Horizon 2020 and private investors involvement Athens 22-23 October 2007

1. Horizon 2020 and private investors involvementAthens 22-23 October 2007 The point of view of local authorities/municipalities as beneficiaries Joan Parpal Medcities network

2. Synergy Horizon 2020 & Municipalities • Horizon 2020 programme has potential partners in Mediterranean municipalities from non EC countries. Cities are main sources of hot spots. • Local administrations commitment with H2020 would be relevant for reaching the programme objectives in terms of project management and political support. The EIB loans is an important but not sufficient tool. • Many Mediterranean municipalities need Horizon 2020 success for advancing its sustainable development and improving its citizens health. • The capacity building component of Horizon 2020 should be the tool for building this synergy between them.

3. Sectorial situation • Many non-EC countries have nowadays a adequate legal, institutional and financial framework to invest in urban wastewater systems through public-private partnerships. MEDPOL has made a guide on sewage-related documents and foresees the impulsion of national training courses on municipal sewage wastewater save use. • EC SMAP programme has supported a regional project on institutional strengthening and capacity building on at national level in integrated solid waste management. It has been successful at national level and now is time of extend its good results at municipal level. • Industrial air pollution needs a similar project on institutional strengthening and capacity building. • For municipalities’ integration in these dynamics Horizon 2020 should utilise the concrete cases agreed between BEI and countries through specific capacity building projects.

4. Mediterranean Cities benefices & Medcities experiences I • Urban sustainable development: • Appropriate waste water system supposes clean water bodies ( sea, rivers, lagoons) and beaches, a condition for tourism improvement • BP: Limassol,Tangiers, Sousse. Challenges: Alexandria, Sfax south coast • Controlled landfilling prevent aquifers pollution that destroy local water resources. • BP: Alexandria, Latakie, Sfax, Sousse, Haifa, Zarqa, Aleppo, Gaza. / Challenges.: Tripoli, Tangier, Tetuan • City competitiveness for localising global events, industries or services increases with good urban environment. • BP: Sfax, Alexandria, Tangiers. / Challenges: Tripoli. • Urban polluted zones act as barriers for city territorial development. • BP: Sfax north coast, Larnaka refinery, Haifa north. Challenges: Alexandria Lake Maryut, Sfax south coast.

5. Mediterranean Cities benefices & Medcities experiences II • Health: • Burning landfills are the main source of dioxin and furanes emissions, that are strong cancerigens. • BP: Sfax, Sousse. Challenges: Tangiers, Tetuan. • Though traffic is the main cause of air pollution, too frequently big industries or services emissions are relevant factors of morbidity. • BP: Larnaka, Haifa. Challenges: Alexandria, Sfax. • The sewer system looses can be a cause of water transmission illness. It is also a cause of aquifer pollution. • BP: Tirana, Tripoli, Alexandria. Challenge: It is general for resource conservation and service economy

6. Barriers • Despite countries need competitive towns in present global economy, city sustainable development is not a priority policy. • Initiatives of municipalities and city stakeholders do not find appropriate support due to excess of centralisation. • Urban public services in the fields of waste, waste water and air quality need in many countries an institutional and legal development to clarify roles, rights and duties of different levels of administrations and private partners. • Municipalities have in many cases not sufficient and stable financial resources to guarantee cost recovery of service delivery including investments’ pay-back. • It is usual the weakness of public monitoring of environment and pollution control of activities, that are needed for good service planning and management.

7. What capacity building? I Capacity building at national and local levels should be adapted to national reality. I would propose in general: • Solid waste: • Old landfill upgrading.New landfill implementation. • Service management and monitoring. • Modern tariffs or taxes systems. Cost-recovery. • Public-private partnership tendering and controlling. • Industrial waste regulations and control. • Recycling. • Waste water: • Pollution-pays principle application in taxes and tariffs. • Regulations of inputs in public sewage network. • Monitoring of impacts on reception bodies.

8. What capacity building? II • Air pollution: • Inventories, monitoring and diagnostics of air quality. • Control of emissions. • Clean production • General: • Activities’ authorisation. • Activities self-control • Environment labels. ISO. IMAS

9. Final remarks • Cost recovery is the main condition for a strong private investors participation in Horizon 2020 implementation. Mediterranean countries have in general solved this condition in wastewater public service through specific taxes or tariffs.. Solid waste public services have not in general any specific financial resource and municipalities have many difficulties to recover the cost of an appropriate service. This barrier should be solved. • States and local administration cooperation would be effective in capacity building projects. Medcities offers its collaboration, mainly in solid waste and air pollution projects.