The four-year LIFE-CLIMCOOP project was launched in September 2020 within the framework of the LIFE Climate Policy sub-program. The project is co-funded by the LIFE program of the European Union and the Ministry for Innovation and Technology, Hungary.

The total budget for the four-year project is € 2.95 million.

The overall goal of the LIFE-CLIMCOOP project is to develop, test and demonstrate collective actions between the city government and  multinational companies to reduce local climate risks and enhance joint Climate Change (CC) adaptation for vulnerable urban and industrial areas in the selected region, in Hungary and in Central-East Europe.

The cooperation is established between the Municipality of Kazincbarcika and BorsodChem Zrt., supported by consortium partners: Mining and Geological Survey of Hungary (MGSH), National Adaptation Center (NAC), KÖVET Association for Sustainable Economies and GeoGold Kárpátia Ltd. The coordinating beneficiary of the project is the Institute of Chemistry of the University of Miskolc.

Our main task is to provide geological, hydrogeological and geophysical expert activities for the relevant catchment areas of river Sajó and Tardona stream.

We are involved in the designation of the location of log dams designed to reduce the impact of flash floods. Also to complete geological-geophysical field measurements in the wider area of Kazincbarcika.

Using the existing data and our own measurement results, we create a geospatial database and a hydrogeological model to examine local groundwater storage options and the impact of extreme weather conditions on groundwater. Furthermore, we take a part of the Kazincbarcika’s urban development plan and work in cooperation to help in the climate adaptation with partner companies. 

The main activities of the project are:

  • Under the direction of the MGSH – National Adaptation Centre (NAC) and with the involvement of stakeholders, a common climate adaptation strategy between Kazincbarcika and BorsodChem Zrt. will be prepared, based on a Climate Vulnerability Assessment. A methodological guide and an online collection of good adaptation practices will be developed to enable other settlements and industrial companies with similar capabilities to adapt common climate strategies to their own environments.
  • Kazincbarcika and BorsodChem Zrt. develop and operate cooperation mechanisms to promote climate change related measures. They set it up a climate platform as a coordinating organisation, furthermore creating a future research group in order to increase climate awareness and knowledge base, and a unique climate fund will be launched to support local adaptation measures.
  • Small-scale, so-called Nature-based adaptation measures will be implemented in Kazincbarcika and BorsodChem Zrt. to reduce local vulnerabilities and provide additional benefits such as biodiversity conservation. Activities include rainwater management, expansion of urban green spaces, construction of green roofs and multifunctional adaptation facilities in former industrial areas, creation of ecological corridors, and climate-compliant updating of the urban irrigation planned jointly by the partners.
  • Improved smart adaptation tools will be developed to increase adaptability and knowledge base of the population: urban tree cadastre and interactive map; cadastre of small local watercourses; adaptive development of the popular urban mobile application; graphical signboard displays the weather (temperature, precipitation, alarm) and water data related to Sajó (flow conditions, water temperature, amount of treated wastewater).
  • In addition to the coordination of MBFSZ NAKFO, Kazincbarcika and BorsodChem Zrt. Will integrate the aspects of adaptation to climate change into their operational practices and regulations, then a heat alert plan for Kazincbarcika and BorsodChem Zrt. Will be completed.
  • For the use of greywater (industrial wastewater, municipal rainwater, treated municipal wastewater) and for the optimization of the water use of BorsodChem Zrt. – in cooperation with BorsodChem Zrt. and the University of Miskolc –  a prototype device will be developed to help reduce water abstraction from Sajo for industrial purposes in long term.
  • The established water management model and cooperation practice will serve the replication and transfer of the results of the project at different urban-industrial sites of the Sajó River Basin, as well as at the partner sites in Hungary and abroad, thus facilitating building public-private partnerships.
  • In addition to the above, the project will be complemented by educational, knowledge transfer and wide-ranging communication activities: the development of climate and water awareness training packages for industrial workers and local government workers; the involvement of five other domestic cities and the affected industrial companies into the project; and the organization of conferences, educational events, workshops, and contacts with national and international climate change institutions, professional organizations and similar LIFE projects.
  • The progress of the project results and the monitoring of the environmental, social and economic impacts are ensured by extensive monitoring activities.

More information about the project is available on the project website: https://life-climcoop.hu/

The project supports the achievement of the adaptation goals of the Hungarian climate policy strategy documents (NÉS-2, ÉCsT, NEKT, National Clean Development Strategy) and also contributes to the fulfillment of several strategic objectives of the European Union.