Download The climate is changing

The EU Strategy on Adaptation
to Climate Change
Presented by George Paunescu (Climate Action DG, Adaptation Unit)
At the
Workshop "Adapting transport infrastructure to climate change"
18 January 2016, AENOR, Madrid
Climate
Action
Main points
Main Points
1 – Rationale
2 – The EU Strategy on adaptation to climate
change
3 – Linkage with standardisation
Climate
Action
IPCC AR5 – Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change – Fifth
Assessment Report
Synthesis
Report
Observed changes and their causes:
• Warming of the climate system is unequivocal
• Human influence on the climate system is clear
• Widespread impacts on human and natural systems
• Changes in many extreme weather and climate events
Future climate changes, risks and impacts:
• Continued GHG emissions will cause further warming
• Rising surface temperature for all emission scenarios
• More frequent and longer lasting heat waves ; Droughts
• More frequent and intense precipitation events typically
• Ocean warming, acidification, global mean sea level rise
Pathways for adaptation, mitigation, sustainable dev.:
• Quick emission reductions will reduce risks, costs and
challenges, help climate-resilient sustainable development
Adaptation and mitigation:
• No single option, but integrated responses, enabling factors
http://www.ipcc.ch/
Climate
Action
Climate change
Slow on-set climate change
mean temp.
Extreme weather events
extreme daily temp.
ENSEMBLES regional climate model 2016-2035 vs. 1986-2005
Source: Joint Research Centre, EC
Climate
Action
Changes in extreme climatic events
Vulnerable Europe
- The EU is already
facing unavoidable
impacts of climate
change
- Impacts will affect
the full EU territory,
with regional
differences
- Average and
extreme temperatures
increases; changes
in precipitation and
flood patterns; more
intense windstorms;
droughts; sea level
rise; coastal erosion;
landslides etc.
Climate
Action
Impacts
Climate
Action
© IStock
Impacts on
infrastructure
Source:
(Draft) JRC
Technical Report
"Resilience of
large
investments
and critical
infrastructures
in Europe to
climate change"
Climate
Action
Rationale for a
strategy
 The climate is changing, despite mitigation efforts
 The EU is already facing unavoidable impacts
 Adaptation is cheaper than inaction
Effective adaptation actions can reduce overall damage
costs, save lives, and natural and human assets
 The need and added value of EU Action
An EU-wide framework will support adaptation measures
that have to be designed and applied locally
 Economies of scale in capacity-building, research, datagathering and knowledge transfer
 EU Funding
Climate
Action
EU Strategy on adaptation
to climate change
Priority 1: Promoting action by Member States
Action 1.
Encourage MS to adopt Adaptation Strategies and
action plans
Action 2.
LIFE funding, including adaptation priority areas
Action 3.
Promoting adaptation action by cities along the
Covenant of Mayors initiative
Priority 2: Better informed decision-making
Action 4.
Knowledge-gap strategy
Action 5.
Climate-ADAPT
Priority 3: Adaptation in key vulnerable sectors
Action 6.
Climate proofing the Common Agricultural Policy,
Cohesion Policy, and the Common Fisheries Policy
Action 7.
Making infrastructure more resilient
Action 8.
Promote products & services by insurance and
finance markets
Climate
Action
Priority 1: Promoting action by Member States
Action 1. Encourage MS to adopt Adaptation Strategies
and action plans
• 20 NAS adopted to date, several more NAS/action plans under preparation.
Action 2. LIFE funding, including adaptation priority areas
• Cross-border floods management, coastal management, urban environment,
mountain and island areas, drought-prone areas (water, desertification, fire risks)
• Annual calls for proposals
• Financial instrument - Natural Capital Financing Facility (with EIB)
Action 3. Promoting adaptation action by cities along the
Covenant of Mayors initiative: Mayors Adapt
• Launched in March 2014
• October 2015 – New Integrated Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy
Climate
Action
Priority 2: Better informed decision-making
Action 4. Knowledge-gap strategy
•
•
•
Identify and prioritise knowledge gaps
Feed this into programming Horizon 2020
Coordination with other knowledge generation processes (e.g. RTD, JRC, ENV,
EEA, LIFE, etc.)
Action 5. Climate-ADAPT:
•
•
•
•
Develop interfaces with other databases
and climate services (incl. Copernicus)
Several improvements made to the
Climate-ADAPT platform, new
presentation
Improve usability and accessibility of
information and data
Improve interaction with national
platforms, national and regional
information
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Action
Climate
Action
Priority 3: Adaptation in key vulnerable sectors
Action 6. Climate proofing the CAP, Cohesion Policy, and
the Common Fisheries Policy
• Mainstreaming adaptation in European policies
• Comprehensive effort to mainstreaming climate action into the programming of
the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF)
• Guidance & Capacity building
Action 7. Making infrastructure more resilient
• Standardisation Mandate for CEN and CENELEC
• Guidelines for project developers
• Climate Proofing of Major Projects funded by ESIF, specific requirements for TENE and TEN-T
Action 8. Promote products & services by insurance and
finance markets
• Green paper insurance of disasters
• Stakeholder dialogue: workshops with national insurance federations organised
Climate
Action
Thank you
for your attention
Directorate-General for Climate Action ("DG CLIMA")
http://ec.europa.eu/clima
EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change:
http://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/adaptation/index_en.htm
Guidelines for project managers
http://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/adaptation/what/docs/non_paper
_guidelines_project_managers_en.pdf
European Climate Adaptation Platform:
http://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/
Climate
Action