Twinned cities cooperate for more climate protection
Paths to climate resilience: German cities team up with partners worldwide to drive the urban transformation.
Climate protection is playing an increasingly important role in German cities’ international partnerships. Three examples reveal the many different ways in which twinned cities are promoting more climate resilience.
Bonn and La Paz
Ever since the two cities were twinned in 2002, emphasis has been placed on cooperation on climate protection, environmental awareness and sustainable development. For instance, Bonn collaborates with the Bolivian capital in the “Resilient City” initiative with the aim of better preparing La Paz for climate change impacts. This involves among other things a broad-ranging programme of training and continuing education for decision-makers in the city’s government. Alongside this training, concrete measures are implemented such as the introduction of a recycling system for paper and plastic in government agencies, schools and other educational institutions. Bonn also supports La Paz with deploying electric vehicles for its outpatient healthcare services.
Würzburg and Mwanza
They may not appear to have much in common at first glance: Würzburg, a city characterised by its baroque architecture in the heart of the southern German winegrowing region of Franconia, and Mwanza, Tanzania’s second-largest city and major business hub on Lake Victoria. However, the two are linked not only by a twinning agreement but also by a municipal climate partnership. The installation of photovoltaic systems in Mwanza is one of the measures implemented by the partnership, as is support for Lake Victoria’s fishermen. Thanks to a pilot project, they have been able to replace the environmentally harmful pressurised kerosene lamps they normally use when fishing at night with solar-powered lamps.
Lahr and Alajuela
It’s not only big cities that benefit from climate cooperation: the town of Lahr in Germany’s Black Forest and Alajuela in Costa Rica – each of which have around 50,000 inhabitants - are linked by a municipal climate partnership. Its central areas of focus include protecting water resources, collecting and recycling waste, improving urban quality of life and providing information about climate protection. One project for example has created environmental education materials in German and Spanish that are used in Costa Rica and Germany. And important drinking water sources in Alajuela are protected by fences and reforestation.
