European Symposium "Time to Adapt! Climate Change and the European Water Dimension"
"We must learn to consistently take the impacts of climate change, especially on the water balance, into account when making long-term decisions, for example with regard to infrastructure or regional development. This applies as much to shipping routes as it does to water supply and wastewater management, coastal defence and flood control, the development of tourism centres and to electricity generation." Sigmar Gabriel, Federal Environment Minister and President of the EU Environment Council stressed this at the opening of the Symposium in the framework of the German EU Presidency, which he is co-hosting with EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas.
From today until Wednesday, 250 participants from 24 Member States, Switzerland and Norway, as well as from European and international organisations, are meeting in Berlin to discuss what impacts climate change can be expected to have on the water balance and the water sector, and especially on water-dependent sectors such as agriculture, the electricity industry, inland navigation and tourism. The aim is to formulate appropriate recommendations, especially with regard to the relevant EU policies.
The latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) brings home the fact that climate change is a reality, and that it is progressing more rapidly and more intensively than was previously anticipated. This also means that the impacts of the global rise in temperature will be felt sooner. The consequences for the water balance are especially significant. Climate change is affecting the seasonal and regional distribution of precipitation, leading to the melting of glaciers and the rise in sea levels. The consequences are likely to be seen in more incidents of flooding or longer periods of drought, as well as in gradual changes in the water balance which will become apparent, for example, in regional scarcity of water resources. This has impacts on a number of water uses and can aggravate competition between the different uses, with economic consequences for water-dependent areas of industry. In addition, changes in the water balance have fundamental impacts on animal and plant habitats which will lead to regional shifts in species composition. Negative impacts on water body quality are also possible.
"Even if we succeed in reducing the increase in greenhouse gas emissions to an extent that allows the global rise in temperature to be limited to an average of 2 degrees Celsius, we will still be faced with serious consequences," stressed Federal Environment Minister Gabriel.
In parallel to efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at national, European and global level, it is therefore also important to take precautionary action as early as possible against the risks connected to the impacts of climate change, continued Environment Minister Gabriel. With regard to the water sector, this means a further improvement in the management of extreme events (flooding and droughts), but also integrated management of water resources. Director-General of the DG Environment at the European Commission, Mogens Peter Carl, emphasised the parallels to the recently proposed EU energy and climate package: "We first have to make more efficient use of available water resources and reduce our consumption before we start tapping new sources."
The impacts of climate change on the water balance vary greatly from region to region. "We already have many instruments at European level that the Member States can use. However, we must ensure that existing legislation is applied optimally to reduce climate impacts. For example, farmers could be given even more encouragement to reduce consumption. The Common Agricultural Policy can also make an even greater contribution in this regard", explained Director-General Carl. "Furthermore, the European Commission is considering a range of additional measures, for example a Europe-wide initiative on saving water in all other areas such as private households and industry."
European support programmes already offer Member States considerable options for promoting adaptation measures. The river basin management plans prescribed by the EU Water Framework Directive, which must be reviewed every six years, also offer a good basis for taking account of the impacts of climate change in water management planning. The future directive on the assessment and management of flood risks, which is currently the subject of negotiations between the Council and European Parliament, will also prescribe consideration of the impacts of climate change in the assessment of flood risks and decisions on protection goals and precautionary measures.
Director-General Carl announced the presentation of a Commission green paper on adaptation to climate change before the end of this year and a communication to the Council and Euro-pean Parliament on the problem of water scarcity and increasing periods of drought. The Portuguese EU Presidency is also expected to address these issues in the second half of the year.
Further Informationen:
- Speech by Astrid Klug as of 14.02.2007: Time to adapt. Climate Change and the European Water Dimension