD in urban geography. 1999-2005 Official at Graz City Council, in charge of EU funding in the urban development department. 2005-2011 Programme Manager at the European Commission, DG Regional and Urban Policy, responsible for the urban dimension of EU cohesion policy. close [x]

Eva Banos de Guisasola (CMCC) "An opportunity to improve collaborations and knowledge: example of the European Climate Service Partnership", pdf

Eva Banos de Guisasola Climate Services Division, Euro-Mediterranean Center for Climate Change, Bologna, Italy "An opportunity to improve collaborations and knowledge: example of the European Climate Service Partnership", pdf Eva Banos de Guisasola is senior scientific manager at Climate Services (SERC) Division of the Euro-Mediterranean Center for Climate Change (CMCC). She graduated in Madrid on European law and holds a French D.E.A. in Environmental Law. She was the Executive Director at European Association for Public Water Operators, Aqua Publica Europea, and Policy Officer for environment within EUROCITIES –the European Network of 140 large cities. She has worked at the European Commission on climate change and energy issues, the Eamonn Bates, Public Affairs Environmental Consultancy Firm and the law firm Lovells Boesebeck Droste. Eva. Banos de Guisasola has coordinated European projects as director. She has taken secondments in Birmingham, Vienna, Gothenburg and Washington. She recently participated in the Water Caravan in Palestine. close [x]

Panel Discussion
Moderator:
Jan C. Semenza (ECDC)
Panelists:
Polyxeni Nikolopoulou-Stamati (NKUA)
Shlomit Paz (Univ. Haifa)
Wolfgang Teubner, (ICLEI)

Discussion
- Do we need to set up guidelines at national-regional-local level?
- Need for awareness raising campaigns?