In a new report published on Wednesday 16 October, the European Court of Auditors highlighted the risk that the EU’s adaptation policies will not keep pace with climate change.
This observation comes in the wake of extreme weather events in Europe, such as heatwaves, droughts and floods, the most recent of which have severely affected the countries of Central Europe.
The Court of Auditors points out that economic losses due to extreme weather events in the EU have averaged €26 billion a year over the last decade.
“Climate adaptation is not just a one-off response; it requires ongoing efforts. The EU has the right framework in place, but if we don’t improve implementation, we risk falling behind in the race to protect our economies and communities from the impact of climate change”, Klaus-Heiner Lehne, the member of the court responsible for the audit, told the press.
In the report, the auditors analysed the national adaptation policies of France, Estonia, Austria and Poland, finding that they were generally in line with the EU strategy, but that the national adaptation strategy documents contained outdated scientific data and that the cost of adaptation measures was underestimated.
In a sample of 36 projects analysed, 19 addressed climate risks effectively, 13 had little or no impact on adaptive capacity and two could even lead to poor adaptation.
In addition, the Court of Auditors found that regional or sectorial plans were sometimes in conflict with strategies or plans at national or EU level, particularly as regards agriculture and forestry.
“For example, the objective of increasing the irrigated area could conflict with the objective of reducing water consumption”, the report illustrates.
In addition, the auditors found that the reports on adaptation were largely descriptive and did not provide quantifiable data.
They therefore recommend, as a priority, improving reporting on climate adaptation, but also making more effective use of EU tools to target local communities, and ensuring that future EU-funded projects take account of current and future climate conditions.
To see the report: https://aeur.eu/f/dx2 (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)