Interreg contributions to combating change

Interact and Risks Network March 2019 Interreg contributions to combating climate change March 2019

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Interreg contributions to combating climate change March 2019

Table of contents

1. Background ...... 5

2. Climate Change Activities in INTERREG 2007-2013 ...... 8

2.1. Overview ...... 8 2.2. Cross Border Cooperation ...... 8 2.3. Transnational cooperation ...... 12

3. Analysis of Climate Action related projects in KEEP for 2007-2013 ...... 16

3.1. Main findings...... 17 3.2. Main activities implemented ...... 19

4. Outlook on Climate change and Risks activities in Interreg 2014-2020 ...... 21

4.1. Background ...... 21 4.2. Interreg in period 2014-2020 ...... 23 4.3. Addressing climate change adaptation in transnational regions in Europe...... 25 4.4. Climate change and Macro Regional Strategies ...... 26 4.5. Ongoing projects in climate change ...... 29

5. Conclusions...... 32

6. Reference and bibliography ...... 344

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Interreg contributions to combating climate change March 2019

Introduction

This document is a reflection for the Interact Thematic Network on Climate Change and Risks, in order to support internal discussions within the network members, based on data extracted from different sources.

In this respect, relevant information and knowledge related to the topic has been collected, identified and to the extent possible, and clustered. This collection of data has been based on the KEEP.EU database by Interact and other sources of information such as programmes ex-post evaluations, contributions from selected Interreg programmes and other sources.

The aim of this document is to get a grasp of the main actions that have been implemented in the current and past programming period dealing with climate change and risk management measures within the framework of Interreg programmes.

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1. Background

The European Council, the European Parliament, the Council, and the Commission identified the contribution of cohesion policy to the delivery of climate objectives as a key priority for the 2014-2020 period. New elements of process were introduced, including the drawing up of a Partnership Agreement between Member State and Commission before the development of operational programmes, in part to ensure that programmes addressed climate objectives; and mechanisms were introduced to cohesion policy programmes to help track the delivery of a target to spend at least 20% of the overall EU budget on climate change.

Meanwhile, since the adoption in 2013 of legislation on the 2014-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework, in 2015 the EU successfully concluded the with other parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Paris Agreement was ratified by the EU and entered into force in November 2016. Experience in implementation of the current approach to climate mainstreaming, and the implications of the Paris Agreement, will need to be considered in the design of the next programming period for cohesion policy; as will the connections between climate change and the urban dimension; and the connections between climate change and European territorial cooperation.1

The European Structural and Investment Funds promote eleven so-called Thematic Objectives, of which Thematic Objective 5, ‘Promoting climate change adaptation, risk prevention and management’, is the key thematic objective regarding adaptation.

National and/or regional risk assessments for disaster risk management are a precondition (ex-ante conditionality) for funding under Thematic Objective 5, and national climate change adaptation strategies and related climate vulnerability assessments are required, where appropriate, to inform national risk assessments. This Thematic Objective is covered by the European Regional Development Fund (including the European Territorial Cooperation Objective), the Cohesion Fund and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. The cross-sectorial nature of climate change adaptation means that other Thematic Objectives are also potentially relevant to climate change adaptation, typically supporting adaptation more indirectly.

1 For further information check “Climate mainstreaming in the EU budget” by DG CLIMA available at https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/1df19257-aef9-11e7-837e-01aa75ed71a1

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The perspective of climate change adaptation mainly deals with anticipating and reacting to the variety of effects and risks emerging from global warming which adversely affect natural and human systems all over the globe. The most widely known and directly perceived climate change risks are sudden hydro-meteorological events (e.g. storms, floods, landslides) and climatological events (e.g. heat waves; , forest fires), but there are also gradually developing and less directly perceived risks (e.g. , loss of , increase of human health risks due to diseases etc.).

These risks are expected to increase in the future, but they impact larger bio- geographical zones of Europe quite differently and thus also the types of territories that are found within them (i.e. urban areas, coastal areas, mountain areas, remote or sparsely populated areas). Across all regions, however, past developments in Europe show that the social and economic cost linked to the damage caused by extreme climate-related events has already an upward trend and long-term projections indicate that this cost is expected to further increase in the future.

Climate change adaptation is particularly important in areas where most of the EU’s population and economic or cultural assets are concentrated. Especially urban regions and densely populated coastal areas are likely to accumulate various risks over increasingly longer time periods during the year (i.e. coastal & river flooding due to high precipitation and storm surges during autumn, winter and spring; heat waves, droughts and in summer).

