Kera News
Summary
Vienna takes its job as a climate role model seriously. In addition to mandating solar panels and energy-efficient buildings, Vienna is now heating thousands of homes with geothermal energy instead of planet-heating natural gas. It's building massive heat pumps. It's investing in new infrastructure to help adapt to heat waves and floods. And this spring Vienna passed a historic climate law, outlining a plan to get its climate pollution down to zero by 2040.
Vienna is seeing increased flooding because of climate change, including a 1,000 year flood event in September. Abrahamczik says increased flood risk is why the city is building "sponge cities". That's when cities incorporate things like sand, ponds and green spaces in urban design to soak up excess water and better manage flooding. Because Vienna is seeing more deadly heatwaves, it's planting trees for shade, and expanding district cooling, a climate-friendly alternative to air conditioning.
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