Bridgingthegap.si

Adaptation to Climate Change

It is clear by now that climate change is already happening and that, even with successful international climate polices, more change is still to come. Even when achieving the EU’s 2 degrees target, which means limiting the increase of the global mean temperature to no more than 2 degrees, there will be decreased water availability in certain regions, more floods and storms in others, shifts in ecosystems and agricultural production, increased mortality from heat waves, floods etc.

In 2007 the European Commission presented its Green Paper on Adaptation and launched a consultation regarding the needs for actions to increase our resilience to the impacts of climate change. The Green Paper focuses on four areas:

Action in Europe, by integrating adaptation in major policies and Community funding programmes;
Action outside Europe, in particular the developing world, by considering the need for adaptation in developing aid;
Further research on climate change and its impacts; and
The involvement of civil society and business in developing adaptation strategies.

This consultation process will lead to a White Paper, hence a proposal by the Commission for actions, by the end of 2008.

Therefore, the Bridging the Gap Conference falls in the middle of a process that will bring us from the Green to the White Paper, from a debate on the need for action to concrete proposals for actions.

This conference is organised by Environmental Agency of the Republic of Slovenia in co-operation with the European Commission (DG ENV, DG RTD, DG JRC), the European Environment Agency, the Environmental Protection Agency of Ireland, the Environment Agency for England and Wales and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.

ARSO

EPA SWEPA