Protecting people and prosperity: Adoption of a Climate Risk Management Communication

The European Commission has adopted the Communication “Managing climate risks – protecting people and prosperity”, which shows how the EU can effectively get ahead of the growing climate-related risks and build greater resilience to the impacts of climate change.

The Communication responds to the broad body of evidence, including the first-ever European Climate Risk Assessment, on increasing climate risks to Europe, and sets out next steps to address them.

One aspect that stands out in the Communication is that climate-related damages are not the result of unfortunate, unforeseen natural disasters, but a function of known climate risks and the policy actions taken to reduce those risks. By focusing on solutions to address risks across societal systems, the proposals seek to help the EU and its Member States improve governance, provide the right tools, harness structural policies and set the right preconditions for financing climate resilience.

This is underpinned by a call for clearer risk ownership and concerted action at all levels. The Communication calls on decision makers to embed evidence on climate risks into the relevant sectoral processes and make transparent, informed decisions about acceptable levels of climate risks.

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