National through to local climate policy in Italy

Abstract

Italy, with 2% of the world's emissions and 13% of the European Union's emissions, has adopted a legally binding commitment to reduce its greenhouse gases emissions by 6.5% below 1990 levels by 2008 – 2012. This target will be reached by implementing both domestic policies (80%) and using the Kyoto mechanisms (20%). The success of the mitigation effort will depend on the coordination of policies at the national and local level and on the incentives and rewards given by the central government for the initiatives undertaken by local ones. This paper addresses the question: What climate change policies are being taken at national level and how are they implemented at or complemented by authorities at a local level? What lessons can one learn regarding the vertical interactions between governance levels in the area of climate change? This paper first examines national policy, the division of responsibilities with lower governments, an initiative to reduce emissions at the local level, and initiatives to deal with both adaptation and emission limitation in the highly vulnerable city of Venice. The paper concludes by drawing lessons for the future on the role of local governance on climate change.

Keywords:

• Climate policy
• mitigation
• adaptation
• emission trading

1. Introduction

Following the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997,1 Italy adopted a legally binding commitment to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions by 6.5% below 1990 levels over the period 2008 – 2012. Prior to the ratification, and in accordance with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC),2 the Italian government had developed a national programme on climate change focusing on the mitigation of CO₂ emissions. However, Italian emissions have increased by 12.3% since 1990, due to the growing use of fossil fuels in the energy sector.3

A key factor in determining the success of future emissions' reduction effort is the identification of a clear legal framework that increases the coordination of policies at national and local level. This paper addresses the questions: What climate change policies are being taken at the national level and how is this implemented at or complemented by authorities at the local level? What lessons can one learn regarding the vertical interactions between governance levels in the area of climate change?

The above questions are dealt with by first discussing the current national policy, then introducing the role of lower governments, and finally discussing two local initiatives that are exemplary of the active attitude of local actors. The paper concludes by drawing lessons on the role of local governance on climate change, and the importance of establishing harmonized institutional inter-linkages, at all levels, to promote effective climate policy.

2 National climate change policy in Italy

The climate change problem was first addressed in Italy in the ’90s, when the control of atmospheric emissions was motivated by the desire to protect the ozone layer and improve local air quality.4 In 1994, the Interministerial Committee for Economic Planning (CIPE) adopted the National Programme for the Containment of Carbon Dioxide Emissions by the year 2000. On 3 December 1997, a second CIPE deliberation defined a framework for the Programme's preparation and in 1998 CIPE was entrusted with revising the Guidelines for National Policies and Measures regarding the Reduction of GHG Emissions under the coordination of the Ministry of the Environment, Land and Sea (MATTS). The Italian response to climate change focused on voluntary reduction targets channelled into six key priority areas.5 In 1999 and 2000, new policies using instruments like regulatory measures, market-oriented actions and fiscal incentives in the form of a carbon tax were introduced.

After the Kyoto Protocol entered into force in 2002, Italian policy evolved from voluntary reduction targets to a legally binding obligation to reduce the emissions of the six major GHGs by 6.5% by 2008 – 2012 in relation to 1990 levels,6 which amounted to 519.46 MtCO₂eq. Despite being the target 485.7 MtCO₂eq. by 2005–2007,7 emissions in 2004 were 580.79 MtCO₂eq., i.e. 11.8% higher than the 1990 level. There are no indications of a trend reversal in the past two years, and it is thus reasonable to expect emissions to be around 590 – 595 MtC0₂eq. in 2007.8 This amounts to a gap of 108 MtCO₂eq. or 18% of the present level of emissions. In accordance with Article 2(1) of law no. 120, CIPE adopted the National Action Plan for 2003 – 2010 for the Reduction of GHG Emissions9 and the Revised Guidelines for National Policies and Measures Regarding the Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in 2002. These documents contain the government strategy to achieve the national targets.

In January 2006, a parliamentary resolution was approved to limit the use of credits from the Kyoto mechanisms (Joint Implementation (JI) and Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)) to meet 20% of the total GHG reductions10 and 80% of the target (i.e. 86 MtCO₂eq. of the total 108 MtCO₂eq) was to be met through domestic measures.11 The Executive Decree no. 161 of 27 March 2006 gives further implementation to Directive 2003/87/CE and to Directive 2004/101/CE of 27 October 2004, establishing a scheme for GHG emissions allowance trading within the European Community (the so-called Emission Trading System – ETS).

The Interministerial Technical Committee for GHG emissions is currently updating the National Action Plan for 2003 – 2010, in line with the national climate policy of the new Government, which took office in May 2006. The updating concerns national GHG emissions projections and the identification of additional measures to be implemented. In the meanwhile, in late 2006, Italy notified the European Commission of the National Allocation Plan (NAP) adopted by the MATTS for the period 2008 – 2012, according to articles 9 to 11 and Annex III of Directive 2003/87/CE.12 On 15 May 2007, the European Commission conditionally accepted Italy's national plan. The cleared annual allocation was 195.8 Mt of CO₂ allowances, 6.3% less than Italy had proposed. The Commission required further changes to Italy's plan: (a) more information needed to be provided on how Italy would treat new entrants to the emissions trading scheme; (b) to include combustion installations (e.g. chemical crackers) covered by all other Member States in their allocation plans; (c) several intended ex-post adjustments to be eliminated; and (d) the maximum overall amount of Kyoto project credits, which may be used by operators for compliance purposes, not to represent more than approximately 15% of its annual allocation. Notwithstanding these shortcomings, also due to internal interministerial differences, the Government seems to take the climate problem seriously. The 2007 Fiscal Act includes tax deductions applied to the use of materials and technologies that reduces energy leaks and enhances the industry's efficiency. Also, an Energy Efficiency Package has been designed.13 Liquid natural gas (LNG) engines, biomass, wind and solar energy are to benefit the most from support and incentives, coupled with investment in new technologies to cut GHGs.

Italy is internationally active and has supported the negotiation process leading to the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol. The ninth Conference of Parties to the Convention and a UNFCCC workshop on reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries were hosted in Italy in 2003 and 2006, respectively. Moreover, Italy supports mitigation of climate change and adaptation to its adverse effects through a variety of projects on capacity building, institution building and transfer of environmentally sound technologies. To this end, the Parliamentary Act no. 120/2002 allocated 68 million Euro/year by 2003 in the annual budget of MATTS. Italy also makes voluntary payments to the Trust Fund for Developing Country Participation and the Trust Fund for Supplementary Activities14 and recently contributed US$10 million to the Special Climate Change Fund. Italy also fosters new ideas on climate change through the conclusion of bilateral agreements on scientific cooperation for the transfer of know-how and through participation in research programmes.15 A new initiative in January 2003 was the establishment of the Euro-Mediterranean Centre for Research on Climate Change with funding of EUR 7 million to support the strategic programme on Sustainable Development and Climate Change.

3 The need for a new role for local authorities

Thus far, action to limit GHG emissions has been planned and conducted by the central government alone.16 Regions and local authorities are only responsible for some administrative tasks and for certifying emissions at plant level. There is some rationale behind this distribution of power. Since most emission reductions will be in the electricity generation sector and in energy intensive industries (about 50% according to the CIPE 120/2002), irrespective of their spatial location, or from the use of JI and CDM, the process must be necessarily controlled by the central government.17 However, the remaining large part of emission savings must be achieved with interventions in the transport and civil sectors (e.g. households, public utilities), over which subnational authorities have regulatory power.

The Italian Republic is a Regional State, meaning a form of state in which a sovereign public entity coexists with other territorial entities that are given a legal status valid only domestically. The regions, which have marked disparities, are autonomous entities, entrusted with power to design and implement their own policies, but subject to the control and limits of the central State. In addition to 20 regions (of which five—Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Trentino Alto Adige, Sardinia, Sicily, and Val D'Aosta—are governed under a special form of autonomy), the Italian State is subdivided into provinces and municipalities. Also, the 107 provinces and 8102 municipalities are referred to as ‘local authorities’, but only regions have autonomy in designing their policy and are part of the constitutional structure of the State.

The balance of power has recently shifted from the central to regional administrative entities, with the Legislative Decree no. 112 issued on 31 March 1998 transferring responsibilities once managed at the central level to establish a system of administrative federalism, even though the great majority of the prerogatives in the field of the environment have been left under the control of the central government.

Local transport, intra- and infra-regional travel, house heating regulations, efficiency standards, public utilities for waste management, energy demand from schools, hospitals, public buildings are areas in which the national government has delegated power to local authorities.18 However, there is no explicit incentive (or obligation) for local governments to embark on mitigation projects nor is there a framework that distributes the national burden across the different territorial authorities. Without such a framework, the incentive to free-ride will dominate and there will be no serious GHG reduction measures taken leading very likely to the failure of the national strategy.

Although there are no national incentives or obligations, an ever growing number of territorial administrations—regions, provinces and municipalities—are promoting local mitigation policy. With the ‘Turin Protocol’ signed in 2001,19 all Italian regions have committed to mainstream GHG mitigation in all regional policies by promoting energy conservation, renewable electricity generation and technological innovation. This may appear opportunistic in that declarations of intentions cost nothing while buying political support, and especially since little actual action has been taken. However, it is reasonable to assume that these authorities are rationally motivated by two major reasons. First, they are willing to reap the benefit of lower GHG emissions in terms of lower local pollutants. Or, from another perspective, they are willing to sell the global benefits of policies, which are primarily targeted to meet local needs. Second, some administrations believe that in the near future they will be forced to take proactive action. Thus, in anticipation of regulation, these administrations are trying to motivate and mobilise their local population, by developing policies and gaining experience through a few pilot projects. This is similar to what is happening in California20 and other states, where regional activism is somehow anticipating national commitments of USA.

Our thesis is that this apparently schizophrenic state, in which action is announced, but almost nothing is implemented, could be resolved by developing incentives/obligations for local administrations. The next section illustrates a project which goes in this direction.

4 Case study of ‘Local Authorities for Kyoto’

Local authorities (i.e. regions, provinces and municipalities) emit significant amounts of GHG emissions through the vast array of activities they run, in order to provide services to the population. However, this ‘sector’ is currently excluded from the national allocation plan leading to efficiency losses and no rewards for the efforts to achieve low carbon intensities. For this reason, the Kyoto Club,21 a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization, and the MATTS have promoted the project ‘Local Authorities for Kyoto’, a study to gradually introduce local authorities into the emissions trading market.

The system aims to be ultimately integrated with the ETS, but it follows a hybrid approach: it's not a pure ‘cap and trade’ approach as the EU-ETS nor is it a ‘baseline and credit’ system. The model could be defined as a ‘cap and credit’, where projects and initiatives to reduce emissions below a historically determined baseline scenario generate emission credits.

The system foresees the allocation of emission rights for the entities through a specific allocation plan and the existence of a buyer (competent authority) of the credits generated. The project would provide advice on possible measures to reduce CO₂ and would work on the basis of voluntary targets for reducing emissions.

The first step is to calculate a baseline using the historic value of fuel consumption. Data are collected for more than one year; reference years are defined according to the time series available. The fuels considered are heating oil and gas, vehicle fuel, electrical energy, and district heating. The baseline is calculated in terms of CO₂ emitted by the four fuels, both in absolute value (t CO₂/year) and in relative terms (t CO₂/m3 or t CO₂/km).

General reduction targets are calculated using a top-down approach, moving from the National Action Plan 2003 – 2010 which sets, among others, nonbinding objectives for the civil and transport sectors. These targets, expressed in percentage terms, are applied to local emissions, as communicated by public authorities. In the civil sector, the whole reduction target to be applied to the 2006 baseline is −7.16% for the period 2008 – 2012. The target for indirect emissions is also calculated in accordance with the National Allocation Plan and the objectives stated by the Ministerial Decree of 20 July 2004. In the transport sector, the target is based on the measures provided in the national plan: car replacement (120 gr CO₂/km), fuel switching (petrol to natural gas) and bio-diesel penetration. The total allocation (cap) for the period 2008 – 2012, is then obtained by applying the targets to the local baseline and leaving some room for new building or new vehicles.

The general target has to be divided among the local authorities participating in the system. This burden sharing considers three main variables for each local authority, namely total emissions, average energy efficiency and local climatic conditions.22 The allocation of emission rights to each local authority reflects the local authority's target, and it is equal to the baseline reduced by the local authority's target in percentage terms. For example, suppose the historical baseline emissions of unit x are 100 t CO₂/year and the target is a reduction of 4.5%, the local authority's allocation would then be 95.5 t CO₂/year.

Emission reductions above this target will generate credits which could be sold to the competent authority. The trading system would come into operation later. A legal framework under which entities would agree to efficiency targets needs to be developed. The aim is to ultimately allocate emissions rights to local authorities and allow trading between them (as well as the possibility to buy certified emissions credits in the market) to meet their targets.

In terms of integration with the existing ETS, there are at least two options as far as direct emissions are concerned:

	Amendment of the Directive 2003/87/CE, ex art. 30, to create a new system which includes credits generated by national projects (domestic off-set projects) to offset emissions from activities and plants in the national territory in the ETS;
	Unilateral inclusion of other activities and sectors, ex art. 24 (Directive 2003/87/CE), subject to the approval by the Commission. In the case of the civil sector, this could be realized by lowering the entrance threshold for thermal plants (e.g. 10 MW).

In public buildings, the reduction of direct emissions would be counted only if it is not yet included in the ETS to guarantee the principle of additionality. Indirect emissions will not be included in this theoretical system of credit generations to avoid double counting.

The value of this project is two-fold: it increases the scope of the emissions trading market and its efficiency, thus allowing achievement of the Kyoto targets at lower costs (marginal abatement costs in the civil sector are lower than in the industrial sector), and it is a valuable pilot study that sheds light on how to merge local and national policies on mitigation in European Countries.

5 Case study of Venice

The city of Venice is particularly exposed to effects of climate change because of its environmental specificities and needs. The Venetian lagoon is a natural park, one of the most humid areas in Europe, and its fragile ecosystem and biodiversity equilibrium is threatened daily by high pollution and wave motion, both caused by the traffic situation, either in the islands (private and public boats) or in the mainland (public and private transport). The city is frequently flooded during the so-called ‘high water’ days, with serious damage to buildings and to economic activities.23 Climate-induced sea-level rise will add on top of accelerating ground subsidence and local environmental stress, thereby amplifying the magnitude and frequency of city floods.

In 1973, the central Government adopted a special Act stating that the protection of Venice was of national interest (Act no. 171).24 Act no. 798 of 1984 outlines the prerogatives of the government, the Veneto region and the municipalities as to the environmental and socioeconomic protection of Venice. The Veneto region is in charge of planning and administering the water system, environmental reclamation and the management of the ‘scolamento’ basin. Venice municipality administers and manages services to citizens (solid urban waste, transport, public lighting, etc.), has authority over urban-planning of municipal areas, concessions for production activities, construction regulations, municipal energy plans (under Parliamentary Act 10/91), urban traffic plans, controls of thermal plants and the monitoring of the municipal environment.

The unique specificities of the Venetian environment induced local authorities to be proactive in adopting an integrated strategy for mitigation, adaptation25 and community policies on city planning, environment and the local economy (Drexhage and Venema 2003; Kohler 2003; Kram 2003; Pan 2003). The ‘Dipartimento Ambiente e Sicurezza del Territorio’ (DAST) is the municipal office in charge. As to mitigation policies, the city encourages the energy sector (including transport) to reduce GHG emissions. The municipal energy plan, prepared with the participation of local public offices, industry and service sector groups and local citizens,26 is based on an analysis of local energy supply and demand trends from 1990 to 2000 in relation to social and economic conditions. Related GHG emissions were also reviewed. Scenarios for future energy supply and demand from 2006 to 2010 were developed and key actions to reduce GHG emissions were identified.

To establish institutional support, and under the aegis of the Urban & Regional Energy Agencies Programme of the European Commission, the DAST created the Venice Energy Agency (AGIRE),27 a nonprofit association, to monitor and implement the City's energy and CO₂ strategy. The policies promote high efficiency technologies in electricity and thermal final uses, renewable energies, fuel shift in favour of less carbon-intensive fuels, information, education and training.

The municipal energy policy is based also on the active involvement of citizens in projects of energy conservation. ‘CAmbiEReSti?’ and ‘CAmbiEReSti? Energia 300x 70’ are two ambitious projects of mitigation measures combined with community engagement.28‘CAmbiEReSti?’ involved 1,000 families living in the city centre and aimed at reducing and reorienting consumption through an information and awareness raising strategy. ‘CAmbiEReSti? Energia 300x 70’ is the evolution of the previous project, covering the period between April 2006 and June 2007. Families, supported by technical staff, are invited to modify their houses in an ecofriendly way and to adopt new technologies for reducing the use of energy in summer and winter time. Investment costs for adaptation will be compensated by energy savings of families.

The local adaptation strategy focuses on forecasting the sea level rise and on alerting the population in time to help reduce onsite and offsite damage. The Centre for Forecast of Tide Level and High Water Alerting of Venice was founded in 1981 and is responsible for monitoring the tide and the meteorological parameters, forecasting the tide level, informing citizens of high tides and ground elevation services,29 but this is not enough. In recent years, the DAST worked to reduce the effects of temperature increases during summer and the air pollution generated by traffic emissions. Initiatives include urban greening (Mestre Urban Forest and S. Giuliano Park) and the creation of green flat roofs facilitated by the provision of fiscal incentives. Green roofs reduce the temperature fluctuation by ameliorating the temperature in the rooms below. CO₂ is reduced in the transport sector through the use of the ‘Blue sticker’,30 the use of nonconventional fuel for public transport, the restriction of circulation for vehicles without catalysers and those that do not meet Euro 1 standards in the Mestre city centre, the circulation of traffic alternating license plate number or alternatively a total stop of circulation of traffic and the development of sustainable systems of mobility. These initiatives help to reduce local air pollution and also GHG emissions. During summer, some of these measures can reduce the ozone generation (created by the combination of solar radiation and some air pollutants) acting more as an adaptation measure.

In 2001, the municipality of Venice led an international initiative involving almost 40 of the world's coastal cities. A letter was sent to US President Bush urging him to reconsider his withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol. The letter underlined the dangers that the local communities, all located in delicate coastal areas, are facing due to global climate change caused by GHG emissions. The initiative sheds light on the approach followed by local authorities in valuing their role as vital components of national strategies and by orienting urban policies towards reducing GHG emissions.31

6 Conclusions

Two questions have motivated this paper: What climate change policies are being taken at a national level and how are they implemented at or complemented by authorities at a local level? And, what lessons can one learn regarding the vertical interactions between governance levels in the area of climate change?

Section 2 has highlighted the main actions taken by the central government to curb GHG emissions to implement the targets under the Kyoto Protocol. It argued that mitigation policy in Italy is a national issue and adaptation policy is being developed. Despite the lack of incentives, regional and local authorities are taking initiatives to reduce GHG emissions. However, this disconnected policy patchwork will not generate effective emission reduction if sound incentives and an appropriate legal framework are not implemented, as explained in Section 3. There is very little vertical integration between local and national authorities, leading to efficiency losses in emission reduction. The overall target might be missed if greater interaction is not promoted (Van Asselt et al. 2005), especially since transport and civil amenities are under local authorities. Section 4 presented an initiative: Local Authorities for Kyoto, which designs an incentive framework to promote local authorities in reducing their emissions. Ultimately, this should develop into a scheme in which local authorities can trade CO₂ certificates in the emissions trading market, with efficiency gains for the whole system. Local initiatives, like the ones taken by Venice municipality and described in Section 5, will be strengthened and decentralized action will be allowed to flourish. For this reason, the Local Authorities for Kyoto project is an interesting attempt to bridge two worlds that are now still apart and could be an example for all those countries that still strive to build a fully integrated national policy for mitigating climate change.

Acknowledgements

The authors are indebted to Joyeeta Gupta for invaluable support and comments. Two anonymous referees and CLIMA fellow participants provided interesting suggestions. This paper has been produced within the CLIMA Project, with the financial assistance of the European Union AsiaLink Programme. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of the authors and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union or of the other Institutions to which the authors are affiliated. Emanuele Massetti gratefully acknowledges financial support by the project Modelli matematici per le decisioni economico-finanziario-attuariali, D.1 Sedi Padane – Anno 2007, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore.

Notes

1. Parliamentary Act no. 120 of 1 June 2002, Official Journal of the Italian Republic no. 146, 19 June 2001.

2. Italy ratified the UNFCCC by Parliament Act no. 65 of 15 January 1994.

3. Borioni 2006. Dossier Energia Italia, In direzione ostinata e contraria, Jekyll, Comunicare la scienza, at http://jekyll.sissa.it/index.php?document=583.

4. Parliamentary Act no. 549 of 28 December 1993.

5. They are (i) further promotion of efficiency in the electric sector; (ii) reduction of energy consumption in the transport section; (iii) more energy protection from renewable sources; (iv) reduction of energy consumption; (v) reduction of emissions from nonenergy sources; (vi) promotion of carbon sequestration in forests.

6. The European Community signed the Kyoto Protocol on 29 April 1998. The Protocol requires the EC (consisting of the 15 Member States of before May 2004) to reduce GHG emissions by 8% below 1990 levels by 2008 – 2012. Most of the 10 new Member States have the same target.

