60solutions en

60

Solutions against climate change

about the exhibition GoodPlanet Foundation Pictures by Yann Arthus-Bertrand

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A problem without a solution is a poorly stated problem, said Albert Einstein.

Contrary to what many people think, global warming is not merely a problem. It is also a flurry of solutions and opportunities that have already popped out from civil society, from corporations, from institutions and from individuals as well. Some are well known, others less so; some are surprising, others are expected; some will have a global impact, others are of symbolic order; some

are local, others will have a planetary reach.

Most of them allow to face climate change, but they also provide a string of side benefits, as they are called. They allow us to strengthen society and to favor a development respectful of the environment and of men and women.

The GoodPlanet Foundation has selected the most interesting ones, together with the Agence Française de Développement.

Some are displayed here today; all of them were compiled into a book and a site

«60 Solutions». We hope that these examples will inspire you, whether you are a citizen or a decision maker. With this initiative, we wish to contribute to emulate change, as it is greatly needed to make our planet a better place to live together.

60SOLUTIONS a project by

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60SOLUTIONS # Build a subway to keep pace with urban growth The rapid growth of large cities poses enormous challenges to both urban planning and transportation. The city of Istanbul for example, has grown from 3 million inhabitants in 1980 tomore than 14 million today.

To keep travelers moving in this city that straddles Europe and Asia on the Bosporus Straits the city started building a subway system in 1992 and has developed it continuously ever since. One of the newest lines passes under the straits at a depth of 60 meters, improving the link between the two parts of the city. The subway carries 1.5 million passengers a day on more than 80 kilometers of track connected to a high‑frequency bus network. And this is only the beginning: the city plans to continue expanding the system.

In addition to making travel easier for Istanbul residents, the subway reduces road traffic, thereby saving fuel and avoiding greenhouse gas emissions.

The Corcovado overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro. ©Yann Arthus-Bertrand/Altitude The city of Rio got its subway in 1979.

Today it transports 1.1 million people a day and will be further extended in the future.

22°57’ S, 43°13’ W

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60SOLUTIONS # improve mobility in megacities With the growing urbanization of our planet, today’s megacities sprawl over thousands of square kilometers. Providing efficient transportation has become an economic and social priority.

To improve urban mobility while protecting the environment, the city of Bogota introduced a bus rapid transit system in 2000. Baptized Transmilenio, it was one of the first networks of its kind on the continent. The buses operate on hundreds of kilometers of dedicated bus lanes, and at fixed times, providing fast and reliable transportation for up to 1.5 million people every day. Fixed prices, lower than other forms of transport, ensure its widespread use.

Thanks to this system, journeys to the city centre and workplaces have been made much easier and chronic traffic congestion greatly reduced. At the same time, the city has cut its emissions of greenhouse gases by 350,000 tons a year. The bus rapid transit system has been adopted in numerous cities around the world.

Market near Surulere in Lagos, Nigeria. ©Yann Arthus-Bertrand/Altitude Faced with huge population growth and recurrent traffic problems, Lagos authorities introduced a bus rapid transit system in 2008.

6°31’ N - 3°22’ E

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60SOLUTIONS # expanding transportation for all Mobility within sprawling cities grows ever more difficult and time-consuming; it often takes hours to go from one end of town to the other. As districts become isolated from one another, social exclusion and joblessness take hold.

Latin America and the Caribbean form one of the most urbanized regions in the world, with more than 80% of their populations living in cities.

Like many of its peers in the region, Santo Domingo, a city of three million in the Dominican Republic, strives to address urban transportation needs. The city has built a new metro line to make it easier to move about town. It has also set up a river transportation system on the banks of the Ozama; the “Acuabus” connects with the metro and serves the poorer districts. The city has even relocated some local residents outside of the flood zone.

These new transportation modes served 24 million additional passengers in their first year of operation, opening up disadvantaged districts and encouraging social diversity while reducing carbon‑dioxide emissions.

Henderson, suburb of Las Vegas, USA. ©Yann Arthus-Bertrand/Altitude North American housing is usually built in residential suburbs that depend on use of the automobile.

35° 60’ N – 115° 05’ W

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60SOLUTIONS # equip poor houses with solar water‑heaters Energy is often expensive for the poorest households.

But energy from the sun is supplied free, every day.

In Kuyasa, a deprived neighborhood of Cape Town in South Africa, houses are progressively being equipped with solar water‑heaters, thanks to the Kuyasa Fund financed by the Clean Development Mechanisms (CDMs). More than 2,300 low-cost houses have benefited from it in a few years.

