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Background
Adaptation to climate change is complex because the severity of the impacts will vary from region to region, depending on physical vulnerability, the degree of socio-economic development, natural and human adaptive capacity, health services, and response mechanisms. To address this variability, multilevel governance is emerging and involves a wide range of stakeholders from the individual citizens, private sector, NGOs, national public authorities and decision makers, EU level decision makers. Actions to adapt to climate change will not only need to be taken at EU and national level, but also at a very local and regional level to match the specific conditions therein. Moreover, actions will be needed in areas where the competences lay with regional authorities. Therefore regions have a very significant role to play for adaptation to climate change.
Some regions or cities have already produced regional adaptation strategies; others are in the process of doing so. Still many regions would benefit from assistance for capacity building and best practice sharing. During the discussion of the green paper on adaptation, it was recognised that the lack of information, knowledge and expertise at local and regional level and the lack of guidance to the local and regional authorities is, in part, a consequence of the uncertainties as regards the scale, timing and consequences of climate change, and hinders policy-making. In this context, the Commission wishes to mobilise adaptation responses amongst public authorities at local, regional and national level providing them the necessary support to act, by providing technical guidance, case studies, examples of best practices.
Regional Climate Change Adaptations Strategies
Background Paper Day 1 [pdf, 983 kb]
Climate Vulnerability Indicators
Background Paper Day 2 [pdf, 224 kb]
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