Climate change adaptation is also crucial in areas hosting most of Europe’s natural capital (e.g. rural border areas and mountain regions, less populated coastal zones, sparsely populated areas) mainly to reduce the vulnerability of ecosystems and to preserve their essential services rendered to society, but also for preserving their important potential in removing GHG emissions from the atmosphere.

If the various impacts that climate change has in different types of European territories is considered together with the variable capacity of regions to adapt to these impacts (i.e. economic, socio-cultural, institutional and technological ability of a region), then it appears that most regions in Mediterranean countries together with some hot-spots in the north-western part of Europe (i.e. regions at the channel & north sea coast of NL, BE, UK, FR) show the highest potential vulnerability to climate change.

This overall picture clearly goes counter to territorial cohesion, because it indicates that climate change would deepen existing socio-economic imbalances between economically lagging regions in the south and prosperous regions in the core of Europe.

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Map 1: Impacts and effects of climate change for the main biogeographical regions of Europe. Source: EEA, JRC

2. Climate Change Activities in INTERREG 2007-2013

2.1. Overview

Interreg programmes, even though operating with a medium and long-term perspective, have addressed Climate Action at cross-border, trans-national and interregional level. Main source of information that has been relevant for this document is the ex post evaluation of 2007-2013 cohesion policy programmes commissioned by DG REGIO. In addition, Interact has conducted a desk research based on KEEP and other relevant sources, in order to provide the current available knowledge of actions and projects financed over the last programming periods 2007-2013.

Regulation 1083/2006 had allocated EUR 7 831 million for the ETC objective. This represents 2.27% of the global resources available for commitment (EUR 344 321 million) from the Funds during the programming period 2007-2013.

Around 13.5% (ca. EUR 1 billion) of EU overall contribution to European Territorial Cooperation (ETC) under the 2007-2013 cohesion policy funds was dedicated to climate investment (see Table 1 below).

Objective Community Amount Climate Change Climate in EUR Amount in EUR change in %

Convergence 281,316,597,521 42,846,300,641 15.2%

Regional 55,173,775,952 3,925,240,597 7.1% Competitiveness and Employment

European Territorial 7,831,459,588 1,055,029,061 13.5% Cooperation

TOTAL 344,321,833,061 47,826,570,2989 13.9%

Table 1: Overall climate change allocations under the EU’s Cohesion Policy 2007-2013. Source DG REGIO SFC2007

2.2. Cross Border Cooperation

Cross-Border Cooperation Programmes have produced a wide range of outputs in the field of environment and climate change, as reflected both by the number of projects and by the budget. 80% of the ERDF budget allocated to the Environment (EUR 1023 million;19% of the overall ERDF budget dedicated to the 67 programmes within the scope of the ex-post

Interreg contributions to combating climate change March 2019

evaluation study was distributed across 10 environmental sub-themes. The five most important themes- accounting together for 54% of the budget- were the following:

• Sustainable management of natural resources (15% of budget); • Water management (10% of budget); • Risk management (10% of budget); • Climate change and biodiversity (10% of budget); • (9% of budget).

Examples of overall ERDF allocation shares to climate-related interventions in three selected CBC programmes are provided in the following table.

The same study identifies that, in the field of investment in risk prevention and management are mainly aimed at increasing resilience, focused on preparedness, early prevention and management of risks. Outputs were typically the establishment of common management and monitoring structures and the building of capacity for the involved personnel (notably in the following CBC programmes: Romania-Bulgaria, 2 Seas, Latvia- Lithuania and Spain-Portugal). Cross Border Cooperation contributed also to the harmonisation of activities in the field of flood prevention and protection at river basin level (Hungary-Slovakia, Austria –Czech Republic.

Investment in climate change and energy efficiency had smaller budget allocations than those in risk prevention and management and had “more of a pilot character and concentrated on research activities or on raising awareness among institutional and professional stakeholders or citizens”. The evaluators noted also that the cross-border

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added value of intervention in the field of energy efficiency and renewable energy was not always clear.

With relevance to climate action, the Cross-Border Cooperation Programmes contributed to improving the integrated environmental management through, inter alia, “producing shared academic and policy-oriented knowledge on common environmental related issues” and specific contributions such as:

▪ management of CO2 neutral solutions e.g. Flanders - The Netherlands; ▪ soil and land management reducing emissions e.g. Lithuania – Poland, and ▪ strategic planning for coastal integrated management e.g. 2 Seas.

It is impossible however to estimate the CBC contribution to climate change mitigation and adaptation in quantitative terms. The ex post evaluation notes that: “Results were not measurable on an aggregate basis as indicators did not permit a quantitative assessment of the main effects of the CBC outputs.”

