Financing green climate adaptation: insight in costs, organisation and success factors
How can municipalities better fund green and climate adaptative measures in existing urban areas? The Dutch national government has already commissioned various studies into the costs and benefits of green spaces, often using a theoretical or model-based approach. But how does this work in practice? Together with Arcadis, we conducted a study into the funding of previously completed projects. The study provides insight into costs, coverage options, organisational forms and success factors. This is valuable knowledge for municipalities, but also for the government in improving policy.
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Context
The EU Nature Restoration Law mandates green compensation for housing construction and redevelopment projects. In addition, current social challenges call for more greenery in existing cities: greening as a means of combating heat stress and flooding and improving quality of life.
The central questions of this study are:
- How were green and climate adaptation measures financed in the redevelopment of public spaces?
- What requirements do successful projects place on the municipal organisation and the project team?
- What recommendations can we offer for the successful financing of future projects?
- How do practical experiences relate to previous calculation models and business cases?
The research ties in with the Learning Agenda for Greenery in and around the City (GIOS) and focuses on redevelopment and major maintenance as key interventions.
Our approach
The process consisted of four phases:
- Start-up and scoping
- Refining the research questions together with the client and partners
- Drawing up an assessment framework for the selection of municipalities and projects
- Inventory (divergence)
- Interviews and desk research at municipalities
- Selection and analysis of completed projects with a greening and climate adaptation component
- Integrated analysis (convergence)
- Identifying patterns and differences that transcend individual cases
- Providing insight into costs, funding and organisation
- Recommendations
- Translating findings into concrete advice for municipalities and central government
- Strengthening success factors and removing barriers
The strength of this approach lies in its combination of theory and practice: we analyse figures and experiences from project leaders, policy makers and financial departments.
Results
- Insight into costs: a clear picture of the investments and management costs involved in greening and climate adaptation in existing urban areas
- Transparency in funding: an overview of how municipalities finance projects and which structures are effective
- Lessons for organisation: insight into which administrative and official prerequisites contribute to success
- Policy recommendations: concrete tools for municipalities to better finance projects and for the government to improve rules and instruments
This creates a solid basis for making future greening and climate adaptation projects more feasible and successful.
Potential next steps
This study produced a comprehensive research report and recommendations. Possible next steps include:
- Translating the recommendations into the GIOS Guide
- Exploring innovative funding structures, for example through partnerships with housing corporations or healthcare providers
- Expanding to other types of projects or scales
This project ties in well with &flux’s vision of working towards a green, healthy and climate-proof living environment. For &flux, it is important that we not only realise projects, but also ensure that they are structurally secured, both financially and organisationally. Monitoring, learning and smart funding are all part of this.
