Bratislava/Brussels, 13/07/2016 (Agence Europe) - Recurrent floods, water shortages and drought: even though it is the countries of Africa and Asia that have suffered most, no EU member state has been spared these phenomena made more severe by climate change.
At an informal ministerial meeting convened by the Slovak Presidency of the Council in Bratislava on 11 and 12 July and organised back-to-back with a ministerial conference on improving water management in Europe (EUROPE 11590), European environment and climate ministers were as one on this, aware of the need to act.
These extreme weather phenomena affecting 70 million Europeans in the summer months require integrated European solutions, in the view of the ministers, much to the satisfaction of Laszlo Solymos, president in office of the Environment Council. Joint EU solutions are what the Slovak Presidency would like to see adopted in this area.
The conference coincided with the 40th anniversary of the water directive (2000/60/EC), a key legislative instrument that seeks to ensure the availability of sufficient quantities of good quality water. It provided the opportunity for ministers to hear contributions by experts on droughts, water scarcity and water shortages, this latter being the result of human activity.
“Water management is a 'national topic' to the priorities of the Slovak Presidency. Every speaker underlined the need to tackle these problems in the EU but also worldwide because they are linked to climate change”, said Solymos after the session. Ministers were, of course, aware that water features among the sustainable development goals adopted by the United Nations. “Water should not be taken for granted, its resources are limited. Some suffer from too much water, others in the world have droughts. Solutions for water management have to be flexible”, he added.
When asked about the impact on migration of future droughts in Asia and Africa, the minister spoke of a “real threat for migration”. He stated: “The situation in Africa and Asia is worse. We have to find some kind of aid for the people of these regions under the threat of drought”.
According to European Commission calculations, the EU every year spends €3 billion in response to droughts and €5 billion in response to floods. “If we do not find integrated solutions, by 2020, these costs will have risen considerably”, warned Solymos.
In the course of the discussion, consensus was reached on the need to improve water management in agriculture. Several delegations highlighted the opportunity offered by this challenge for the deployment of innovative technologies for water transport, irrigation systems, more effective water retention and greater involvement of the scientific community and researchers. This informal discussion will feed into the Environment Council conclusions which will orient a wider debate on revision of EU water policy.
Plea from Vella of “coordinated policies”. EU water management strategy based on cooperation between member states (more than 70% of the EU's water - rivers, lakes, aquifers and coastal areas - are shared by two countries, or more) is delivering results but more has to be done, stated Environment and Maritime Affairs Commissioner Karmenu Vella, making a plea to ministers for integration of agricultural, energy, navigation and urban development policies.
“One area where this enhanced coordination is particularly needed is agriculture. Looking round Europe, 90% of our river basins are affected by agriculture and the pressures it can bring, like nutrient overload, pollution from pesticides and over-abstraction. We need coordinated policies that respect and protect water, and which safeguard supplies, ensuring that farmers have sufficient water in the future.”
Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic, who took part in the joint session with climate and energy ministers on Tuesday, said the discussion had been “very interesting because it showed how climate change is affecting people's lives”. “According to estimates, flooding costs the EU €5 billion per year. We could invest that money better”, he stated. “The transition to a low carbon economy requires massive private capital investment creating a leverage effect to ensure that a critical mass of investment is made”, he pointed out. Ensuring that the revenue from the emissions trading scheme (ETS) auctions of allowances is invested efficiently in new innovative technologies is, he said, equally important.
Ministers expressed strong support for swift ratification of the Paris climate agreement. They were keen for the EU, in the ratification process, not to lose the leading position it held before and during COP 21. “In Slovakia, we will ratify the agreement as quickly as possible. The plan is before the end of the year”, Solymos indicated. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)