The main identified result of the CBC was “creation or consolidation” of a regional identity. Although this result might not seem concrete (as it is deprived of tangible results in terms of e.g. CO2 emission reduction or number of regions with a climate-risk prevention plans), it could be regarded as a key step facilitating future climate policy implementation. Cross border challenges, such as renewable electricity integration to the power grid or bioregional responses to a changing climate, certainly require strong regional identities across the EU.

One can distinguish between “hard” and “soft” outputs: ▪ “hard” outputs included, for example, the use of joint equipment for the management of shared natural areas, while ▪ “soft” outputs included “lightweight actions” such as exchanges of experience and transfer of policy knowledge and approaches.

Typical outputs related to the sustainable management of natural resources were of a “soft” character:

▪ Joint knowledge (analysis, research and best practice sharing), protocols, operational tools, procedures and strategies:

- The 2 Seas programme for instance provided the CBC area with functional tools for integrated management of coastal zones; - Most environment related projects in the France (Channel) England programme focused on research activities implemented by Universities and specialised institutes that collaborated in the programme;

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▪ Specialised equipment for data collection & monitoring, such as in the France- Channel-England programme that purchased equipment for the observation of the seabed (cameras, sonars), with a view to monitor the evolution of invasive species.

▪ In the field of water management, typical outputs were both “hard” (infrastructure) and “soft”:

- Treatment of waste water, largely through the upgrading and modernisation of infrastructure with the aim of contributing to better water quality and meeting the requirements of the Water Quality Directive (e.g. Italy – Austria; Saxony – Czech Republic). - Integrated basin management (in sea or river basins), articulated by a holistic / eco-systemic approach (e.g. Germany – The Netherlands; Upper Rhine; Grande Région; 2 Seas, France – Channel-England, Greece – Cyprus.

Risk prevention and management, aimed at increasing resilience, focused on preparedness, early prevention and management of risks. Outputs were typically the establishment of common management and monitoring structures and the building of capacity for the involved personnel (notably in the following programmes: Romania - Bulgaria, 2 Seas, Latvia - Lithuania, and Spain - Portugal.

Projects dealing with climate change and energy efficiency questions were of smaller budgetary size, with more of a pilot character and concentrated on research activities or on raising awareness among institutional and professional stakeholders or citizens. Overall, conditions for more integrated management and protection of the environment were improved in several CBC areas.

Source: KEEP database

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CLIMAWAT (Adapting to the Impacts of Climate Change on Groundwater Quantity and Quality)

CLIMAWAT was a 3-year research project between the University of Brighton (Lead Partner), the University of East Anglia, the Université de Brest, the Université de Rennes and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS). It addressed the impacts of changing climate on the amount of rainwater recharge to major fractured aquifers in chalk and granite catchments in Patcham and Ploemeur.

Collaborative arrangements were found with policy and practitioner organisations via an advisory group of statutory environmental agencies and water industry companies. As part of its activities, the project aimed to help define future aquifer management policy and address issues of relevance under the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC).

The project included an extensive programme of fieldwork whereby staff from the French partner organisations worked in the UK catchment and UK partner staff worked in the French catchment. Much of the collaboration involved using similar techniques to address issues within each partner’s catchment. Furthermore, extended collaboration between the University of Rennes and the University of east Anglia over the DTS analysis of fracture hosted flow has resulted in several joint publications. The lead partner also reports in interview that the project results are helping to inform end-user strategy work being undertaken by English Water Authorities, although the extent of that will take time to evaluate.

▪ More information: http://www.climawat.info ▪ Information extracted from the “Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013, financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF), European Territorial Cooperation (Work Package 11), Case study: Case study: Interreg IVA France (Channel) England

2.3. Transnational cooperation

Transnational cooperation programmes 2007-2013 were much smaller in terms of budget allocated and number of projects than Cross Border Cooperation programmes. The ex post evaluation of 2007-2013 cohesion policy looked at 13 Trans National Cooperation programmes. They focused predominantly on the “Environment” priority (taking up 35% of all programmes), which includes climate mitigation and adaptation. Renewable energy,

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coastal management and water management were the three most frequent issues addressed through Trans National Cooperation projects in the environmental field.

The main outputs of Transnational Cooperation programmes were: ▪ promotion of biodiversity and nature protection (joint knowledge networks, operational tools, ▪ specialised equipment, awareness raising), ▪ integrated water management and flood prevention, ▪ environmental risk prevention and management shared systems.

The results, according to the ex post evaluation findings, include “improved risk prevention (flood risks for example) and better protection and exploitation of maritime resources (…) (examples in the Baltic Sea Region or North Sea Programme).”

