Local Climate Adaptation and Governance: The Utility of Joint SECAP Plans for Networks of Small–Medium Italian Municipalities

Abstract

The “Joint Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans” (Joint SECAPs) introduced by the Covenant of Mayors (CoM) are voluntary tools that favour a joint approach to energy planning and climate change mitigation/adaptation among municipalities in the same territorial area. The goal is to obtain joint results that are more effective and advantageous than those that can be achieved by the individual municipalities with respect to local climate change adaptation and mitigation policies. This article assesses their effectiveness in Italy. Six different experiences conducted mostly in small and medium municipal networks are compared, verifying the advantages and critical points in the different phases of building and implementing adaptation measures. A list of recommendations/objectives emerges from these experiences to guide the joint construction of adaptation measures, which may be implemented through multi-level participatory governance that encourages experimentation and innovation on the local level and develops synergy with large-scale policies and plans.

Community-Centred Energy Planning: Within and beyond Administrative Borders

“…A similar approach may enable small municipalities to overcome frequent criticalities linked to their limited bargaining power within a territorial stakeholder's ecosystem [64], as well as to face climate impacts affecting a wider territorial context [65]. In this direction, higher levels of integration and coordination among actions and policies may be reached [66], thus enhancing their effectiveness together with greater resources' availability to design, implement, and monitor tailored measures [67].…”

Spread Is Better: Suitability for Climate Neutrality of Italian Urban Systems

“…For an in-depth look at the general Italian situation in terms of sustainability issues, the most known references are the works of Musco [19][20][21], De Gregorio [22] and Lanzani [23][24][25]; however, the literature in this field is vast [26][27][28][29][30][31]. Aside from the general studies, some research presents a systematic review of the regeneration of minor fabric in Italy, which is fundamental to the research described here [29,32,33].…”