The European Union has urged member states to prepare for a rise in global temperatures of 2 degrees Celsius by 2050 and 3 degrees by 2100, compared with pre-industrial levels.
Through a new climate resilience framework, the European Commission aims to make adaptation to climate change part of economic planning and national policies.
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According to the Italian news agency ANSA, EU countries will need to draw up national strategic plans to adapt to the expected rise in temperatures.
The new framework adopted by the European Commission sets out a common global warming trajectory on which countries should base their preventive measures.
For the first time, the European framework aims to give member states more direct responsibility for preventing climate risks, shifting the focus from responding to natural disasters to preparing in advance for their consequences.
National plans will need to cover various sectors of the economy, including infrastructure, agriculture, energy and other activities exposed to extreme temperatures, droughts, floods and other climate phenomena.
An important element of the new approach is linking climate resilience monitoring with the European Semester, the mechanism through which the European Union coordinates and assesses member states’ economic and fiscal policies.
This approach aims to ensure that climate risks are treated not only as an environmental problem, but also as a factor affecting economic stability, public finances, investment and the competitiveness of European economies.
The importance of developing national strategies
Rising temperatures can directly affect labor productivity, agricultural output, energy demand and infrastructure maintenance costs. At the same time, extreme weather events can increase budgetary spending on emergency response and reconstruction, putting pressure on public finances.
Including climate adaptation in economic planning is intended to encourage governments to identify these risks earlier and direct investment toward strengthening the resilience of their economies.
The European Commission’s initiative comes at a time when climate change is taking on increasing importance in EU economic policies, alongside targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Unlike policies aimed at limiting global warming by reducing emissions, the new framework focuses on adapting to the consequences of climate change that may materialize over the coming decades. / ANSA, European Commission