They were mainly due to the reinforcement of institutional capacities at transnational level. The multi-level governance in Maritime Spatial Planning in the Baltic Sea programme is a good example of how a TNC project has contributed to the creation of a common potential in the cooperation area, enhancing a participative transnational model of governance in the field of maritime spatial planning.”

According to the same document, between 2007 and 2013, European Territorial Cooperation programmes were often very broad and dispersed, funding a wide-range of projects rather than focusing on large-scale effects of specific priority such as climate action. Their budget allocations were also relatively small and not well coordinated with other cohesion policy programmes. Moreover, the monitoring system was not designed to capture any tangible, climate–specific results. It must be noted that both Cross Border Cooperation and Trans National Cooperation were in line with the Lisbon Strategy, but the evaluators noted that “the EU regulations and guidelines did not specify in detail how European Territorial Cooperation was expected to contribute to the Lisbon Strategy. They left room for both pursuing cooperation as an end and as means to economic and social integration.”

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Programmes did generally not provide a clear indication of expected results to be achieved at the end of the programming period. In addition, indicators used were mainly measuring outputs which meant that during implementation, a monitoring based on results was not possible. Environmental projects focused on issues related to the management of natural resources, of natural threats, and on issues related to climate change and biodiversity. They addressed also other dimensions of environment protection such as water and sea management.

BALTADAPT (Baltic Sea Region Climate Change Adaptation Strategy)

The Baltadapt project had the clear goal of developing and preparing a Climate Change Adaptation Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, including an Action Plan with its focus on the marine and coastal environments. This goal was specifically outlined in the Action Plan of the EUSBSR and Baltadapt consequently became a flagship project.

The project was rather unique due to its very specific and well-defined objective as well as the clear link to the EUSBSR. Baltadapt directly contributed to fulfilling one of the outlined actions and indicators (Macro-regional Climate Change Adaptation Strategy (CCAS) and its Action Plan developed and endorsed by BSR countries) of the EUSBSR Action Plan.

▪ More information: http://www.baltadapt.eu. ▪ Information extracted from the “Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013, financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF), European Territorial Cooperation (Work Package 11), Case study: Baltic Sea Region programme

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SEAP_ALPS (Adapting to climate change and planning in Alpine regions)

The EU-funded SEAP Alps project developed plans for mountain communities, specifically in Alpine regions, to save energy and adapt to climate change, and disseminated them effectively among the municipalities in such regions. The sustainable energy action plans drawn up by the project specifically for Alpine regions were subsequently made available to interested stakeholders. A wide range of people were involved in developing the plans, including policymakers, technicians, environmental organisations, local economic players and local government. Nine partners were involved in the project, with input from Italian, Slovenian, French, Austrian and German municipalities. Municipalities were provided with a ‘catalogue of measures’ to help them to lead successful climate mitigation/adaptation strategies and to achieve energy-efficiency goals.

Training tool and platform - A key focus in the project was how best to integrate and disseminate different measures for mitigation -and adaptation to a changing climate, and how to hit the required energy targets. An online action tool was developed which provided the various municipalities with the necessary information and advice on what sustainable energy projects might be considered. The web tool also provided examples of how local municipalities could achieve their sustainable energy goals. It was trialled in 57 municipalities resulting in the creation of 46 sustainable energy action plans already, using the resources made available via the action tool. Complementing this support was a training platform, an e-learning tool where users could find out more about the available methodologies, in five languages. The online training platform also provided back-up for training workshops organised for representatives of the municipalities in the regions involved and other interested stakeholders.

Hitting new heights - A specific action plan was developed geared towards encouraging public-private investments and was also tried out in 13 municipalities. This proved successful in raising awareness about using public-private partnerships as a means of funding energy-efficient solutions, especially those needed in public buildings. Its deliverables have already been accessed by some 50 municipalities across Alpine regions.

▪ More information: http://seap-alps.eu ▪ Information extracted from the Inforegio website: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/projects/italy/adapting-to-climate- change-and-sustainable-energy-planning-in-alpine-regions

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3. Analysis of Climate Action related projects in KEEP database for 2007-2013

Interact has conducted a desk research based on the KEEP database in order to provide the current available knowledge of actions and projects financed over the programming period 2007-2013. As a general remark, the information provided in this document is based on the analysis of the data obtained and it is supposed to be further discussed and consolidated within the activities of this thematic network.

This research had three main objectives: I. Obtain a repository of cooperation projects dealing with the topic of climate change and risks (including the main project data such as budget, cooperation area, type of outputs etc.) II. Build knowledge on this data by analysing the available information in KEEP related to projects’ outputs III. Provide relevant statistical data.

