André Jol, EEA Head of Group Climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation World Symposium on Climate Change Adaptation, Manchester, UK 2-4 September 2015 Climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation in Europe
EEA networking with member countries (Eionet) 33 member and six collaborating countries (ministries and environment agencies) Main target audience: policymakers at European and national levels Supporting and informing policy development and implementation by data, indicators and assessments (e.g. on climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation) Networking: annual Eionet workshop, expert meetings Supported by European Topic Centres, e.g. on adaptation see: http://cca.eionet.europa.eu/
The European environment state and outlook 2015 report A comprehensive assessment of past trends and future outlooks and of opportunities to recalibrate policies, knowledge, investments and innovations in line with the long-term vision of the 7th EU Environment Action Programme. SOER 2015 Synthesis report SOER 2015 Assessment of global megatrends Global megatrends European briefings Cross-country comparisons Countries and regions 11 briefings 25 briefings 9 briefings 39+3 briefings
SOER2015 / European briefings/ Climate change impacts and adaptation Key observed and projected impacts from climate change for the main regions in Europe SYNTHESIS REPORT GLOBAL MEGATRENDS EUROPEAN BRIEFINGS COUNTRY COMPARISONS COUNTRIES & REGIONS Climate change impacts on ecosystems Water use and water stress Urban systems and grey infrastructure Climate change & related envi. health risks Source: EEA (2012), Climate change, impacts and vulnerability in Europe 2012. An indicator-based report, EEA Report No 12/2012, European Environment Agency, Copenhagen, Denmark. Related content
SOER2015 / Synthesis / Assessing European trends: Protecting, conserving and enhancing natural capital Protecting, conserving and enhancing natural capital SYNTHESIS REPORT GLOBAL MEGATRENDS EUROPEAN BRIEFINGS COUNTRY COMPARISONS COUNTRIES & REGIONS 5 10 year trends 20+ years outlook Progress to policy targets Terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity Land use and soil functions No target Ecological status of freshwater bodies Water quality and nutrient loading Air pollution and its ecosystem impacts Marine and coastal biodiversity Climate change impacts on ecosystems No target Improving trends dominate Trends show mixed picture Deteriorating trends dominate Largely on track Partially on track Largely not on track Overall summary table Summary table 2/3 Summary table 3/3 Source: EEA. SOER 2015 Synthesis report. Related content
SOER2015 / Synthesis / Assessing European trends: Safeguarding from environmental risks to health Safeguarding from environmental risks to health SYNTHESIS REPORT GLOBAL MEGATRENDS EUROPEAN BRIEFINGS COUNTRY COMPARISONS COUNTRIES & REGIONS 5 10 year trends 20+ years outlook Progress to policy targets Water pollution and related environmental health risks / Air pollution and related environmental health risks Noise pollution (especially in urban areas) n.a. Urban systems and grey infrastructure No target Climate change and related environmental health risks No target Chemicals and related environmental health risks / Improving trends dominate Trends show mixed picture Deteriorating trends dominate Largely on track Partially on track Largely not on track Overall summary table Summary table 1/3 Summary table 2/3 Source: EEA. SOER 2015 Synthesis report. Related content
Action 1. The EU CC adaptation strategy (2013) Priority 1: Promoting action by Member States Encourage MS to adopt Adaptation Strategies and action plans Action 2. Action 3. LIFE funding, including adaptation priority areas Promoting adaptation action by cities along the Covenant of Mayors initiative Priority 2: Better informed decision-making Action 4. Action 5. Knowledge-gap strategy Climate-ADAPT Priority 3: Key vulnerable sectors Action 6. Climate proofing the Common Agricultural Policy, Cohesion Policy, and the Common Fisheries Policy Action 7. Action 8. Making infrastructure more resilient Promote products & services by insurance and finance markets Climate Action
EEA activities on climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation Supported by a European Topic Centre, see: http://cca.eionet.europa.eu/
2012 EEA indicator report on climate change, impacts and vulnerability Coordination by EEA Authors and contributors (total 90): EEA and 3 European Topic Centres (CCA, ICM, BD) Joint Research Centre (European Commission) World Health Organisation (Regional Office for Europe) European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control Other organisations External Advisory Group: EC, EEA SC, WHO, ECMWF, IPCC, AMAP/SWIPA, etc. Content: Focus on indicators, but including additional information that is not suitable as EEA indicator Data sources: International databases, European and other research projects, academic publications To be updated and new report published in 2016 Extent: 300 pages, 42 indicators, >120 maps and figures
