The first European Climate Risk Assessment report (EUCRA) and Commission Communication on managing climate risks - a joint call for action

According to EEA Executive Director Leena Ylä-Mononen, ‘Europe faces urgent climate risks that are growing faster than our societal preparedness. To ensure the resilience of our societies, European and national policymakers must act now to reduce climate risks both by rapid emission cuts and by strong adaptation policies and actions.’

On March 11, 2024, the European Environment Agency (EEA) made a significant stride towards addressing climate concerns with the release of the first European Climate Risk Assessment (EUCRA). The EUCRA aims at helping policy priorities for climate change adaptation and for climate-sensitive sectors. This comprehensive scientific report was accompanied by a multilingual press release, ensuring its accessibility to a wide audience. 

The EUCRA report enhances Europe's climate impacts and risks knowledge base, as a valuable complement to recent reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC). The JRC has made a specific contribution to the EUCRA’s report Built Environment section, which conveys the message that the impacts of extreme weather events and slow-onset climate change pose a serious risk to Europe's built environment and infrastructure, with significant implications for human wellbeing. Additionally, the aged infrastructure and buildings that are a substantial part of European built environment, along with the increasing demand for their services, exacerbate this risk. 

Subsequently (12 March 2024), the European Commission has published a press release to introduce a Communication on managing climate risks in Europe. It sets out how the EU and its Member States can proactively anticipate, understand, and address growing climate risks, and prepare and implement policies that not only save lives, but also reduce costs and safeguard prosperity across the EU.

The Commission Communication enlightens the role of building and infrastructure standards in integrating climate adaptation and resilience, and directly mentions the Eurocodes: ‘The foreseen update of the standards (Eurocodes) of buildings which set the minimum requirements on structural design in the EU, in 2026, will make it mandatory to consider the future climate hazards on structures of buildings. The Commission is performing pilot studies and will prepare guidance to the Member States on the use of freely available climatic datasets to define the expected climatic loading on their territory.’

The time for action is now, and it is addressed to all levels of government, as well as the private sector and civil society. This joint call to action clearly sets out the extensive exposure of all major sectors and policy areas to climate-related risks, emphasizing the severity and urgency of these risks, and the need for clarity on the responsibility to address them. By working collectively, we can overcome these challenges and build a resilient and sustainable future for generations to come.