From the 2030 Agenda of the Metropolitan City of Milan to Municipal Urban Planning Documents (DUP) through shared climate change adaptation indicators and targets.
Operational Guide for Metropolitan Cities, Provinces
Five steps to integrate climate change adaptation into Single Programming Documents and Municipal Plans, ensuring access to dedicated funding:
1. Integrate Climate Adaptation into the SDGs
Adaptation to the climate crisis is a complex and transversal process that involves different environmental, social and economic dimensions. To ensure a more integrated and coherent approach with territorial specificities and current political strategies, it is useful to consider, in addition to SDG 13 "Climate Action" , other relevant Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The impacts of the climate crisis arise from the interaction between extreme weather events and the urban, territorial, social and economic characteristics of local communities. These dimensions are closely linked to various SDGs of the 2030 Agenda, including:
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SDG 7 - Affordable and clean energy , for the promotion of sustainable and resilient energy systems;
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SDG 11 - Sustainable cities and communities, to enhance urban resilience and climate risk management;
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SDG 15 - Life on Land , to enhance the role of ecosystems in mitigating climate impacts;
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SDG 17 - Partnership for the Goals , to strengthen the means of implementation and renew the global partnership for sustainable development.
An example of a cross-cutting target related to adaptation, but belonging to a different SDG than 13, is Target 15.9: “Integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into local planning” , which highlights the importance of nature-based solutions to strengthen the resilience of the territory.
The adoption of a multi-SDG perspective allows Provincial Administrations and Metropolitan Cities to develop more effective adaptation strategies, in line with the principles of sustainability and inclusion promoted by the 2030 Agenda.
Once the relevant Targets and the related monitoring indicators have been identified (for the indicators see point 2. ), these must be linked and integrated into the Agency's programmatic documents (PIAO) so that the climate change adaptation actions are operationally linked to the activities of the Offices, which work by virtue of specific individual skills, in order to guarantee structured governance.
The Metropolitan Cities will have to refer, with respect to the provinces, also to the Metropolitan Strategic Plan (PSM). Law no. 56/2014 provides that each Metropolitan City adopts and annually updates a "Three-year strategic plan for the metropolitan territory". This policy document is called to outline the "vocation of the Metropolitan City" and constitutes "policy document for the entity and for the exercise of the functions of the Municipalities". The Metropolitan Plan finds operational declination of the strategies in the programming tools and in the ordinary policies of the Authority, keeping track of the actions implemented by the Municipalities in the metropolitan territory. The PSM sees short, medium and long-term actions as drivers of change.
2. Describe Objectives and Targets with quantitative indicators and local data
By following a path of "tags" of the administrative action with respect to Objective 13 "Fight against climate change" , and possibly other SDGs connected to it with a view to co-benefit, it will be necessary to make clear and monitor over time how much the territorial body and the municipalities in its territory contribute to the aforementioned Objective.
Monitoring, Reporting and Evaluation (MRV) is a crucial phase in the climate adaptation process at all levels of governance, from global to local. The European Platform CLIMATE-ADAPT, through the Adaptation Support Tool , identifies the MRV system as the final phase of the adaptation policy cycle. This system allows to evaluate the effectiveness of the implemented interventions and, in response to the growing climate pressure, to redefine future strategies and actions in an iterative and circular process.
1. Lay the groundwork for adaptation
2. Assess risks and vulnerabilities
3. Identify adaptation options
4. Evaluate and select adaptation actions
5. Implement adaptation actions
6. Monitor, report and evaluate the actions carried out
On an operational level, the first step consists in identifying QUANTITATIVE INDICATORS that represent the environmental and socio-economic factors that can be associated with the Objectives and related Targets of the 2030 Agenda that the political strategy of the Agency aims to advance in the direction of Adaptation.
These indicators must be populated with reliable, accessible and up-to-date local data. The spatial and temporal dimensions of the data are a crucial aspect:
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Spatial scale : the minimum territorial dimension of reference is the entire territory of the Authority (Metropolitan City or Province), but for effective monitoring and implementation of strategies it is necessary to have granular data at municipal level, in order to locate both the risks and the responses implemented (actions and interventions).;
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Time scale and update frequency : data must be collected at least annually and updated at regular intervals of 3-5 years to ensure consistent assessment over time. The adoption of a uniform estimation methodology is essential to ensure comparability of indicator values in multi-year series.
Returning to the example of Target 15.9 “ Integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into local planning ”, a representative quantitative indicator could be the Degree of fragmentation of natural and agricultural land if this indicator is already present or is planned to be included in the Authority's programmatic and planning documents.
Targets and related indicators used by the Metropolitan City of Milan are available at the following Databases:
3. Share Adaptation indicators with the municipal level
To ensure effective coordination between the municipal and superordinate levels, within the MRV (Monitoring, Reporting and Evaluation) system of Adaptation, it is essential to adopt some shared quantitative indicators, functional both at the local and metropolitan or provincial scale.
The Municipalities, thanks to their proximity to the territory, have direct access to specific and detailed data, including:
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Energy consumption , extracted from platforms such as SIATEL;
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Monitoring of urban and peri-urban flooding following intense meteorological events;
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Data on works and infrastructures NBS (Nature-Based Solutions) and SuDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems);
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Vulnerable population , detected through municipal social services.
Metropolitan Cities and Provinces, on the other hand, can collect and integrate data from regional and national sources, develop indicators through advanced platforms (e.g. satellite images) and ensure the periodic updating of this information. Furthermore, they can structure databases in open data, making them accessible to Municipalities through dedicated databases.