With a solar water-heater, inhabitants no longer have to use coal to heat water, thereby avoiding polluting the air inside their homes as well as saving up to 56% on their energy bills.

They can also keep warm and are therefore less often sick in winter.

Although the country suffers from an acute shortage of housing, the project shows that it is possible to house poorer people in more ecological conditions. Every dwelling equipped with a solar water-heater saves the emission of 1.29 tons of CO2 a year.

Mata de Pita, a Veracruz suburb, Veracruz State, Mexico. ©Yann Arthus-Bertrand/Altitude Mexico has multiplied by 5 its solar water‑heater capacity in the last 10 years.

19°07’ N - 96°11’ W

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60SOLUTIONS # fighting against air pollution In 1992 during the Earth Summit in Rio, Mexico was described as the most polluted city in the world. Since then, the city has introduced four consecutive programs to reduce air pollution, called Proaire. In addition to improving the daily life of its residents, these measures have reduced the city’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The city closed down the most polluting factories, developed public transportation, introduced a car-free day per week and set up a bicycle-sharing system called Ecobici, the biggest in the region and since replicated in Latin America to mention only some of a long list of measures.

In 25 years, air quality has improved considerably with concentrations of carbon monoxide and ozone falling by 79% and 33% respectively. In general, carbon emissions declined by more than 7 million tons between 2008 and 2012.

Market near the Xochimilco neighborhood, Mexico City, Mexico. ©Yann Arthus-Bertrand/Altitude The WHO reports that 2.6 million people died prematurely in 2012 due to outside air pollution.

19°27’ N – 99°16’ W

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60SOLUTIONS # construct energy-efficient buildings Buildings consume a lot of energy and will be doing so for decades. Building more energy-efficiently means building a better future.

China builds approximately one billion square meters of housing every year. The energy stakes are enormous. In this context, a Franco-Chinese cooperation program financed by the FFEM transferred expertise on the construction of energy-efficient housing via advice and training for operators, decision-makers, experts and students.

In 10 years, about one million square meters have been built through this program in three distinct areas with very different climates: Harbin in the north, Beijing and Shanghai. In the first two cases – cold or cool areas – the buildings produced savings on heating of at least 50%. In Shanghai, savings on air conditioning reached 65%.

For minimal cost, this program has led to a reduction in CO2 emissions of 50,000 tons a year, while providing residents of new housing with a more comfortable life. It has also enabled the Chinese to acquire vital expertise in energy efficiency.

Pudong business district and river Huangpu, Shanghai, China. ©Yann Arthus-Bertrand/Altitude The building sector represents 28% of energy consumption in China.

31°14’ N – 121°30’ E

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60SOLUTIONS # putting garbage to good use Waste management on islands proves even more complicated than elsewhere. Towns and villages in Guadeloupe have committed to improving their trash collection. The communities want to curb random trash heaps, backyard burning, and river dumping, especially since they can use organic waste to produce compost and energy. The communities must set up industrial processes to manage waste properly.

In Gabarre, a town in the Abymes commune, a new waste‑management company known as SYVADE will operate a multifunctional centre to process household garbage.

Each year, up to 120,000 tons of trash will be sorted and transformed into compost or methane; the latter will fuel an electricity plant.

Unprocessed garbage generates about 3% of global greenhouse-gas emissions.

Shantytown in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. ©Yann Arthus-Bertrand/Altitude The earthquake of 2010 killed 230,000 people in Haiti and left more than 1 million homeless.

It also extensively damaged health infrastructures.

14°21’ N - 100°38’ E

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60SOLUTIONS # make energy more accessible in rural areas Most rural families in Asia and Africa depend on wood or kerosene to meet their energy requirements, particularly for cooking their food.

The decomposition of organic waste produces natural gas spontaneously, which can be recuperated thanks to “biodigester” tanks. These extremely simple and inexpensive systems aid decomposition and facilitate the use of methane by supplying families with efficient gas burners. Since 2008, the Indian association SKG Sangha (and the GoodPlanet Foundation) have installed around 3,200 of these in various regions of India, and many more in other countries.

These systems improve the lives of women and children – who are responsible for collecting wood – by freeing up several hours of their time every week. They enable animal excrement to be converted into quality compost which can be used in the place of chemical fertilizers. In this way, each tank leads to an annual reduction of 5 to 7 equivalent tons of CO2. They also help in the fight against deforestation.

Dugouts on the Buriganga River, Bangladesh. ©Yann Arthus-Bertrand/Altitude Most of the 150 million inhabitants of Bangladesh are not connected to gas or electricity.

