Of the 36 projects from the 2014-2020 period analyzed in four Member States, “19 provided an effective response to climate risks, 13 had little or no impact”, indicates the ECA.
The European Court of Auditors (ECA) warned this Wednesday of gaps in the implementation of the climate change adaptation framework at EU level, identifying almost 42% of cases with little or no effect on the capacity to adapt.
At least eight billion euros were allocated to climate change in the period 2014-2020 and another 26 billion in the period 2021-2027, the TCE also indicates.
The report released this Wednesday on adaptation to climate change in the European Union (EU) points out that progress in adaptation to climate change is difficult to measure, highlighting that, of the sample of 36 projects from the 2014-2020 period analyzed in four Member States, “19 provided an effective response to climate risks, 13 had little or no impact on increasing adaptive capacity and two can lead to a maladaptive situation.”
In percentage terms, a majority of 53% of the 36 selected projects provided an effective response to climate risks, but 42% had little or no impact on adaptive capacity or led to maladaptive situations, and it is not possible to extract conclusions about the rest because they are recent.
The audit also indicates that the sampled Member States (Austria, Estonia, France and Poland) had underestimated the cost of adaptation measures in their strategies and plans, or had omitted them completely.
The TCE also conducted a survey of 400 municipalities in the audited countries and found that, in general, they were not aware of the strategies and climate adaptation plans nor did they use EU adaptation instruments.
Brussels should therefore improve the communication of information on adaptation to climate changepropose practical and simple instruments aimed at local communities and also propose guidelines on resilience to climate change in the context of investments in agriculture and evaluate the need for new eligibility conditions for forestry measures, in order to avoid financing forests of a single species, among others. other suggested measures.
The overall objective of the EU adaptation framework is for the EU to be resilient to climate change by 2050. complement the objective of achieving climate neutrality by 2050, with the objectives being applicable at EU level and not in each Member State.
According to the audit, over the last decade, economic losses resulting from climate-related extreme events in the EU reached an average of €26 billion per year.
If the current EU economy were exposed to global warming of between 1.5 and 3 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, it would suffer annual economic losses of between €42 and €175 billion, the ECA estimates.
According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), heat waves, droughts, floods and heavy rainfall are the most frequently observed extreme weather events.
Most coastal Member States have also experienced episodes of coastal erosion and sea level rise.
The EEA concerns serious risks to health, built areas (cities, roads, bridges, etc.), energy, marine and coastal regions, agriculture, forestry, water resources management and biodiversity.
Source: Observadora
