News Archive
Severe drought: western Mediterranean faces low river flows and crop yields earlier than ever
01 Sep 2023A new report by the EU Joint Research Centre (JRC)’s Copernicus Global Drought Observatory on drought in the western Mediterranean reveals the extent of the water shortage hitting the region. The severe drought is reducing soil moisture and river flows, and stunting plants and crops during their crucial growing season.
Knowledge exchange to build resilience: what cities can learn as they adapt to climate change
31 Aug 2023Throughout the Covenant of Mayor’s Policy Support Facility (PSF) twinning programme, eight municipalities from Spain, Italy, Greece, France and Germany were paired together to offer opportunity to exchange on best practices, lessons learnt, and to evaluate what could be applied in their city regarding developing adaptation strategies and building resilience to the adverse effects of climate change.
New Budapest Declaration commits European countries to develop ‘Health National Adaptation Plans’
30 Aug 2023Adopted on 7 July 2023 by the countries of the WHO European Region, the Budapest Declaration formulates political commitments and actions to address the health risks posed by the triple crisis of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. It could become a real game-changer for the health sector’s engagement with climate change, and for the climate policy contribution to health. With regard to adaptation policy, a key commitment is the development, updating and implementation of ‘Health National Adaptation Plans’, either as standalone documents, or as a part of wider National Adaptation Plans.
New Climate-ADAPT case study published: 'Landscape and watershed Recovery Programme for the Košice Region (Slovakia)'
28 Aug 2023Southeast of the Slovak Republic is covered by arable land and forests that are suffering from combined impacts of climate change and unsound land management. Based on past successful initiatives, the Košice region is implementing an ambitious Restoration Programme to reduce water runoff, counteract drought and heat waves, through different types of water retention structures in forests, agricultural land and cities. This case study will help fill a gap in terms of geographical coverage of case studies (Central Europe) on Climate-ADAPT.
Adaptation to climate change of schoolyards in Spain
24 Aug 2023The Foundation of Natural Heritage of Castilla y Leon has developed a climate adaptation program for public schools, together with the Governmental Regional Departments of Environment and Education of the Junta de Castilla y Leon in Spain. This program, financed by ‘Recovery assistance for cohesion and the territories of Europe’ (REACT-EU), supports the awareness and implementation of adaptation measures to climate change in outdoor spaces of educational centers, through actions based on Nature-based solutions. The Evaluation Commission recently selected 65 applications.
LIFE projects aim to reduce forest fires across Europe
23 Aug 2023At the height of the 2023 summer heatwave, more than one hundred wildfires were burning across southern Europe as temperatures topped 40 degrees Celsius. The need to find long-term solutions to one of the most destructive impacts of climate change is more urgent than ever. Several LIFE projects across Europe are applying innovative ways both to reduce the number of fires and their impact.
German city of Bonn’s new role in Global Resilience Hub: Building Bridges for Resilience
17 Aug 2023The city of Bonn has recently been labelled as a global ‘Making Cities Resilient 2030’ (MCR2030) Resilience Hub. Joining the ranks of 23 cities recognized as Resilience Hubs: cities with a proven track record in disaster risk reduction and resilience, this German city is committed to bringing local and regional governments together to advance climate resilience efforts. Bonn intends to extend its outreach and address a larger resilience community by conducting online activities and international conferences, such as a Youth Adaptation Forum, which was held on 8 June 2023.
Horizon Europe Strategic Plan 2025-2027 Analysis
16 Aug 2023The recently published Horizon Europe Strategic Plan 2025-2027 Analysis provides a solid evidence base to underpin the development of the next Horizon Europe Strategic Plan, as set out in the legal basis. The analysis looks at relevant developments for the EU policy priorities and provides examples of the role that research and innovation play in addressing them. With regard to climate change adaptation, the report analyses the past EU research efforts in the global context. It further outlines research gaps related to climate change adaptation.
Call for feedback on LIFE programme for mid-term evaluation
03 Aug 2023The European Commission will carry out a mid-term evaluation of the LIFE programme for the environment and climate action (period 2021-2024) to improve the implementation and help inform the proposal for the subsequent programme. Feedback period: 1 August 2023 - 15 September 2023.
European Commission guidelines on Member States' adaptation strategies, plans and policies
03 Aug 2023The European Commission has adopted a new set of guidelines to assist Member States in updating and implementing comprehensive national adaptation strategies, plans and policies. The guidelines are in line with the European Climate Law and the EU Strategy on adaptation to climate change and can help to upgrade preparations for the reality of rapidly intensifying impacts of climate change. They put forward new topics and policy areas that need to be considered in policy-making to ensure better outcomes such as Nature-based solutions and just resilience.