23°38’ N - 90°26’ E

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60SOLUTIONS # protecting mangroves to ease local stresses The partially submerged coastal forests known as mangroves are the most threatened ecosystems of all. Worldwide, their surface area diminishes by about 0.7% each year.

Yet mangroves play an important ecological role.

In Guinea, where rice is a basic foodstuff, AFD has encouraged a clever approach to its cultivation that motivates farmers to protect rather than destroy the mangroves. Mangrove rice, or “bora male” is white and grown without the use of fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides. Its unique properties derive from the typical mangrove ecosystem, which alternates between fresh and salt water and increases rice yields. During the dry season (a poor time to grow rice) local families earn money by producing sea salt.

There are many benefits to this approach: rice yields have tripled in under ten years, earning higher incomes for poor families. More than 50,000 residents have found reliable work in rice-related jobs. In addition, this approach has curbed deforestation and soil depletion.

Coeur de Voh in 1990, New‑Caledonia, France. ©Yann Arthus-Bertrand/Altitude Mangroves cover about 15 million hectares throughout the world but are in retreat due to the expansion of agriculture and towns, tourism development and shrimp farming.

20°56’ S – 164°39’ E

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60SOLUTIONS # Managing forests sustainably The 220-million-hectare Congo Basin forests constitute the second-largest rainforest in the world, after the Amazon jungle. They shelter the greatest biodiversity in Africa, counting nearly 10,000 plants and 400 mammal species.

Conservation of the Congo rainforest requires policies that combine protected areas with sustainably exploited ones.

AFD provides support to 15 forest-products companies to help conserve the Congo Basin. The companies work across 12 million hectares in the Central African Republic, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Gabon.

AFD helps the companies set up long-term forest management plans, and encourages them to inventory stocks, plan for cuttings over several decades, train personnel, and seek certification for timber stands and harvests. These efforts involve many individual and collective stakeholders, such as foresters, loggers, local populations, public authorities, service companies, banks, and development‑aid agencies.

On average, tropical wood sales represent about 6% of GDP and 10% of external commerce for countries in the Congo Basin. These revenues provide incomes for workers and finance for roads, schools, health clinics, and other necessities.

Pink trumpet tree on Kaw Mountain, French Guiana. ©Yann Arthus-Bertrand/Altitude Every year 13 million hectares of forest are destroyed worldwide due to deforestation, the equivalent of a football pitch every two seconds.

4°30’ N – 52°00’ W

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60SOLUTIONS # burning less wood is better for you In poor rural areas, people cook on wood or coal fires.

But these fires are extremely inefficient; less than 10% of their energy actually heats the food. Various organizations now offer inexpensive small cookstoves, often in terracotta, which improve combustion and cooking – and require 20% less fuel.

In Cambodia, GERES (Groupe Energies Renouvelables, Environnement et Solidarités) has sold more than two million improved stoves at a very low price.

By reducing the use of coal and wood, these stoves improve interior air quality and enable Cambodians to save money on fuel. They also help in the fight against deforestation.

For the period 2003 to 2012, these improved stoves saved the emission of 1.5 million tons of CO2 in the country.

This type of stove is now used throughout the world.

Landscape in the fog near Angkor, Cambodia. ©Yann Arthus-Bertrand/Altitude The World Health Organization estimates that interior air pollution (principally due to cooking fires and heating) was linked to 4.3 million premature deaths in 2012.

13°23’ N-103°51’ E

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60SOLUTIONS # take better care of drinking water Energy and water are closely linked: the first is needed to produce the second – and vice versa. Therefore improving the network of drinking water means helping people and saving not one, but two precious resources.

With around 700 m3³ of water available per person per year, Morocco finds itself below the threshold of water scarcity. The demand for water is constantly increasing due to population growth combined with urban, industrial, farm and tourist development. And this situation could worsen with climate change.

In 2012, the Moroccan authorities for electricity and drinking water launched an efficiency improvement program for drinking water systems in 30 small and medium-sized towns of the country. It has led to a reduction in water loss in the distribution network and rapid, sustainable improvement in the supply of drinking water.

About 1.6 million people benefit from the program which has led to savings of 15 million m3 of water and a reduction in CO2 emissions of 8,800 tons a year.

Young girls carrying buckets inthe Dogon region, near Bandiagara, Mali. ©Yann Arthus-Bertrand/Altitude In Africa’s dry season, women and girls often travel 7 miles (10 kilometers) on foot to collect water for household use.

14°20’ N, 3°37’ W

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60SOLUTIONS # help farming communities to preserve our planet The spread of certain farming practices is one of the principal causes of deforestation. It is certainly true in Madagascar, where the practice of slash-and-burn farming for the rice crop is responsible for a part of this phenomenon.

