Adaptation to climate change in European cities, where almost 75% of the population already lives, is becoming increasingly urgent, warns the European Environment Agency (EEA) in two reports published on 13 October.
These reports stress the need for action at the level of local and national governments to improve adaptation and resilience.
The report on urban adaptation in Europe shows that, despite growing awareness of the consequences of climate change, many European cities and towns are struggling to cope with the consequences of heat waves, severe droughts and destructive flooding.
While many local authorities have understood the importance of becoming resilient to climate change, progress on adaptation planning remains slow. Implementation of adaptation measures and monitoring of the success of these actions is even slower, the EEA points out.
According to the report, the measures currently in place are mainly focused on developing knowledge, awareness or policy.
Adaptation solutions, such as creating more green spaces or adjusting sewerage systems, have not yet been implemented uniformly across Europe.
The report on monitoring and evaluation of national adaptation policies underscores the importance of monitoring, reporting and evaluation and brings together lessons learned to improve national adaptation strategies and plans in the future.
It highlights the role of indicators in monitoring progress. The EEA believes that in addition to local and national indicators, those at European level could improve the adaptation situation across the EU.
According to the EEA, the lack of an overview of adaptation planning and measures at government level in Europe prevents a detailed assessment of the level of preparedness for climate change.
Simplified monitoring and reporting of local adaptation plans and actions is needed if the EU and national governments are to effectively support adaptation at the local level.
Links to the two EEA reports: https://bit.ly/34QloiB; https://bit.ly/3jW1Mjk (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)