Environment
The EU is acting to reduce the negative impacts of climate change on natural environments. Preserving and restoring healthy ecosystems helps to improve resilience to climate change.
Research on future scenarios predict climate change will have a dramatic effect on natural environments, plants and animals, leading to acceleration in biodiversity loss in some areas (1). The impacts will have knock-on effects for many communities and sectors that depend on natural resources, including agriculture, fisheries, energy, tourism and water.
Through higher temperatures and changes to rainfall patterns, climate change will decrease soil quality and increase the risk of desertification and land degradation. This is already a problem in many southern parts of the EU and is expected to move gradually northward. Soil performs many fundamental functions such as water filtration, nutrient recycling and biomass accumulation – these are essential for growing food and providing drinking water.
Many animals and plant species will be affected by climate changes through the loss of their traditional habitats or sources of food. Species that are unable to migrate to new areas or adapt to new conditions will face a greater danger of extinction.
Actions
The European Commission’s White Paper on adapting to climate change
identifies the threats to biodiversity, ecosystems and water. It makes a number of recommendations to reduce the impacts and improve natural defence mechanisms.
The EU also aims to ensure that all its relevant policies consider climate change impacts and how to adapt. EU actions focus on managing and conserving water, land and biological resources to maintain and restore healthy and resilient ecosystems.
For instance, the EU is reforming the Common Agriculture Policy to encourage sustainable farming practices that strengthen resilience of the sector to climate changes. Meanwhile all large infrastructure projects funded through regional development instruments have to assess future climate impacts.
Resilience
A key way of adapting to climate change is by working with nature to strengthen natural defences. For example, mountain forests are biodiversity rich, protect against soil loss, filter the air, sequester carbon and increase water retention.
Other examples of how nature helps to absorb the impacts of climate change include using green spaces in cities to improve air quality and counter heat waves; restoring wetlands and river beds in order to protect against floods; and encouraging diverse forests which in turn are less vulnerable to wildfires and pest attacks.
Healthy ecosystems are more able to adjust to new conditions brought on by climate change and provide greater protection against extreme weather events. For example, forest can help to defend against floods by preventing water run-off.
However, with increasing loss of biodiversity and weakened ecosystems there is a risk of reaching a tipping point where nature can no longer absorb the effects of climate change.
The EU has a series of policies and actions to help stop biodiversity loss and conserve natural ecosystems. These are being revised to incorporate climate change impacts. Natura 2000 is the largest worldwide network of protected areas in the world, championing an approach that aims to reconcile economic and environmental sustainability.
EU-funded research in this area includes the MACIS project which looked at climate change adaptation in various sectors and the impact on biodiversity.
Water
Climate change is predicted to lead to major changes in water availability across Europe, due to less predictable rainfall patterns and more intense storms. This will result in increased water scarcity, especially in southern Europe, and an increased risk of flooding throughout much of the continent.
The resulting changes will affect many land and marine regions and many different natural environments and species.
Climate change adaptation strategies should help to boost natural defences, for instance by protecting drainage basins or by planting trees on slopes to reduce the risks of landslides and floods.
The Water Framework Directive and the Floods Directive establish a new legal framework for the protection, improvement and sustainable use of water in Europe. They contribute strongly to adaption to climate change as all Member States now have to ensure ‘good ecological status’ for all waters which will contribute to improving and maintaining aquatic biodiversity.
Following the recommendations of the White Paper, a Guidance document entitled "River basin management in a changing climate" was produced in 2009. It suggests practical solutions for taking into account climate change impacts in preparation of the River Basin Management Plans under the Water Framework Directive as well as in the implementation of the Floods Directive.
More information
- DG Environment’s Nature and biodiversity pages
- DG Environment’s Biodiversity and climate pages
- The European Commission’s Nature and climate change leaflet