The triple planetary environmental crisis (climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution), but also socio-economic and geopolitical crises are mutually reinforcing. They require a holistic and ambitious approach. The time when adaptation was a choice has long gone. Adaptation is inseparable from mitigation: it would be almost impossible and overly costly to adapt to a 2 or 3°C world, with Europe warming even faster.
The EU must achieve domestic climate neutrality by 2040. There is a huge potential for synergetic measures between adaptation and mitigation (e.g. agroecology; forests/sinks, renewables for cooling, water access etc.). The EU should base this framework on the latest available science, incl. IPCC, UNEPs Adaptation Gap reports, or European Climate Risk Assessment (EUCRA), which should be and higher warming levels derived from the currently insufficient level of aggregate emission reduction efforts.
The framework should set intermediary targets and milestones (for 2030 & 2040) towards the Strategys 2050 resilience objective including indicators to track progress, taking into account agreements on the Global Goal on Adaptation. It should be guided by a just resilience approach, prioritising support to households/communities that are most exposed to climate risks and with the least resources to adapt, while ensuring it benefits large segments of society and is developed in an intersectional, inclusive approach.
Read the entire CAN Europe submission to the consultation here
