Changes from resolution motion to adopted text

55. Regrets the fact that the EU’s tracking methodology for climate funding does not differentiate between mitigation and adaptation, and that climate earmarking has been difficult to track, being used more as an accounting tool than an actual support for policy planning; calls for the climate earmarking system to be policy-specific and include monitoring criteria that allow for comparisons across EU funds, differentiating between climate mitigation and adaptation across all EU budget instruments;

56. Encourages better use of the EU Solidarity Fund as a ‘build back better’ funding mechanism that also provides incentives for adaptation and forward-looking planning;

57. Acknowledges that adaptation has a cost; notes, however, that the cost of inaction is expected to be far greater; insists on the importance of making investments in adaptation as, in addition to saving lives and protecting the environment, preventive actions can be more cost-effective; emphasises the principle of prevention and calls on the Commission to develop approaches to ensure that the costs arising from a failure to take adaptation measures are not passed on to the general public, and to enforce the ‘polluter pays’ principle, giving adaptation responsibilities to the polluter; calls for the EU and the Member States to ensure that public investments are climate-proof and, at the same time, provide incentives for green and sustainable private investments to act as a catalyst for systemic changes; believes that the ‘do no harm’ principle should be explicit in the upcoming adaption strategy, in particular to prevent negative impacts on biodiversity, and avert maladaptation;

58. Welcomes the Commission’s proposal to extend the scope of the EU Solidarity Fund to cover public health emergencies such as pandemics;

Awareness-raising, adaptation knowledge and research

59. Underlines the importance of raising awareness about the effects of climate change, such as extreme weather events, including on health and on the environment, and about the need for adaptation, as well as its benefits, not only among decision makers, but also through appropriate and continuous information and educational activities at all stages and in all areas of life; regrets, in this context, the fact that budget cuts have been made to important programmes such as EU4health and Erasmus;

60. Recognises that the priority knowledge gaps have not been closed and that new gaps have emerged; calls, therefore, on the Commission to further identify and fill knowledge gaps, also in relation to critical sectors, in order to ensure informed decision-making, by further developing tools such as Climate-ADAPT and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology Climate and Knowledge and Innovation Community (EIT Climate-KIC); in this regard, stresses the importance of better knowledge sharing between Member States, which remains insufficient, and of improved coordination on issues such as international river basins, flood defences, building codes and construction in potential high-risk zones; calls on the Commission to create an adaptation analysis and modelling forum to improve the use of climate change impact and adaptation models for policy-making;

61. Highlights the large amount of innovation that underpins projects and measures for climate change adaptive measures, such as technology development, digital services, etc., and stresses the need for the EU to support the development and deployment of such initiatives;

62. Stresses the importance of supporting research and innovation through the Horizon Europe programme and other financing mechanisms in the areas of climate adaptation, nature-based solutions, green technologies and other solutions that can help in the fight against climate change and extreme weather phenomena; recalls also the potential of Horizon Europe to foster the climate resilience of EU citizens, thereby contributing to adaptation also through societal transformation; regrets, in this context, the fact that massive cuts have been made to the budgets in the field of research and innovation to programmes such as Horizon Europe, as these cuts will diminish the EU’s competitiveness in cutting-edge technologies and solutions for climate mitigation and adaptation; recalls the fundamental role that researchers play in combating global warming and stresses, in this regard, the importance of close scientific collaboration between international partners; notes that the agricultural European Innovation Partnership (EIP-AGRI) can be an important tool for developing new technologies and practices for climate adaptation in agri-food systems;

63. Stresses the importance of basing the adaptation measures on the latest scientific knowledge and accessible data; takes note, in this context, of the work already carried out by EU programmes such as COPERNICUS, and emphasises the role of enforced data collection in ensuring the most accurate projections possible; calls for an increase in research and development to find innovative solutions for adaptation and for targeted support to digital innovations that exploit the power of digitalisation for sustainable transformation;

64. Notes that the effects of climate change on health will increase and that, according to the European Environment Agency (EEA) Report on Health and Climate Change, and the Lancet Countdown, these impacts are only now beginning to be considered; stresses, therefore, the importance of further studying the impact of climate change on human health and calls for investment in research in this area, for cross-sectoral cooperation on risk assessment and surveillance, and increased awareness and capacity in the health sector, including at local level, and for the sharing of best practices and the latest knowledge on the risks posed by climate change to human health, through EU programmes such as Horizon Europe and the LIFE programme; calls for the data that is collected to be channelled into the European Health Data Space;

65. Calls on the Commission to take into account in its strategy the need to ensure that Member States have climate-resilient health systems, capable of anticipating and responding to the consequences of climate change for health, particularly for the most vulnerable people, by fully engaging the health community in the design of the instruments for adaptation; stresses that this should include prevention programmes, plans on adaptive measures and awareness-raising campaigns on the effects of climate change on health, such as death, injury, the increased risk of food- and water-borne disease resulting from extreme temperatures, floods and fires, as well as effects emanating from disrupted ecosystems, bringing risks of diseases, changed pollen seasons and allergies; calls on the Commission also to provide the necessary resources for the maintenance and further development of the vector-borne disease surveillance network and entomological surveillance, and its proper implementation in the Member States;

Early warning and rapid response

66. Calls for the new strategy to put a stronger focus on crisis prevention and preparedness planning, and management and disaster response, including in the event of pandemics, exploiting all synergies with the reinforced Union Civil Protection Mechanism and with the active involvement of EU agencies such as the EEA and the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC); is of the opinion that the Member States should coordinate the creation of these preparedness plans with the Union Civil Protection Mechanism through its Emergency Response Coordination Centre; calls on the Commission to develop guidelines on urban heat emergencies and to encourage the exchange of best practices between Member States in this context;

67. Urges the Member States to develop adequate prevention and rapid response plans for climate disasters such as heatwaves, floods and drought, which take into account the specificities of the regions, such as border or coastal regions, and include mechanisms for cross-border action, ensuring shared responsibilities and solidarity between the Member States and with third countries; insists on the need to adopt an adaptation strategy for territories and cities exposed to the consequences of climate change, based on a new innovative ecosystem approach to risk prevention and management, in particular by identifying fall-back areas, flood retention areas, natural protections and, in cases where they are essential, artificial protections;

68. Requests national, regional and local authorities to establish timely early warning systems and prepare appropriate tools to respond to extreme weather events and other negative impacts of climate change, as well as pandemics;

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69. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission.