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Green Paper from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Adapting to climate change in Europe – options for EU action SEC(2007) 849 |
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Notes for this articleOn ecosystems and biodiversity:
Climate change will significantly affect economies and societies through its impacts on ecosystems, more specifically on natural capital, biodiversity and the flow of ecosystem services in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. This is because the impacts of climate change on man are largely mediated by natural systems. Healthy ecosystems will be more resilient to climate change and so more able to maintain the supply of ecosystem services on which our prosperity and wellbeing depend. They lie at the centre of any adaptation policy. Consequently 'conventional' pressures that cause the fragmentation, degradation, over-exploitation and pollution of ecosystems must be reduced ('ecosystem climate-proofing'). Climate change will have profound impacts on the physical and biological components of ecosystems: water, soil, air and biodiversity. For each of these areas EU legislation and policies are in place, or in the pipeline. They will need to be implemented on schedule to allow early action to strengthen ecosystem resilience to climate change. However, it will be a major challenge to maintain healthy, functioning ecosystems, as a changing climate could undermine past and present efforts. Thus policies may need further adjustment. Effective implementation of the 2006 Biodiversity Communication and its 'EU Action Plan to 2010 and beyond' will make an important contribution to safeguard and restore biodiversity and ecosystems. Emphasis must be placed on: ensuring the integrity, coherence and connectivity of the Natura 2000 network; conserving and restoring biodiversity and ecosystem services in the wider countryside and marine environment; making regional and territorial development compatible with biodiversity; reducing the undesirable impacts of invasive alien species. Sustainable use means that development and exploitation should not result in a decline in natural capital or ecosystem services. In this context, compensatory measures are important to ensure that development projects preserve the natural capital. Comprehensive cost/benefit analysis and impact assessments should gradually and systematically internalise the environmental costs of declining ecosystems.
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Posting History AbstractClimate change presents a double challenge today. First, severe climate change impacts can only be prevented by early, deep cuts of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Swift transition to a global low-carbon economy is therefore the central pillar of the EU’s integrated climate change and energy policy in order to reach the EU’s objective of keeping global average temperature increase below 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels. Beyond 2°C change, the risk of dangerous and unpredictable climate change increases significantly and costs of adaptation escalate. That is why mitigation is such an imperative for the global community and why EU Heads of State and Government at the 2007 Spring Council unanimously agreed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20% by 2020 and, in case of a global and comprehensive agreement, by 30% by 2020 and called for a global reduction of up to 50 % by 2050 compared to 1990 levels. Second, with climate change already happening, societies worldwide face the parallel challenge of having to adapt to its impacts as a certain degree of climate change is inevitable throughout this century and beyond, even if global mitigation efforts over the next decades prove successful. While adaptation action has therefore become an unavoidable and indispensable complement to mitigation action, it is not an alternative to reducing GHG emissions. It has its limits. Once certain temperature thresholds are exceeded, certain climate impacts (e.g. major displacement of populations) are expected to become severe and irreversible. The European Union has to take on the challenge of adaptation, working in partnership with its Member States and globally with partner countries. A European approach is necessary to ensure proper coordination and the efficiency of policies that address the impacts of climate change. Adaptation actions must be consistent with mitigation actions and vice versa. These are also necessary to secure the benefits obtained from the Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs. What is adaptation? Adaptation actions are taken to cope with a changing climate, e.g. increased rainfall, higher temperatures, scarcer water resources or more frequent storms, at present or anticipating such changes in future. Adaptation aims at reducing the risk and damage from current and future harmful impacts cost-effectively or exploiting potential benefits. Examples of actions include using scarce water more efficiently, adapting existing building codes to stand future climate conditions and extreme weather events, construction of flood walls and raising levels of dykes against sea level rise, development of drought tolerant crops, selection of forestry species and practices less vulnerable to storms and fires, development of spatial plans and corridors to help species migrate. Adaptation can encompass national or regional strategies as well as practical steps taken at community level or by individuals. Adaptation measures can be anticipatory or reactive. Adaptation applies to natural as well as to human systems. Ensuring the sustainability of investments over their entire lifetime taking explicit account of a changing climate is often referred to as 'climate proofing'. (More adaptation related terms are explained in Annex 5.) This Green Paper examines climate change impacts in Europe, the case for action and policy responses in the EU. It focuses on the role of the EU, but takes account of the prominent role of Member State, regional and local authorities in any efficient adaptation strategy. As the adaptation challenge is global by its very nature, the Green Paper also raises the external dimension and looks at adaptation measures in Europe that could also apply to other parts of the world, and the opportunity for the EU to provide international leadership in this area. The recent G8 Summit at Heiligendamm welcomed the adoption of the Nairobi work programme on adaptation and emphasised the participants' commitment to enhance cooperation with and support for developing countries in this area.
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