A few days ago, on March 11th, the European Environment Agency (EEA) published its first ever European Climate Risk Assessment (EUCRA). The goal of this report was to help identify policy priorities for climate change adaptation and for climate-sensitive sectors.
Urgent call for action
The results of the report are alarming. The report raises concerns over Europe's unpreparedness for the escalating impacts of climate change. It highlights that Europe’s policies and adaptation actions are inadequate to handle the growing frequency and severity of climate hazards, posing significant risks to communities and infrastructure across the continent.
"Our new analysis shows that Europe faces urgent climate risks that are growing faster than our societal preparedness. To ensure the resilience of our societies, European and national policymakers must act now to reduce climate risks both by rapid emission cuts and by strong adaptation policies and actions." - EEA’s Executive Director, Leena Ylä-Mononen.
The EEA’s assessment reveals that Europe faces 36 major climate risks across five clusters—ecosystems, food, health, infrastructure, and economy and finance—with more than half requiring immediate action, especially to conserve ecosystems, protect against heat, floods, and wildfires, and secure European solidarity mechanisms. Among the urgent issues are the severe risks to marine and coastal ecosystems, critical threats to crop production from heat and drought, the heightened health risks from heatwaves, increasing pressures on infrastructure from extreme weather events, and the growing vulnerabilities within Europe's economy and financial systems to climate extremes.
Among its various recommendations, it advocates for a systemic approach to tackling climate risks at both the EU and national levels. This involves integrating resilience to climate change as a fundamental component of EU climate and energy policies, encompassing integrated national energy and climate plans (NECPs) and incorporating climate adaptation into the planning and execution of measures within the energy sector.
The role of local governments
When calling for proactive measures to adapt to changing climate conditions, the report emphasises the importance of cooperating across levels of government. As extreme weather events become more frequent and intense, local governments are on the frontline of climate impacts and play a crucial role in building resilience.
Increasingly, the Covenant of Mayors has been empowering local authorities to take ambitious action on climate adaptation, developing tailored adaptation plans that address the diverse impacts of climate change, from heatwaves and floods to droughts and sea-level rise.
The last two years, the Covenant has intensified its work on climate adaptation, moving passed just planning, and focusing on action. From 2022 to 2024, a two-year pilot programme, the Policy Support Facility (PSF), accompanied 36 municipalities to implement concrete measures to face growing hazards. These measures were adopted across cities and towns in twelve EU countries particularly impacted by changing climate, such as Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Bulgaria, among others.
From the twinning programme between Braga and Pau fostering mutual connection, experience sharing and learning, to Urbino's comprehensive risk assessment, or Gabrovo's creation of a Regional Council for Climate Change Adaptation, the work developed in the Covenant’s PSF programme has showcased the importance of local action to address the risks highlighted in the EEA’s report.
The European Commission stresses the importance of involving the local level
As Europe grapples with the mounting challenges posed by climate change, it is imperative that policymakers prioritise support for local adaptation initiatives. By empowering municipalities to take proactive measures and invest in climate-resilient infrastructure, Europe can build a more sustainable future that safeguards the well-being of its citizens and protects the environment for generations to come.
The European Commission’s directorate for Climate Action recognised this in their communication on managing climate risks to protect people and prosperity, published yesterday.
In the communication, they acknowledge the importance of improving governance structures and local involvement in addressing climate risks, underscoring the need for clear identification of risk owners across EU, national, regional, and local levels. They commit to ensuring that EU-level processes effectively integrate climate risks without redundant efforts, urging Member States to ensure they have adequate capacities to address these risks.
Furthermore, the Commission highlights the significance of providing tools for risk management, emphasizing administrative capacities and offering guidance on tools to assist national, regional, and local administrations in integrating climate risks into their decision-making processes.
"It is essential to have clarity on who owns the risks so that we can act effectively. In this way we can better prepare to act as EU, as national, as regional and as local governments. With the strong data we have and that we will further improve, we can help Member States, regional authorities and local communities plan better for what is ahead. We can get prepared. Managing climate risks needs to be stepped up to make sure people, businesses and future generations prosper in a changing climate." Woepke Hoekstra, European Commissioner for Climate Action
Details
- Publication date
- 12 March 2024