Climate change, impact and vulnerability indicators on EEA web site (many updated 2013/2014) Category Indicators Category Indicators Key climate variables Global and European Temperature Temperature extremes Mean precipitation and Precipitation extremes Storms Cryosphere Snow cover Greenland ice sheet Glaciers Permafrost Arctic and Baltic sea ice Soil Soil organic carbon Soil erosion Soil moisture Agriculture Growing season for agricultural crops Agrophenology Water-limited crop productivity Irrigation water requirement Oceans, marine environment, coastal areas Freshwater quantity and quality Terrestrial biodiversity and ecosystems Ocean acidification Ocean heat content Sea surface temperature Phenology of marine species Distribution of marine species Global and European sea level rise River flow River floods River flow drought Water temperature Lake and river ice cover Plant and fungi phenology Animal phenology Distribution of plant species Distribution and abundance of animal species Species interactions Forests and forestry Forest growth Forest fires Human health Floods and health Extreme temperatures and health Air pollution by ozone and health Vector-borne diseases Energy Heating degree days Vulnerability/risks Damages from weather and climate events EEA web site: http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators
Climate change, impacts and vulnerability in Europe: main messages Climate change (increases in temperature, changes in precipitation and decreases in ice and snow) is occurring globally and in Europe A wide range of impacts on environmental systems and society is occurring; further climate change impacts are projected for the future. Climate change impacts are projected to differ strongly across Europe. Climate change can increase existing vulnerabilities and deepen socio-economic imbalances in Europe. Projected future impacts and damage costs from climate change can be reduced significantly by mitigation and adaptation actions. All indicators are on the EEA web site, many were updated after publication of IPCC AR5 reports in 2013/14 New updated EEA report due in 2016
National adaptation policy processes in Europe (EEA report 2014) Self-assessment of 44 questions; 30 EEA member countries responded Mid 2013-mid 2014; two consultation processes of countries Key findings clustered around 8 Key Topics : Public and policy awareness of the need for adaptation Knowledge generation and use Planning adaptation Coordination of adaptation Stakeholders involvement Implementation of adaptation Transnational cooperation Monitoring, reporting and evaluation
Overview of national and sectoral adaptation strategies and plans in Europe 21 countries have a national adaptation strategy and 12 also have action plans (national and/or multi-sectoral) 13 countries report they are in the implementation or monitoring and evaluation stage Providing information and mainstreaming in sectors are the most reported policies
Main reasons for developing adaptation policies
Priority sectors
Monitoring and evaluation climate change adaptation policies at national level (EEA Technical Report, to be published Dec 2015) Scope and added value of this report Aims to describe how M&E activities can inform policy making and facilitate shared learning on national level M&E approaches across member countries A workshop-based approach, 24-25 March 2015: pre-workshop questionnaire and experts from the 13 countries implementing and developing MRE schemes (Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Lithuania, Malta, Norway, Slovak Republic, Spain, Switzerland, The Netherlands, UK) A series of key topics: Understanding of M&E Purpose and objectives of M&E Governance and participation Methods Country consultation in September 2015 Publication in December 2015 Application of results in policy and practice Reflection and future plans
Adaptation of transport to climate change in Europe (EEA assessment report, Dec 2014) Content: Main challenges State of action in countries Examples of initiatives Potential way forward Information basis: questionnaire to EEA member countries, Climate-ADAPT, literature review, case studies from stakeholders Initial report to stimulate exchange of experiences; not a comprehensive overview
Overview of climate change adaptation platforms in Europe (EEA technical report, May 2015) Aim is to share experiences and learn from existing practices Content: Overview of existing platforms: 14 countries, transnational (Pyrenees, Alpine region, Baltic Sea Region), European (Climate-ADAPT) Challenges and lessons learned: Funding Engaging with users Identifying relevant information/knowledge Presentation information/knowledge Design and technical aspects Linking across sectors and scales Monitoring and evaluation Links with disaster risk reduction platforms and climate change services Information basis: expert meetings and workshops held in 2013 and 2014
