As part of the Third Forum of the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change, Brussels’ Minister for the Environment, Alain Maron, who chaired the Environment Council on behalf of the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council, called for continued cooperation to tackle the consequences of climate change.
In his introductory speech, he referred to the European Commission’s communication on climate risk assessment (see EUROPE 13369/11).
“One of the most striking conclusions is that most climate risks are jointly owned by the EU and its Member States. This means that action must be taken at all levels of governance, and that EU cooperation and action are beneficial and essential”, he said.
In the run-up to the European elections and the end of the Belgian Presidency of the Council, the minister expressed his satisfaction with the work accomplished, “despite the repeated attacks on the EU’s climate and environmental ambitions”. He also reiterated his objective of having the Council vote on conclusions on the future of EU climate policy at the Environment Council on 17 June.
Elina Bardam, head of the Mission and director of the European Commission’s DG Climate Action, was keen to reassure that the end of the Commission’s current term of office would not mark the end of the Mission’s objectives regarding climate change adaptation.
Commenting on the need for joint collaboration at local, regional, national and European level to innovate and implement adaptation solutions, she said that “if we do not succeed in marrying the priorities of the different stakeholders and agreeing on a common direction, we will not achieve our objectives”.
The European Commissioner for Climate Action, Wopke Hoekstra, praised the work of the Mission, which plays “an essential role in the implementation of adaptation measures at regional and local level”.
Created in 2021, the Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change is a platform for collaboration, knowledge sharing and collective action on climate adaptation. It aims to support 150 European regions and communities by 2030 and to develop 75 large-scale demonstrations of resilience in several European regions, with a Horizon Europe Fund envelope of €124 million (see EUROPE 13412/9). (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)