“The climate change agreement is a public health agreement,” declared Isabel Aranda, Programme Officer at the UNFCCC Secretariat, in the run-up the landmark conference of the parties (COP21) meeting in Paris. Climate and public health experts alike joined to underscore the links between climate health and human health in what culminated in the world’s first universal climate accord on 12 December 2015.
The Netherlands has a new flood risk policy which intends to increase cost-effectiveness. However BASE researcher Roos Den Uyl (University of Exeter) argues that the lack of public and political debate about this new flood risk policy jeopardizes its legitimacy and effectiveness.
On 29 and 30 October 2015, the Fundação da Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa (FFCUL) and Ecologic Institute, Berlin, convened a training course in Palmela (Portugal) on behalf of the BASE project.
As one of three European adaptation projects organising the conference, BASE researchers will be playing a major role in the activities at ECCA 2015, including chairing sessions and workshops, presenting new research findings, and hosting a booth in the Expo. Learn more about it here.
This May in Copenhagen, over a thousand leading climate adaptation scientists, decision makers, and practitioners will once again convene for the European Climate Change Adaptation Conference (ECCA 2015). In this Adaptation Dialogue, we talk with Dr Hans Sanderson, Head of the ECCA 2015 Organizing Committee, who speaks about the history and importance of ECCA, as well as what goes into planning an event of this scale.
One question is being repeated over and over in Denmark: Who is going to pay for protection against flooding from the sea in the intensified climate of the future? The existing legislation is outdated, and no one has yet produced an adequate funding plan ready. Workshops held by BASE partner the Danish Board of Technology (DBT) explored the perspectives of Danish stakeholders on this critical issue, and identified recommendations for improving Danish legislation.
The future of agriculture in the Mediterranean is threatened with increased droughts, water scarcity, heat waves, storms and changes in seasonal climate patterns. The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is intended to support and guide the development of agriculture in the European Union. But how has the CAP promoted adaptation to climate change at the local, regional and national level? And how can it do this better in the future? These are some questions that were posed to farmers, farmers’ organisations and experts in Portugal, from March to September 2014, by BASE partner FFCUL. The interviews revealed very different evaluations of the past of CAP and gave plenty of constructive ideas for the future.
The agricultural sector is particularly exposed to changes in climate. As such, there is a need to implement adaptation practices that take into account the perceptions of famers from the ‘bottom-up’. In March 2014, a survey of hop growers in the Czech Republic was conducted by BASE partner CzechGlobe. It revealed that a majority of hop growers perceive that global climate change is occurring, and have had experience with extreme weather events, while believing that governments, agricultural insurers and farmers themselves have an important role to play in selecting and implementing adaptation practices.
The impacts of climate change are expected to increase the need for and scope of adaptation amongst farmers in Denmark. A recent questionnaire conducted by BASE partner Aarhus University reveals insights onto how farmers in Denmark perceive climate change, and how these perceptions are influencing their decision making.
Interested in learning more about the research and results of the BASE project from an insider's perspective? Want a unique perspective on some of our case study regions in the Southwest of England and the type of work being undertaken by the BASE project there? Then read BASE researcher Roos den Uyl's blog to find out more!
