Europe is one step closer to climate resilient future

New Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change will prepare the European Union for the impacts of global warming

On Wednesday, 24 February 2021, the European Commission adopted a new Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change. The goal is to move the focus of global warming from understanding the problem to creating solutions for combatting it and from planning to implementing those solutions.

From an economic perspective, statistics show losses of 12 billion euros per year in the EU due to climate change. At the same time, the effect of global warming is not only evident in the industries but also affects the health and the life of Europeans.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has been a stark reminder that insufficient preparation can have dire consequences. There is no vaccine against the climate crisis, but we can still fight it and prepare for its unavoidable effects. The impacts of climate change are already felt both inside and outside the European Union. The new climate adaptation strategy equips us to speed up and deepen preparations. If we get ready today, we can still build a climate-resilient tomorrow,” shared Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal.

What are the goals of the EU towards climate resilience?

The European Union has set aims towards building a climate resilience society involving all levels of governance and society within Europe and outside:

• Improving knowledge of climate affects and adaptation solutions
• Stepping up adaptation planning and climate risk assessments
• Accelerating adaptation action
• Helping to strengthen resilience worldwide

The adaptation actions that the EU is taking

The adaptation actions proposed by the EU are strategised to push the frontiers of knowledge on adaptation and to gather better data on climate change. The European platform Climate-ADAPT focuses on observing, analysing and tracking the health effects of climate change. Since the effects of global warming are evident on all the extends of society and sectors of the economy, adaptations should be also systematic to incorporate climate resilience. The three cross cutting priorities of integrating adaptation are:

• Macro-fiscal policies
• Nature-based solutions
• Local adaptation action

The role of the EU is to promote sub-national, national and regional approaches towards action. After the Paris Agreement, EU policies follow global strategies for international cooperation and resilience. Through increasing the scope of international finance and engaging stronger world action, the EU has set the goals to combat climate change.