7. For a fully detailed time series of GHG emissions in Italy, please refer to the Rete del sistema Informativo Nazionale Ambientale, http://www.sinanet.apat.it/it/sinanet/serie_storiche_emissioni. Data used in the paper refer to the Party Emissions Summary for Italy of the UNFCCC, consulted on 11 July 2007, available online at http://unfccc.int/ghg_emissions_data/items/3800.php. In 2003, the most important GHG in Italy was carbon dioxide (CO₂), contributing 85.5% to total national GHGs emissions expressed in CO₂ equivalent, followed by nitrous oxide (N₂O), 7.4% and methane (CH₄), 6.1%. hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆) taken together contributed to 1.0% of the overall GHGs emissions in the country. The energy sector accounted for 83.7% of total national GHGs emissions, followed by industrial processes (6.9%), agriculture (6.8%) and waste (2.2%). See Italian Report on Demonstrable Progress under Article 3.2 of the Kyoto Protocol, 26 January 2007, at p. 5.

8. Our extrapolation based on UNFCCC data.

9. See CIPE resolution no. 123/2002.

10. Parliamentary Resolution no. 6.00100 of 16 February 2006.

11. Directive 2003/87/CE specifies the EC commitment on climate change while the previous normative acts focused more on the polluting factors of the air. See directive 2001/81/CE of the European Parliament and the Council on National Emission Ceilings for certain pollutants; directive 2002/3/CE European Parliament and the Council relating to ozone in ambient air.

12. See Executive Ministerial Order no. 1448, 18 December 2006. In the NAP each Member State decides the total number of allowances to be created for the relevant period and the distribution of these allowances to individual plants. For the first Commission decision concerning the NAP notified by Italy in accordance with Directive 2003/87/EC, see Commission Decision C (2005) 1527 final of 25 May 2005.

13. For action in the energy sector, see http://www.governo.it/GovernoInforma/Dossier/energia_clima/index.html.

14. In 2001 – 2006 Italy paid US$746,872 to the UNFCCC core budget; US$500,000 to UNFCCC Trust Fund for Supplementary Activities, and US$589,647 to KP Fund.

15. See, for example, Development of a European Multi-Model Ensemble System for Seasonal to Inter-annual Prediction (DEMETER); http://www.ecmwf.int/research/demeter and CARBOEUROFLUX, http://www.bgc-jena.mpg.de/public/carboeur/projects/index_p.html.

16. In the decree CIPE 137/98, with the integrations made in CIPE 120/2002, there is only a weak reference to the representative body of regions.

17. About 50% of the emissions’ reductions defined in CIPE 137/98 and CIPE 120/2002.

18. The Legislative Decree no. 112 issued on 31 March 1998 has transferred powers from the central to local governments.

19. This is a body that coordinates the action of all Italian regions.

20. See the report prepared by the Climate Action Team: ‘Climate Action Team Proposed Early Actions to Mitigate Climate Change’, available online at: http://www.climatechange.ca.gov/climate_action_team/reports/2007-04-20_CAT_REPORT.PDF.

21. For more information visit http://www.kyotoclub.org/ita/01.php.

22. The reduction target for each local authority (unit x) is obtained as follows:

• With RPente x = reduction for unit x[kg CO₂/year]; QPEente x = emissions of unit x/total emissions [%]; ESente x = emissions of unit x[kg CO₂/m3 or kg CO₂/km]; CCente x = climatic coefficient for unit x; RT = total reduction = sum of reductions of each unit [kg CO₂/years].

23. See Breil et al. (2005) and Fletcher and Spencer (2005).

24. In 1966, Venice was completely flooded by the most serious flood ever. The high tide was over 190 cm and defences against the sea were destroyed. For data of historical high tides events see http://www.apatvenezia.it.

25. On the unavoidability of combining mitigation and adaptation policies see, among others (Agrawala 2003; Cohen 2003).

26. The municipal energy plan was approved by Municipal Decision no. 151 of 6/7 October 2003 and is available on the municipal official website at http://www.ambiente.venezia.it./energia.asp?sub=progettiandprog=pec.

27. More details on http://www.comune.venezia.it.

28. More details on http://www.cambieresti.net/01/Il_Nuovo_Progetto_1.html.

29. See Scarpa 2006. AMICA – Adaptation and Mitigation: an Integrated Approach in Venice, Presentation at the European Conference for Local Governments on Climate Protection and Promotion of Renewable Energy, Stockholm, 15 – 17 May.

30. Cars older than four years have to exhibit a blue sticker on their windscreen, certifying that the car complies with regulations on polluting emissions and that enables it to circulate in the areas of Mestre and Marghera.

31. The text of the letter may be read at http//www.ambiente.venezia.it.