News Archive
Øresund Bridge now set to resist a 10,000-year storm surge
23 Sep 2022The Ministry of Environment of Denmark and the Environmental Protection Agency, in collaboration with several other ministries, agencies and organisations have published a new case study on the Øresund bridge. The Øresundsbro Konsortiet is protecting the four-kilometre-long tunnel against storm surges. When the current projects have been completed in 2025, the tunnel part of the Øresund link will be able to withstand a 10,000-year storm surge, projected up to 2050. The current infrastructure projects involve building new dikes and a concrete wall for flood protection.
Green Deal going local handbook: Giving local and regional authorities guidance for the green transition
23 Sep 2022To equip local and regional authorities with the right measures to deal with the hazards of climate change, the Committee of the Regions has published the “Green Deal going local handbook”. It provides targeted guidance on financial aid and technical assistance in the field of adaptation.
Members of the European Parliament say the European Union must urgently strengthen its climate action
21 Sep 2022The European Parliament adopted a set of recommendations following a summer in 2022 of devastating droughts, forest fires and other extreme weather phenomena across Europe. Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) adopted a resolution on increasing the European Union’s (EU) efforts to address climate change mitigation and adaptation. MEPs want the Commission to propose a comprehensive, ambitious and legally binding European climate adaptation framework, with particular emphasis on the EU’s most vulnerable regions. The EU should also continue to play an active role in defining a global goal for adaptation and in ensuring the international community meets its goal for international climate finance.
Water4All 2022 joint transnational call announcement
14 Sep 2022The joint transnational call for research and innovation projects under the framework of the European partnership Water4All on: “Management of water resources: resilience, adaptation and mitigation to hydroclimatic extreme events and management tools” is now open. The call supports projects aimed at delivering knowledge, models, approaches, tools and methodologies to better understand hydrological processes to respond more efficiently to emerging climate change related water issues.
Ten recommendations on how to better protect cultural heritage from the impact of climate change
14 Sep 2022The European Commission has published the report on “Strengthening cultural heritage resilience for climate change”. The information was gathered by the European Union Open Method of Coordination (OMC) group of EU Member States’ experts. The report provides a set of ten recommendations aiming at helping to strengthen cultural heritage resilience to climate change.
Climate risk analysis and adaptation in companies
14 Sep 2022To facilitate the implementation of the European Union taxonomy, the German Environmental Agency has developed the recommendation "How to perform a robust climate risk and vulnerability assessment for EU Taxonomy reporting?". These recommendations describe how companies can practically proceed in order to meet the legal requirements to determine whether certain economic activities contribute significantly to European environmental goals, including climate protection and adaptation to climate change.
European Commission consults citizens and stakeholders on possible EU Soil Health Law
07 Sep 2022On 1 August 2022, the European Commission launched an online public consultation on the development of a possible EU Soil Health Law. The EU Soil Strategy for 2030, adopted in 2021, announced that the Commission will table a new legislative proposal on soil health providing a comprehensive legal framework for soil protection. This proposal will complement the Nature Restoration Law and, ensure synergies with climate change mitigation and adaptation actions. Economic and societal actors and all interested parties, are invited to contribute to the consultation which is open until 25 October 2022.
European Commission consults on new EU framework for forest monitoring and strategic plans
07 Sep 2022On 25 August 2022, the EC launched an online public consultation on the upcoming legislative proposal for a new EU framework for forest monitoring and strategic plans. The aim is to develop an EU-wide forest observation framework to provide open access to detailed and accurate information on the condition and management of the European forests, including the support of adaptation of forests to climate change. All stakeholders are invited to share their views on this initiative via an online consultation that runs until 17 November 2022.
Nature-Based Solutions for climate change adaptation in buildings: Concepts and pilot solutions for Portugal and Spain
30 Aug 2022In the Open Access Journal 'Urban Green Spaces' the chapter 'Nature-based solutions: prototypes and pilot solutions in the study areas' provides information on the prototypes developed by the EU LIFE-myBUILDINGisGREEN project in order to contribute to improving resilience in scholar and social buildings by the use of autochthonous vegetation. These NbS prototypes (building adaptation) are applied on walls, roofs, playgrounds, and exterior surfaces of three pilot buildings in Portugal and Badajoz (Spain).
Estimation of costs resulting from climate change in Germany
24 Aug 2022A recently published study estimates the costs in Germany of the exceptionally hot and dry summers of 2018 and 2019 and the floods, in particular on the Ahr and Erft rivers, in 2021. The research, commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Action (BMWK) and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) shows that tangible losses resulting from extreme weather events amount to at least 80 billion euros since 2018.