Adapting to climate change
HSY and the local authorities of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area have begun formulating a joint strategy for adapting to climate change. This three-year project will be co-ordinated by HSY's Regional and environmental information with a view to completing the adaptation strategy by the end of 2011.
The Helsinki Metropolitan Area climate strategy focuses on cutting greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating climate change. This mitigation is vital for ensuring that global warming is delayed and for preventing dangerous changes in climate. The greenhouse gases that are already in the atmosphere will nevertheless continue to cause climate change for many years to come, and so adaptation to this change will be essential.
Adaptation means adopting methods and procedures that enable us to prepare for the impact of climate change and to minimise harmful effects or make effective use of potential benefits.
This is nothing new, however, as the cities already apply procedures that prepare for variable and extreme weather conditions while rectifying any damage arising from sudden weather phenomena. The changing climate may nevertheless differ from customary patterns by being wetter, windier, drier, hotter or less predictable. These regional climate impacts will be studied with a view to specifying measures for predicting them.
The adaptation strategy of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area will be both regional and common to all of the cities, focusing on the needs of an urban and built environment. The principal element of this work will be identifying and managing risks. The costs of climate change impacts and adaptation in the region will also be assessed where possible.