The PACC marks 13 lines of action and 54 actions to be developed in the short and medium term
The City Council presents the Climate Change Adaptation Plan to the Urban Scene and Mobility Councils
Benidorm is the first Spanish city with more than 50,000 inhabitants that has a plan of this type
Benidorm City Council has explained today the main lines of the Climate Change Adaptation Plan (PACC) to the members of the Urban Scene Advisory Council and the Mobility Council, an act held in the Plenary Hall, which has had the presence of the professor of Regional Geographic Analysis of the University of Alicante, Jorge Olcina, and the technical director of the Climatic Intelligence company, Pablo Mirete.
Both have explained in detail the guidelines of the PACC, which has 13 strategic lines of work and 54 actions to be developed in the short and medium-term, many of which have already begun to be carried out. Mayor Toni Pérez has revealed that Benidorm is the first city with more than 50,000 inhabitants to have a plan of this type "because it is a city that wants to prepare for the future".
Both Olcina and Mirete have indicated, broadly speaking, that the PACC proposes, in order to increase the city's resilience to climate change, to renaturalize the municipal district, thereby also improving the quality of life. It also proposes promoting the conservation of biodiversity; improving the design and adaptability of the city; promoting the use of renewable energy, self-consumption and efficiency and raising awareness to inform society seeking the proactivity of residents and tourists, and enhancing the impacts of tourism.
Olcina has highlighted the efficient management of water in Benidorm and, in this sense, has stated that "climate change will hardly affect water resources thanks to this management ".
Toni Pérez has indicated that with this plan "we want to contribute to Climate Change and that is why we welcome it with great pleasure". At that point, he has specified that there are aspects "that should occupy us and concern us" such as the increase in temperature "which can affect the times of tourist activity". Pérez has considered that the concern of a tourist destination "is to be a comfortable place climatically and hence we have a responsibility with the territory we have occupied so that our tourist activity can be extended over time."
The mayor has advocated "being alert and advancing without fear of giving ourselves homework" because he, without a doubt, has said, "we are facing a great change." The municipal architect, José Luis Camarasa, has intervened to detail that the new urban developments "allocate a large part to green areas and parks" and has emphasized the regeneration of some areas such as Rincón de Loix quarry (8,000 trees) or the plantations of trees in Ensanche Levante (10,000 trees). Also, the fact that 50% of the private land in this sector cannot be filled with basements "with which the water will have its natural cycle and will have a floodable park".
Toni Pérez, finally, pointed out that on a day-to-day basis "we are at the forefront to fight against climate change". "Although we have unbeatable conditions, we must not neglect ourselves and continue taking action to continue having a promising future" he concluded.
