7 de October de 2024

“Ningú enrere” in the fight for climate justice in Barcelona

Barcelona is taking a step forward towards climate justice with the "Ningú enrere: active listening to vulnerable groups to guarantee climate justice" project. This initiative, promoted by the Ajuntament de Barcelona within the framework of the LOCALISED European project, aims to contribute to the preparation of cities for climate change, helping to understand what options they have to identify and mitigate its impacts, and how can be implemented, taking into account energy justice.

Science For Change has been part of the initiative “Ningú enrere: active listening to vulnerable groups to guarantee climate justice“, promoted by the Department of Urban Planning Participation, Ecological Transition, Urban Services and Housing of the Ajuntament de Barcelona, which seeks to prepare the city for the effects of climate change through local decarbonisation and the energy transition. At SFC we have designed active listening sessions to share, debate and exchange ideas with different groups that are especially vulnerable to climate change, including: children, the elderly, people with dependency and people of diverse cultural origin.

The most vulnerable groups are often underrepresented in public policies on energy transition processes. Therefore, it is important to effectively identify the local needs of the most vulnerable population. It is necessary to identify the most useful measures for adaptation to climate change, and adjust them to each group to facilitate their implementation, guaranteeing climate justice for all groups.

To achieve this, SFC has carried out 9 sessions, between the months of April and July, with a total of 80 participants, in order to know their perception and opinion towards climate change. Specifically, four central thematic axes have been discussed:

Household air conditioning, energy efficiency and renewable energies.
The role of public spaces in preparing the city for climate change.
Mobility, the “Low Emission Zone” (ZBE) and the different methods of transport.
The use of city spaces and facilities as climate shelters.

Many of the participants have expressed their gratitude to us for putting them in the center and listening to their opinion. Citizen participation is essential in generating the knowledge needed to design public policies that meet their needs. Through the Focus Groups, their interests have also been detected, as well as other aspects of the city that concern them. The sessions have functioned both as a way of communicating municipal initiatives, and as a space to share experiences and homemade tricks to save energy and water consumption.

Òscar Larraga

Specialist in Social and Cultural Anthropology at Science For Change.

As a result of the sessions and thanks to the participation of all the groups, a final report has been prepared, in which the needs, concerns and shortcomings of the different groups have been collected. The report has been shared with the Ajuntament de Barcelona so that the analyses carried out and the suggestions proposed by citizens are taken into account when devising new public policies in favour of climate change and the well-being of the population

The socio-educational context plays an important role in listening to and actively participating the population in terms of how to address and manage climate change. The sessions held with citizens have provided very valuable information to put on the table and debate this issue from multiple perspectives.

A lack of knowledge of these groups regarding multiple aspects related to climate change has been highlighted, such as the impacts, social and economic challenges, existing public policies or the strategies implemented to deal with the current climate crisis. The domestic economy has also been described as a limiting factor that hinders access to sustainable behaviours or products.

Climate shelters have also been a topic of debate during the sessions, in which participants have highlighted the need for them to remain open throughout the summer, which is when they are most needed.

Finally, the sessions have also made it possible to generate a space in which citizens have shared and exchanged strategies to reduce energy and water consumption passively. And also, to emphasize positive aspects of measures that are already implemented, such as the pacification and pedestrianisation projects of some streets in Barcelona, and the good functioning of public transport.

All the results collected during these sessions will be essential in the construction and elaboration of new public policies that guarantee climate justice. Building a Barcelona that is better prepared and fairer in the face of the challenges of climate change is possible, without leaving any group behind in the fight against climate change and in the transition towards a more sustainable city.