The GoodPlanet Foundation and WWF International have introduced a wide - scale program, continued by ETC Terra, against deforestation on Madagascar, the world’s largest island. The aim, amongst others, is to reduce the practice of slashand-and-burn on more than 500,000 hectares.

Water reservoirs have therefore been built to encourage farming in designated areas. Communities have also been made aware of alternative practices that generate income, or allow intensified activity, in order to reduce the need for new lands. 5,800 households have now adopted at least one of the 18 techniques proposed (market gardening, fruit tree cultivation, and cash crops such as coffee and cloves).

Changing farming practices is a long and difficult process.

The success of such operations depends on the way in which communities are implicated and whether they believe it is in their interest to change.

Deforested landscape between Maroansetra and Toamasina, Madagascar. ©Yann Arthus-Bertrand/Altitude The flora and fauna of Madagascar are truly exceptional: 90% of some 12,000 vegetal species and 80% of animal species on the island are found nowhere else.

17°05’S - 49°10’E

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60SOLUTIONS # use renewable, clean energy Wind turbines are the epitome of ecological energy. Thanks to enormous technological progress, their size has increased considerably and can now exceed 100 meters in diameter.

Consequently their power has also increased and a large wind turbine today can produce a few MW. And this technology is not just used in the North.

In Ethiopia, where only half of the population has access to electricity, the government has decided to focus on renewable energy in its development program.

The Ashegoda wind farm, situated 775 km from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia is the largest in Africa. Commissioned in December 2011, it has 84 turbines and adds close to 400 million kWh a year to the national electricity grid. This project enables the country to reduce its CO2 emissions by around 300,000 tons a year.

Middelgrunden offshore wind farm, Denmark. ©Yann Arthus-Bertrand/Altitude Wind turbines supply about a third of the electricity in Denmark.

55° 41’ N – 12° 40’ E

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60SOLUTIONS # several little dams are better than a big one Dams produce a large and reliable supply of electricity.

But that doesn’t mean we have to build large dams.

Small run‑of-the-river hydro plants that require little or no dammed water can be extremely efficient – and much less disruptive to the flow of water and activities associated with it, such as fishing.

Small hydro plants are particularly suitable for rural areas, such as the Wuxi region in the central province of Sichuan in China.

Here the authorities have constructed six small hydroelectric plants along the waterway, connected to regulating dams, which supply 60 MW and generate around 225 million kWh a year.

The construction of this project has created several hundred long-term jobs and guaranteed a stable electricity price, in addition to saving 230,000 tons of CO2 emissions a year.

Meanwhile China’s hydro potential, like that of Sub-Saharan Africa, remains largely undeveloped.

Homes of Kuna Indians, Robeson Islands, San Blas archipelago, Panama. ©Yann Arthus-Bertrand/Altitude About 53% of Panama’s electricity is hydroelectric, but it is naturally difficult to supply islands from the continent 9°31’ N – 79°03’ W

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60SOLUTIONS # turn up the light and improve education More than 250 million people in Africa are not connected to the electricity grid and depend on kerosene lamps or wood fires for lighting.

In Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia, the SolarAid association has sold more than 1.1 million solar lamps.

These small lamps charge during the day through a solar panel, which can also recharge a mobile phone. The lamps pay for themselves within a few months because they cut down the purchase of fuel. With clean lighting in the evening, adults can take on activities that earn them extra money while children can do homework and improve their school results.

When these solar lamps replace polluting petrol lamps, they play a beneficial role for the climate: every petrol lamp eradicated means 200 kg less of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere every year, without counting the soot which also contributes to the greenhouse effect.

Thermoelectric solar power plants in Sanlúcar la Mayor, Spain. ©Yann Arthus-Bertrand/Altitude Solar energy has developed faster than all other types of energy. The installed capacity of photovoltaic panels reached 136 gigawatts worldwide at the end of 2013.

37°26’ N, 6°15’ W

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60SOLUTIONS # responding more quickly A rapid response can save lives when disaster strikes, but such action requires preparedness. Island inhabitants of the southwest Indian Ocean know this well; they experience an average of ten natural disasters every year. The French Red Cross and its peers from other countries in the region have improved their response capabilities through advance stocking of emergency supplies on a base in the Indian Ocean. Known by its French acronym, PIROI is an emergency-response platform for the entire region.

