Methodologies for climate proofing investments and measures under cohesion and regional policy and the common agricultural policy – final report

This is the executive summary for the project contract “Methodologies for Climate Proofing Investments and Measures under Cohesion and Regional Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy” by the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) together with Ecologic Institute, Milieu, GHK and Environment Agency Austria.
The EU has set itself an ambitious decarbonisation agenda for combating climate change through reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, climate change is already happening and impacts will unfold more severely over the coming decades, affecting people, buildings, infrastructure, industries and ecosystems. Hence the EU has started to step up its efforts to adapt to a changing climate in a number of relevant policy fields. Two of the EU’s most important policies, namely Cohesion Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), are of key relevance in this respect as they account for the large majority of EU spending. Consequently they will have a major impact on the development of EU’s urban and rural economies, infrastructures and ecosystems and their services. Investments and spending under both policies must be robust in their effectiveness and value under different climate change scenarios.
The White Paper on Climate Change Adaptation has stressed the need for this kind of climate-proofing of investments, alongside an integration of adaptation concerns into the main policies, programmes and plans that guide expenditures. Through this approach CAP and Cohesion Policy can also substantially support climate adaptation. To date, what has been missing is a detailed assessment of the potential threats, risks, damage costs and existing adaptive capacities of Member States in the realm of CAP and Cohesion Policy, as well as an appraisal of options and strategies through which CAP and Cohesion Policy can adapt to a changing climate. The aim of this study is to contribute to the closing of this gap and to recommend ways and offer guidance to public authorities in Member States on how to climate mainstream and proof expenditures and measures under Cohesion Policy and CAP.