Almost regardless of what kind of services a Local Government does, its activities will be affected: in the short term, because of decisions made by them as well as other actors, such as citizens, business houses, corporate, transport operator, solid waste officials and industries; and in the long term, because of the potential effects of global warming.

By understanding climate change and how it affects the cities, a Local Government keeps the possibility to choose its actions, instead of being pressured to adapt quickly by already existing legislation. Through pro-activity, a Local Government can even turn climate change into an opportunity of improvising service delivery, reaching the citizens, corporate and companies.

Climate change has short and long term effects, and should therefore be placed on the strategic agenda of a Local Government. Specific tools that can be used are climate strategies with a focus on service delivery opportunities and assessments, procurement strategies with a focus on new opportunities, risk assessment, financial perspectives, emission compensation, training, follow-up and reporting.

LgNet has experience in working with climate change in programmes, both through pro-active cooperation between Local Government and concrete work in specific areas. In our network, we have experiences of international cities in the field as well as corporate, citizens etc.