PIROI, based on Réunion, coordinates 800 local Red Cross chapters and 35,000 active volunteers across the island and in the Comoros, Madagascar, Mayotte, Mauritius and the Seychelles. It warehouses water treatment kits, emergency shelters, and life-saving food and supplies.

When the tropical Cyclone Haruna hit Madagascar in 2013, PIROI very quickly dispatched 1,500 shelters and 3,000 tarps to 22,000 disaster victims.

Climate change and an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme climate events will increase the need for this type of intervention.

The gorges of the Bras de Caverne, Island of Réunion (French overseas territory). ©Yann Arthus-Bertrand/Altitude The Reunion island is located on the path of many hurricanes, which, with very strong winds and torrential rains , can be devastating 21°01’ S - 55°33’ E

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60SOLUTIONS # protect the carbon pump in our oceans No less than a third of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions produced since the beginning of the industrial revolution has gone into the sea rather than warm the air. It is one more reason to protect our oceans.

The Palau islands are situated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. For more than 2,000 years the coral reefs which surround these islands has been the source of subsistence for the islanders. Now, climate warming is threatening this reef.

In 2005 the President of the islands committed to preserve 30% of coastal marine resources and 20% of the island’s terrestrial resources by 2020. A network of marine protected areas (MPA) has now been created with neighboring islands.

A scientific approach has been introduced to identify areas that offer the biggest benefit to diversity and human subsistence.

An MPA such as this reduces the pressure on coral reefs and strengthens their resilience. By enabling ecosystems to regenerate, it provides better resources for fishing communities in the area.

Tree trunk in coral sea, Dominican Republic. ©Yann Arthus-Bertrand/Altitude Two thirds of coral in the Caribbean is threatened, particularly by climate warming..

17°16’ N - 87°30’ W

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60SOLUTIONS # support farmers to avoid conflicts Environmental problems can generate violence and destabilize society. Solving these issues and planning for them is a way of assuring national security.

In Chad, livestock farming, which is mainly nomadic, is the top export sector apart from oil. It contributes 15% to the country’s GDP. But the practice is threatened by the growth of sedentary farming and livestock activity, as well as by a poor distribution of watering holes and climate change. For 15 years, AFD has been developing pastoral water projects and has created 1,000 water holes and 2,000 km of migration trails.

The challenge in these areas bordering Darfur, as in many other arid regions, is to reconcile nomadic and sedentary practices. In the light of recent history in the region, it is essential to maintain stability and peace.

Livestock farming in Kenya. ©Yann Arthus-Bertrand/Altitude Kenya has suffered periods of extreme drought which exacerbate conflicts over access to water.

0°3’ N, 40°18’ E

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60SOLUTIONS # share your experiences Most of the world’s large cities are situated in coastal regions.

They are therefore particularly vulnerable to the rise in sea level and climate change.

More than 1 million people live in Da Nang on the east coast of Vietnam, a city which has also experienced several deadly typhoons. To deal with this threat, city authorities decided to develop a global strategy to make the city more resilient.

Amongst the measures introduced was a regulation imposing resilience norms on building constructors and a credit system to help residents strengthen their homes. This led to the construction of 244 typhoon-resistant houses – all of which survived the Nari storm with its 130 km/h winds in October 2013.

These measures are only the first step, but in Da Nang and elsewhere, political will has proved to be a decisive element of resilience. The city is now sharing its experience with a group of Asian cities which are preparing for climate change. Meanwhile on a global level, various groups are organizing themselves, in particular around the ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability.

View of Venice, Veneto, Italy. ©Yann Arthus-Bertrand/Altitude Like many cities in the North and South, Venice is threatened by rising water.

45°25’ N - 12°45’ E

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60SOLUTIONS # insure harvests and protect farm workers If climatic catastrophes are inevitable, then protecting the poor who depend on food harvests is an absolute necessity.

It is possible through insurance. But the traditional procedure of filing for losses can be fastidious and the payment process can be slow. That’s why new systems called indexed insurance are needed.

In Mexico, government-owned Agroasemex introduced such a system. It offers protection against excessive drought or rain for the four principal crops in Mexico: corn, beans, sorghum and barley. It is triggered automatically depending on the rainfall measured by local weather stations and the different thresholds of the four crops.

Launched in 2004, the program now covers 1.9 million hectares through 251 meteorological stations and protects 800,000 low-paid farm workers. The farmers reinvest on average 70% of compensation they receive to revive and improve their output by acquiring farm equipment and making improvements to production efficiency.

Working in fields in north Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India. ©Yann Arthus-Bertrand/Altitude In 2010, farming employed half the population of India and contributed 16% of GNP. 26°22’ N – 73°02’ E

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