In April 2013, the European Commission presented a set of measures on adaptation to climate change; first of all, the EU strategy on adaptation to climate change sets a framework and mechanisms for the EU preparation on the present and future climate impact; the Commission also coordinated the Green Paper for preparing Europe to tackle natural or human-inflicted disasters.
The general objective of the strategy is to efficiently contribute to creating a stronger Europe in the fight against climate change paying special attention to cross-border issues and sectors tightly integrated in the EU through joint policies. Therefore, it is necessary to consolidate and to train the capacity of answering to the impact of climate change at local, regional, national and European level by developing a coherent approach and by optimizing the coordination of actions. To that end, one of the greatest challenges is adapting cost-efficient measures to different planning and management levels.
“Cutting the world’s greenhouse gas emissions must remain our top priority in order to keep global warming below 2°C and avert dangerous climate change. But the adverse impacts of the changing climate are increasingly evident today in Europe. Adapting to these changes is one of the most fundamental challenges for territorial development in Europe. Our strategy will help decision-makers in Europe to choose the best solutions to the benefit of their citizens. This will stimulate growth and jobs and prevent potentially high human, economic and environmental costs later on”, declared Connie Hedegaard, European Commissioner for Climate Action.
Also, the revision of the EU strategy on adaptation is scheduled by 2018 in order to evaluate if additional measures are necessary to meet the objectives of the strategy.
The strategy focuses on three main objectives, the first being to promote the adoption of measures by member states. “The Commission will encourage all member states to adopt comprehensive adaptation strategies (currently, only 15 countries have such strategies) and will grant financing for the consolidation of capacities to adaptation and implementation of actions”, EC informs.
The second objective consists in measures aimed at creating a protective wall against climate change in the EU by further promoting the adaptation to key vulnerable sectors, such as agriculture, fishing and the cohesion policy by guaranteeing the fact that the European infrastructure becomes stronger and by promoting insurance against natural and human-inflicted disasters.
The third objective relies on the more conscious decision-making, by approaching knowledge gaps on adaptation and by further developing the European platform on climate change (Climate-ADAPT) as one-stop shop for information on adaptation in Europe.
Co-financing of transport projects increased by over 10% for actions concerning climate resilience
In this context, the infrastructure for all the 4 transport modes (railway, road, maritime and air) is subject to climate pressure and to an adequate adaptation policy. The consequences of climate change are positive and negative effects on the transport infrastructure, but they will be different from one region to another. Most of all, the estimates on the increase of frequency and the extreme intensification of meteorological phenomena with a negative impact over the transport infrastructure cause damages, perturbations, delays and economic losses. However, in time there are also positive consequences for transport, such as less snow in Europe.
EU commits to integrate the adaptation to climate change to the different policies and financial instruments including the transport policy, the Connecting Europe Facility or the cohesion policy.
The transport sector meets vital economic and social functions and depends of the situation of the environment. Investments in transport infrastructure help increase the life expectancy of the infrastructure and their value in the economy, and the preparation and capacity of adaptation to the future impact of climate change are critical elements.
The proposal for the new TEN-T guidelines includes the resi-lience to climate change, especially Article 41: in planning the infrastructure, special importance must be paid to evaluating risks and measures to adapt that optimise the resilience to climate change. Moreover, the resilience of the infrastructure against natural or human-inflicted disasters has to be considered if necessary.
The TEN-T project, co-financed through the Connecting Europe Facility, will promote the transition to a transport infrastructure that resists to climate change and disasters. “All transport modes are eligible for funding. Co-financing rates may be increased by up to 10% for actions enhancing climate resilience”, shows the Commission’s Working Document “Adapting infrastructure to climate change” (April 2013).
The next step for adapting the TEN-T network to climate change should supply the foundation for the worldwide implementation of new technologies and innovations which, for example, can enhance the global efficiency of the European transport sector and reduce the carbon footprint. This will have a contribution in the implementation of the “Europe 2020” Strategy and the White Paper on Transport on cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2050 and will increase the safety of fuelling in the EU.
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