PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Despite the progress made at European level on policies and funds that promote Climate Change Adaptation (CCA), the inclusion of this topic in public and private investment agendas at local level remains scarce. Few initiatives involve entire territories in joint actions or investment on CCA. Furthermore, initiatives have not fully reached the most vulnerable economic activities. Local governments and economic sectors do not yet see clearly that investments in adaptation today will lead to lower costs in the future. Meanwhile, it is evident that the impacts of climate change are increasingly recurrent and severe. There is a need to raise awareness of CCA at the local level and involve key stakeholders in climate action, including regional governments and economic actors from the primary and tourist sectors.
OBJECTIVES
LIFE eCOadapt50 aims to raise awareness of climate change adaptation (CCA) at the local level, through the involvement of regional governments and businesses. The project was established under the Local Climate Adaptation Strategy (LSACC) developed by a previous project (LIFE-CLINOMICS) to implement the action plans of each territory involved. It integrates the strategies of the local action groups and the CCA proposals of the Rural Development Plan of Catalonia.
The project team will expand the implementation of the LSACC, to mobilise local investments to promote climate change adaptation of infrastructures and economic activities, as foreseen in the CCA plans of the territories and sectors. They will increase resilience to climate change impacts in 19 territories of Catalonia and for four economic activities (agriculture/livestock, forestry, fishing, and tourism).
The project aims to contribute to: proposals on climate change adaptation included in the European Green Deal, the 2050 long-term Strategy and the European Climate Pact; the new EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change, which focuses on "building local, individual and just resilience"; the EU 2030 Climate and Energy framework and the 2050 Energy Roadmap, especially as regards energy efficiency in buildings; the new EU Forestry Strategy 2030; and the 2030 Biodiversity Strategy
A further aim is to establish stable governing bodies for CCA that guarantee the development of actions in the short-, medium- and long-term, with the participation of local administrations, social and economic stakeholders of the territory, financial entities and insurers, stakeholders with sectoral or territorial knowledge, and citizens.
In addition to the IP budget itself (18 656 636 EUR) the project will facilitate the coordinated use of 73 292 386 EUR of complementary funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF), Next Generation EU, Horizon 2020, LIFE programme, and other public and private funds.
RESULTS
Expected results:
- Increased resilience of the economic sectors most vulnerable to climate change in 19 territories of Catalonia.
- Climate change adaptation pilot actions in four sectors (agriculture, forestry, fishery and tourism), and a minimum of 70 investments made in the territories, with actions chosen for their greatest potential impact and socioeconomic profitability.
- Establishment and operation of 19 local governance bodies (LL4CC) for the promotion and long-term monitoring of the CCA plans.
- Integration of CCA approaches into public and private policies and plans.
- Implementation of a system for the management of climate emergencies that will allow stakeholders to anticipate damage.
- CCA embedded into the cultural and political background of citizens.
- Local stakeholders trained in each territory, to implement a permanent CCA process.
- Development and implementation of CCA best practices in agricultural crops, livestock, the marine sector and forests, tourism, and water retention infrastructures.
- Creation of 55 equivalent jobs per year related to CCA.
- Adequacy of farm owners’ insurances in line with CCA actions.
- Establishment of a trust framework between financial agents (private banking, especially ethical banking) and investors in CCA, to facilitate credit agreements.
- Integration of CCA in local entities’ institutional activity by: i) creating stable bodies with support/backing of a supra-municipal or even supra-regional entity that will assume leadership and coordination, ii) incorporating CCA criteria in tax ordinances.
- 25% of municipalities in the project’s territory sign the “Agreement for the Adaptation to Climate Change”.
- Creation of a CCA brand for establishments, entities and (private) organisations, which gives prestige for carrying out CCA actions.
- Extension of the approach to other EU territories through the creation of a common and replicable CCA model.
- Creation of the western Mediterranean Network for adaptation to climate change.
