As Europe faces another summer of extreme heat, water scarcity and drought, at the 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the EU will work with partners to shift from a reactive, crisis-based approach to drought towards proactive drought risk management and resilience. This means investing in preparedness, early warning, risk reduction and sustainable land and water management before droughts become humanitarian, economic or environmental crises.