Towards the Ecological Transition of the City of Brescia
In September 2024, the City of Brescia has launched the process for defining the Air and Climate Plan, the strategic planning instrument through which the municipal administration intends to systematically integrate and coordinate local policies concerning air quality, climate change mitigation, and climate change adaptation. As stated in the City Council Resolution of 08/09/2023, the Plan collects and harmonizes “[…] all the policies that the administration promotes to tackle air pollution, particularly regarding energy, emissions related to the energy consumption of buildings, mobility, and the management of the limited livestock wastewater present within the municipal territory […]”.
The Air and Climate Plan is designed as an integrated planning instrument and originates from an awareness process developed through the Plans and Programs approved by the Administration in recent years: the Climate Transition Strategy “Un Fi.lo Naturale”, the Urban Sustainable Mobility Plan, and the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan. In parallel, in order to strengthen these policies and guide the ambitious objectives set by the City, additional urban-scale planning processes are underway to consolidate this territorial vision: the Green and Biodiversity Plan and the Urban Agenda 2050.
The Air and Climate Plan represents the outcome of a structured process that the Administration has been pursuing for some time through the approval of sectoral instruments and plans. These tools and plans contribute to climate change mitigation processes and territorial adaptation and find within the Air and Climate Plan a renewed role and impetus, as part of a multi-scale and multi-thematic territorial transformation process. The Plan aims to contribute to improving air quality at the urban scale, reducing emissions, and strengthening territorial resilience to climate change, actively involving citizens as well as the main stakeholders and local actors.
The Air and Climate Plan is based on three pillars:
- AIR – Quality of Life: Reduction of the concentration of the main pollutants, including PM10, PM2.5, NO₂ and O₃, in compliance with the regulatory limits in force in the European Union. This pillar aims to promote a City for people, characterized by livable streets, cleaner air, and spaces designed for those who live in them;
- Emissions – Mitigation: Achieving by 2030 a 55% reduction in CO₂ emissions at the municipal level and complete decarbonization and climate neutrality by 2040, with a focus on energy efficiency and the adoption of renewable energy sources. The planned actions place strong emphasis on the energy efficiency of the building stock, the expansion of renewable energy sources, and the sustainable transformation of mobility and energy production systems, outlining an efficient City capable of reducing waste and enhancing resources.
- Climate Change Adaptation: Strengthening territorial resilience and protecting natural capital and biodiversity. This pillar translates into the vision of a City Oasis, a metropolis that breathes, welcomes, and protects its environmental heritage while improving the quality of life of its citizens.
THE ROLE OF TERRARIA
TerrAria provides assistance and support services for the drafting of the Air and Climate Plan, as well as for the screening procedure related to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). In detail, it performs a coordination role for the planning instrument with respect to all Local Authorities and municipal departments involved, ensuring the integration of their contributions. In addition to harmonizing and aligning the various materials received and the analyses collected, it has carried out specific analyses in the fields of climate mitigation and air quality. It also plays a specific technical role, providing its expertise in technical working groups and public workshops.
This experience is now well established in the fields of Air and Climate (for example, the assignment for the Regional Plan of Interventions for Air Quality of the Lombardy Region and the technical assistance provided to Fondazione Cariplo for Climate Transition Strategies). Furthermore, for the approval of the Air and Climate Plan, TerrAria is responsible for preparing the documentation required for the SEA screening procedure of the Plan.
