EC Consults on Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change

The European Green Deal aims to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent in the world. The new adaptation strategy should continue and expand on the ongoing efforts. As part of its Green Deal, EC launched this strategy to help the EU adapt to the effects of climate change, by focusing on encouraging investment in eco-friendly solutions, climate-proofing the economy, making key infrastructure more resilient, adding climate factors to risk management practice, and stepping up prevention and preparedness. Throughout EU and the globe, it will be important that investors, insurers, businesses, cities, and citizens are able to access data and develop instruments to integrate climate change into their risk management practices.

The new adaptation strategy should continue and expand on current efforts. The policy actions to be continued and expanded as under the 2013 Strategy include:

• Further mainstreaming and integrating adaptation in EU legislation and instruments. 
• Continuing to support, monitor, and share member state adaptation action and goals, including through the Climate Law, via Climate-ADAPT, reporting under the National Energy and Climate Plans and the Energy Union Governance Regulation, and through regular exchanges
• Closing further gaps in adaptation-relevant knowledge through the regular programming of research and innovation activities under Horizon 2020 and its successor, Horizon Europe as well as through trends and forecasts
• Financially supporting adaptation actions, including cross-border inter alia through continued support from EU funds
• By fostering and incentivizing private investment in adaptation in relation with the Renewed Sustainable Finance Strategy and the EU taxonomy (the first Taxonomy Delegated Act will focus on climate change mitigation and adaptation).

The new adaptation strategy should also tackle new priorities. The additional priorities that the EU could pursue toward climate-resilience, in full synergy with the other strategic initiatives announced in the European Green Deal, include more and better data, deeper knowledge and faster deployment of solutions, closing the climate protection gap, preventing damage to infrastructure and beyond, and reinforced global action for climate resilience. Overall, efforts to measure (increased) resilience to climate change need to be continued and upgraded and linked to a more ambitious monitoring and evaluation system. What could be envisioned is the development of relevant indicators that help measure progress and that are more comparable across countries; for example, in case of similar types of climate hazards and related adaptation actions and policies.

The 2013 strategy relied on a scoreboard to assess preparedness; the new strategy could use a dashboard to assess resilience and subsequently monitor the trend over time, with regular progress reports on specific targets. Strengthening effective monitoring and evaluation tools for adaptation policies and measures in partner countries will continue to be of central interest in EU’s international action and support.

Related Links

• News Release
• EU Adaptation Strategy (PDF)
• Overview of Consultation
• PESETA Project

Comment Due Date: August 20, 2020

Keywords: Europe, EU, Banking, Insurance, Securities, European Green Deal, Climate Change Risk, ESG, Sustainable Finance, Adaptation Strategy, EC