Amman Climate Action Plan - A Vision for 2050 Amman.

This Amman Climate Action Plan is a local-government document representing a first step on the path to creating a sustainable future. It lays out an approach to creating a carbon-neutral Amman while expanding services and meeting the needs of the rapidly growing city. The plan sets an interim target of a 40% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 - through a shared vision for collaboration among the government, private sector, development partners, and residents of Amman -, then the city will proceed in its implementation until the achievement of the carbon-neutral goal in 2050. Three sectors are mainly involved in the Plan, and they are (1) Transportation, by planning and building of the city’s first rapid bus transit system, as well as improving the transportation and mobility network; (2) Energy Efficiency, by enhancing street lighting efficiency with a light-emitting diode (LED) street bulb program and incentivizing green building with a green building density bonus; and (3) Waste, by managing waste based on the 4Rs (reduction, reuse, recycling, and recovery) as well as creating fossil-fuel-free energy in the Al Ghabawi waste to energy facility. The goals for each sector to achieve Amman’s 2050 vision are (i) the electricity source for the city will need to be predominately carbon-free; (ii) newly constructed buildings will all comply with green building guidelines, and a majority of existing buildings will be renovated to improve energy efficiency; (iii) citizen engagement through a cross-cutting program that includes launching a city-wide awareness program about climate change action and GAM's ongoing efforts; (iv) renewable energy expansion through (a) integrated solar photovoltaics (PVs) to provide residential and commercial buildings with the majority of their energy needs, and (b) the Greater Amman Municipality production of its own renewable energy; (v) sustainable mobility that includes: clean, efficient and widespread public transport, electrically powered private vehicles, and walking as a core mode of mobility in the city center; (vi) waste reduced, sorted, composted and recycled, while remaining solid waste will be processed in waste to energy sites; (vii) water efficiently used, rainwater captured and reused, and wastewater effectively treated, with a focus on capturing gases for energy use; (viii) urban planning and land use with new development areas focused on public transit-oriented corridors, increasing of green spaces, parks, and urban forestry, and new buildings focusing on underutilized land. The Plan envisages different timeframes for being implemented (i) short-term actions that can be implemented in 10 years; (ii) medium-term for those to be implemented in 10-15 years; and (iii) long-term actions for those to be implemented in 15-30 years.
To make agriculture more productive and sustainable, the document encourages the possibility of incentivizing urban agriculture in Amman, by zoning, financial incentives, and other policies.
To increase the resilience of livelihoods to disasters, the Plan envisages to (i) increase energy efficiency in the building sector, at the public level and introducing incentives at the private level; (ii) increase renewable energy production; (iii) improve sustainable transportation; (iv) reduce waste and improve waste management; (v) reduce water demand by implementing rainwater harvesting, creating a storm water master plan for Amman, planting drought-tolerant plants in parks and public areas together with efficient irrigation systems; (vi) improve wastewater management by implementing greywater recycling, using recycled greywater or captured rainwater in all municipal green sites; (vii) enhance tree cover and increase the number of trees in Amman by the expansion of anti-desertification projects and green urban infrastructure also surrounding the city with a ring of trees to achieve protection from dust and wind.
The Plan includes a number a cross-sectoral issues, such as (i) supporting local societies and communities that play an essential role in raising awareness and helping to empower women and men to adopt sustainable lifestyles; (ii) implementing educational and recreational projects within the city that returns people back to nature and enhance their knowledge in these fields like botanical and theme gardens, eco parks, birds' gardens, butterflies gardens and zoos
As for Governance, it is crucial to coordinate across and within government agencies, engage with the private sector, and connect planning, and financing options. The components of this Plan can easily be aligned with and worked into the typical planning, budgeting, and administration processes undertaken by municipal governments.