European Climate Adaptation Platform Climate-ADAPT Supports governmental policy and decision makers developing and implementing climate change adaptation strategies, policies and actions Complementary to national and sectoral platforms Launched 2012 (DG CLIMA, EEA) EEA maintains and updates, with Commission, and supported by ETC CCA New Urban Adaptation Support Tool Country pages being updated voluntarily by countries New case studies and adaptation options Time series tool for climate data (JRC) Enhancing city information (with MayorsAdapt) Webinars (April, autumn 2015) Newsletter, bi-monthly, since Jan 2015 http://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu
Information on countries adaptation strategies (being updated in 2015 after reporting under MMR)
Information for cities Key activity: DG CLIMA funded initiative launched in 2014 Mayors adapt ; conference 16 Oct 2014 with more than 100 cities http://mayors-adapt.eu/ Climate-ADAPT http://climateadapt.eea.europa.eu/cities (will include city profiles from MayorsAdapt from end of 2015) European cities adapt to climate change, Open European Day (Bonn, May 2014) http://resilient-cities.iclei.org/bonn2014/ open-european-day/ EEA report 2012 (vulnerabilities; planning urban adaptation; multi-level governance) New report due in 2016
Examples (1), Netherlands and room for the river Waal Room for the rivers programme; aims to prevent river flooding by giving space to the river, also to enhance quality of ecosystems (until end 2015) Delta programme from end 2014 aims to protect the Netherlands from (coastal and river) flooding, to realize climate resilient urban areas and to ensure adequate supplies of freshwater, budget 1 Billion Euro/year Knowledge enhanced by extensive research programme To protect the city area of Nijmegen at the bend of the river Waal against flooding, a secondary meander will be dug, creating an island. This will also create an urban river park with space for living, recreation, culture, water and nature.
Examples (2) Denmark and Copenhagen adaptation actions Copenhagen, extreme rainfall on 2 July 2011. Sewage system heavily overloaded, basements flooded, several motorways closed. Millions euro damage costs. Priorities for action: Areas with high risk Synergies (road infrastructure, water framework directive) urban development projects Aiming for a green and blue city DK adaptation platform, supports local actions http://en.klimatilpasning.dk/
Examples (3) Spain and water saving in Zaragoza National Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2006) Spanish Autonomous Communities (i.e. regions) have developed climate change adaptation plans or strategies Zaragoza Water Saving City programme (since 1996) in response to water scarcity: Awareness raising campaigns Good practice and voluntary commitments by citizens and businesses Revised water tariffs that ensure a full cost recovery whilst maintaining affordability for low income households Improvements to the water distribution infrastructure to reduce the waste of water Water consumption has been reduced by almost 30% Per capita consumption of drinking water in households decreased from 135 l/day to below 100 l/day in 2012. For 2020, the city aims at reducing this to 90 l per day. Source: City of Zaragoza.
EEA networking and dissemination in 2015 Annual EIONET workshop with all member (and collaborating) countries (Copenhagen, e.g. 15-16 June 2015) Webinars on Climate-ADAPT (27 April 2015) Dissemination of European Climate Adaptation Newsletter since Jan. 2015 Expert meetings (e.g. on extreme weather and climate related events and on monitoring and evaluation of policies) Participation in the second European Climate Change Adaptation Conference 12-14 May 2015, Copenhagen, DK (http://www.ecca2015.eu/) Participation in and support to other networks, e.g. ECRAN (http://www.ecranetwork.org/climate/adaptation) (aims at assisting West Balkan countries and Turkey in their progress in the transposition and implementation of EU environmental and climate legislation).
Conclusions: shifting approaches and actions across levels Shifting approaches: Policymakers: from strategies towards implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Research and boundary organisations: from climate change and impacts observations and projections towards vulnerability/risk assessments, climate and adaptation services and co-creation of knowledge. Practitioners and businesses: from awareness raising towards innovative solutions and investments (green and blue measures, enhancing quality of life and protecting ecosystems). Crosscutting: from meetings towards a community and linking different networks. Actions across levels: EU: the EU Adaptation Strategy can help to further mainstream adaptation at EU level and support action e.g. by funding. Countries and cities: Many European countries and cities have adaptation strategies but further national action plans and monitoring and evaluation are needed. Sharing at various levels: EU, national and sectoral knowledge platforms can help to find and share information and connect communities across Europe.
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Thank you See for more information: http://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/climate http://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/