This approach is already consolidated in territorial planning, with tools such as municipal Territorial Government Plans (PGT) and Provincial/Metropolitan Coordination Territorial Plans (PTCP/PTM) , supported by the related Territorial Information Systems. In the context of Adaptation, in addition to the territorial dimension, it becomes essential to also consider the environmental and socio-economic components structured within the 2030 Agenda.
From this perspective, the Agenda 2030 Information System of a Metropolitan City or a Province can act as a reference database for the Municipalities, operating in synergy with the existing Territorial Information Systems.
As part of the IndicaMi project, the Metropolitan City of Milan has started the creation of the IndicaMi DataHub , conceived as a collector of indicators, data and information periodically updated and functional to the monitoring of Climate Adaptation at a local level. The IndicaMi DataHub is also integrated with the Agenda 2030 DataLab, promoting the synergy between territorial and strategic data.
The reasoned list of Indicators used in the IndicaMi project, with the indication of the data sources, is available in Excel format at the following link.
4. Use Indicators to measure sectoral progress towards Climate Adaptation
The indicators selected to represent the Adaptation Targets must be quantified for the initial and final year of the observation period in the MRV (Monitoring, Reporting and Evaluation) system. Depending on the time horizon considered:
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A SHORT TERM corresponds to a period of 3-5 years;
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A LONG TERM covers a range of 10-15 years.
A progress formula towards the adaptation objective is applied to each indicator according to the methodology implemented inspired by the monitoring system adopted by Eurostat for the European Union Agenda 2030 (pdf).
The method is based on the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) , which measures the variation of the indicator with respect to the desired direction, with two possible formulations:
Without quantitative threshold, to evaluate the overall trend of improvement or worsening;
With quantitative threshold , to verify the achievement of a reference value (regulatory, technical or voluntary).
The value obtained from the growth function is indicative of the direction and speed of progress with respect to the adaptation objective. For example:
An increase in land consumption signals a shift away from Adaptation, with a negative impact on territorial resilience.
A reduction in the fragmentation of natural and agricultural land indicates positive progress, highlighting an improvement in the ecological management of urban and rural space.
When there is a quantitative reference threshold (established by regulations, technical best practices or voluntary commitments), it is possible to certify the actual achievement of the objective or quantify the remaining distance for its completion.
5. Integrated Assessment of Climate Adaptation through the SDGs
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their targets are described by a wide range of quantitative indicators , which can be used together to measure the effectiveness of actions taken in the context of adaptation to the climate crisis.
This perspective is crucial because, while a single indicator reflects the progress of a specific sector, climate adaptation is based on a multi-sectoral and multi-objective approach, resulting from the combination of policy strategies and operational interventions across multiple domains.
The MRV (Monitoring, Reporting and Evaluation) method, derived from the Eurostat approach, uses specific SCORE functions to normalize the values of the selected indicators, making them comparable on a homogeneous quantitative scale.
Through an appropriate AVERAGE function, the normalized values of the indicators are summarized in a single score (SCORE) that represents both the direction and the rate of progress towards the Goal or Target of the 2030 Agenda under examination.
This methodology allows to obtain a clear and integrated picture of the overall progress of adaptation strategies, providing a synthetic indicator that supports political decisions and the monitoring of territorial performance.
(For the formulation of the calculation algorithms, please refer to the Methodology section).
The Metropolitan City of Milan has conducted an initial analysis of the progress of climate adaptation actions in its territory, applying the methodological framework of Agenda 2030 and the MRV method described. The results, summarized below, provide an initial assessment of the path undertaken, highlighting the progress made and areas for improvement. Indicators from other SDGs have also been used in SDG 13, as done by the EU Agenda 2030 itself. The Targets have also been reformulated by referring them to the local territory.
(For a description of the indicators, see the Indicators section).
SDG INDICATORS 13 “Climate Action” of Metropolitan City of Milano
Target 13.1
Strengthen local resilience and adaptation capacity to the impacts of the climate crisis
1. Area at risk of flooding (ha)
2. Strategic infrastructures at risk of flooding (km)
3. Sensitive elements at risk of flooding (No.)
4. Structural dependence of population (index of) [SDG 11]
5. Energy efficiency of buildings (surfaces with a jump of at least 1 APE class) [SDG 7]
6. Energy Performance Intensity IPE for summer cooling (residential electricity consumption per unit of Summer Degree Day and per inhabitant) [SDG 7]
7. Energy Performance Intensity IPE for winter heating (consumption of natural gas from distribution networks per Degree Day unit) [SDG 7]
8. CO2eq emission intensity from civil combustion (CO2eq emissions from civil combustion per unit of inhabitant and degree day)
9. Water quality status (river channels in good chemical state)
Target 13.2
Integrating climate change measures into local policies and planning
10. Total CO2eq emissions per capita
11. Photovoltaic systems - Number of systems installed [SDG 7]
12. Photovoltaic systems - Total installed capacity [SDG 7]
13. Photovoltaic systems - Total electricity generation [SDG 7]
14. Land consumption [SDG 11]
15. Urbanized surface [SDG 11]
16. Change in the extent of urban green areas (UGAI) [SDG 11]
17. Fragmentation of natural and agricultural land [SDG 15]
Target 13.3
Improve education, awareness and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning
18. Public administrators who have received training on Climate Adaptation in the Metropolitan City of Milan
19. Diffusion of institutional and similar meteorological networks (air temperature)
20. Spread of Institutional and Comparable Meteorological Networks (Precipitation Monitoring)
