As part of the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council, the Liège Declaration, a roadmap for non-state actors to adapt to climate change in Europe, was adopted on Friday 9 February at the end of the Climate Chance EUROPE 2024 Wallonia Summit.
The result of a collaborative process and signed by more than 70 European organisations and networks of non-state actors, such as businesses, researchers, civil society players and local governments, this declaration emphasises the importance of nature-based solutions in adapting to climate change.
The signatories call for a focus on preserving, restoring and sustainably managing ecosystems, as well as investing in resilient infrastructure, promoting sustainable agricultural practices and establishing early warning systems.
They urge all political levels and non-state actors to make adaptation a fundamental priority in policy-making, and to integrate a culture of prevention and resilience into all decision-making.
They are therefore calling on the European Commission to update and increase the ambition of its policies beyond its 2021 adaptation strategy, notably by drawing up concrete proposals “to integrate adaptation at all levels of governance and in sectoral policies”, particularly in the agriculture, industry, energy and transport sectors.
They affirm that “the European Union has a key role to play in terms of exemplarity and influence on the emissions of other big emitters worldwide, and the need to develop the policies and maintain the initial ambition of the Green Deal”.
As part of the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council, the Liège Declaration is also seen as a major contribution to the reflections of the European environment and energy ministers, particularly at the Environment Council on 17 June.
The ‘Climate Chance EUROPE 2024 Wallonia’ summit on the theme of “Adapting to climate change, nature-based solutions and resilience” was held on 8 and 9 February in Liège, bringing together almost 1,000 participants from over 20 different nationalities.
To see the statement: https://aeur.eu/f/atc (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)