Santa Cruz - City Climate Action Plan
Challenge
Santa Cruz is Bolivia’s largest city and primary commercial centre. Faced with forecasts of rising temperatures, reduced precipitation, and the increased risk of flooding, wildfires and tropical disease, the city sought a long-term plan to limit local emissions, preserve surrounding ecosystems, and help citizens adapt to a changing climate.
With the support of funding from the World Bank, Ricardo was commissioned to lead the development of a City Climate Action Plan, setting out priority actions accompanied by the required targets, budgets and timescales.
Approach
The Ricardo team commenced by bringing together subject specialists and local experts – including economists, scientists, and health and education administrators - to analyse data sources and agree on the scope and ambition for the Plan.
The group then embarked on an extensive consultation programme with residents, the business community, and public service providers such as transport operators and utility suppliers, to understand how the community would respond to various policy suggestions, and the extent to which groups with different - and sometimes conflicting - interests would be prepared to contribute.
Working from the headline challenge set by the city to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, the team used the findings from its own analytical research, coupled with the stakeholder feedback exercise, to define the realistic actions and targets that would be required to meet the goal.
Each action was then allocated to a public body or authority, alongside a forecast budget and funding strategy.
Results
The published plan for Santa Cruz lists 33 headline priorities, categorised under themes such as planning and modernisation, ecology and resillience, and accessibility and inclusivity.
Where possible, specific targets are provided such as increasing the recycling of paper and plastic waste by 40%, or the expectation that 20% of all trips by 2050 will be undertaken by alternative transport (e.g. bike or public transport).
Published as a fully detailed and costed strategy, with the endorsement of the city’s leadership, the Santa Cruz Climate Action Plan provides legitimacy for the responsible bodies and agencies to commence work on delivering the priority initiatives on behalf of the wider community.