The PLACARD project—which is funded by the European Commission as part of its Horizon 2020 program and closes at the end of May 2020—has now published key recommendations in a new policy brief.
The messages in the brief “Adapting to extremes: Key insights for bridging climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in the European Green Deal” include the central idea that recovery from the pandemic must be compatible with climate sustainability and focus on building “long-term resilience as well as short-term priorities.”
Horizon 2020 is the main EU-supported program for research and innovation; its Platform for Climate Adaptation and Risk Reduction project has supported the coordination of professional communities focused on climate adaptation and risk reduction aimed at “coherent, mutually reinforcing and pragmatic planning and action,” the Commission says.
The PLACARD brief builds on insights generated across the project for bridging adaptation and risk reduction, especially in the context of the European Green Deal, in which Europe would become the world’s first carbon-neutral continent, and options for a green recovery from COVID-19.
Climate adaptation and risk reduction, it says, are important processes for managing future risks and galvanizing cooperation between communities, in all sectors, on all scales, and across borders.
Insights from these areas should be leveraged to support the European Green Deal and COVID-19 recovery.
Immediate steps:
“Improving communication, harmonizing language, connecting actors, and building structures for cooperation will be essential for a resilient European Green Deal and green COVID-19 recovery,” says the brief, which was compiled by nearly 30 specialists from 14 different organizations, including the Climate Centre.
“A wealth of tools and approaches are available to take immediate steps. Continued investments are needed to strengthen existing institutions and create new ones to manage risk and promote cooperation in a warming world,” it adds.
Renewable electricity has been “largely unaffected” by the COVID-related fall in demand for energy, says the Stockholm Environmental Institute.
PLACARD was coordinated on behalf of the European Commission by the Portuguese research coalition FCiências.ID.
Featured photo (courtesy of Stephen Yang/The Solutions Project) shows contractors installing solar panels in upstate New York.