Eight sub-topics were also identified based on the description of the project’s intervention:

▪ Climate change adaptation strategies ▪ Flood risks and water management ▪ Protection of biodiversity ▪ Protection from fires, earthquakes, natural risks ▪ Emergency services coordination ▪ Habitat conservation ▪ reduction ▪ Weather prediction

The research methodology has been applied according to the following steps:

1. Data collection through the KEEP database, according to keywords associated to the topic: Climate change & biodiversity and Managing natural and man-made threats and risks management 2. Data collection concerned the last programming periods (2007-2013), all strands of Interreg, IPA CBC and ENPI CBC programmes, and the whole EU territory 3. The number of projects resulted from the database search in KEEP was 1470. Considering the large number of projects results, a sample of 110 relevant projects was selected based on project with a total budget over EUR 2 million 4. Analysis of data relevance according to project description and results based on the information from KEEP (110 projects identified) 5. Identification of projects according to the sub-topic addressed (see Table 4) 6. An additional layer of analysis was applied for identifying the relevant project outputs in order to cluster them around five categories (see Diagram 2).

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3.1. Main findings

❖ A high number of projects tackled the topic of Climate change & biodiversity and Managing natural and man-made threats and risks management. According to the results from KEEP, 1470 projects have been identified out of more than 9.816 projects funded during the programming period 2007-2013, resulting in nearly 15% of the total number of projects funded:

PROPORTION OF PROJECTS DEALING WITH CLIMATE CHANGE AND RISKS IN 2007-2013

other projects Climate change and Risks projects

15%

85%

Diagram 1: relative weight of projects dealing with Climate change & biodiversity and Managing natural and man-made threats and risks management in period 2007-2013. Source: KEEP

❖ Considering the high number of project results, a sample of 110 projects with a budget above EUR 2 million was established, with the aim of processing more manageable data.

❖ The distribution of projects in the sample per Interreg programme was quite unequal, but in general Transnational Cooperation Programmes have selected a higher number of projects that Cross Border Cooperation programmes.

❖ The programmes with a higher number and budget dedicated to Climate Change and Risks projects are listed in the following table.

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Number of Budget of % of INTERREG PROGRAMME projects in projects in budget of sample sample sample 2007 - 2013 Alpine Space 9 25.026.453 € 5% 2007 - 2013 Baltic Sea Region 9 36.966.690 € 8% 2007 - 2013 North West Europe 8 70.813.274 € 15% 2007 - 2013 Romania - Bulgaria (RO-BG) 8 49.814.844 € 11% 2007 - 2013 Interreg IVC 7 19.324.537 € 4% 2007 - 2013 South East Europe 7 18.363.408 € 4% 2007 - 2013 North Sea Region 5 26.346.523 € 6% 2007 - 2013 Central Europe 4 13.888.651 € 3% 2007 - 2013 Italy - France Maritime (IT-FR) 4 20.478.631 € 4% 2007 - 2013 Spain - France - Andorra (ES-FR-AD) 4 9.419.350 € 2%

Table 2: Ranking of Interreg programmes higher number of projects and budget under the sample for the topic Climate change & biodiversity and Managing natural and man-made threats and risks management in period 2007-2013. Source: KEEP

❖ With some exceptions, there is a correlation between the number of projects and the budget size of the sample. Number and budget of project sample in Climate Change and Risks

number of projects budget size

10 80.000.000 € 9 70.000.000 € 8 7 60.000.000 € 6 50.000.000 € 5 40.000.000 € 4 30.000.000 € 3 2 20.000.000 € 1 10.000.000 € 0 - €

Diagram 2: Display of correlation between number of projects and size of budget per programmes in the sample of Interreg 2007-2013 in Climate Change and Risks. Source: KEEP

❖ the projects addressed mainly the themes related to adaptation strategies, flood and water management, protection of biodiversity, protection from fires, earthquakes and other natural risks, among others.

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Number of projects Main topic in sample Climate change adaptation strategies 13 Flood risks and water management 13 Protection of biodiversity 13 Protection from fires, earthquakes, natural risks 11 Emergency services coordination 10 Habitat conservation 2 Greenhouse gas reduction 2 Weather prediction 2

Table 3: Ranking of topics of addressed by the sample of projects for the topic Climate change & biodiversity and Managing natural and man-made threats and risks management in period 2007-2013. Source: KEEP

❖ Considering the sample, and according to the information provided by the projects in the KEEP database, results can be clustered to 5 different types of outputs, which are detailed hereunder.

3.2. Main activities implemented

The main activities implemented by these projects could be summarized and clustered as follows:

Policy recommendations

▪ Climate Change Adaptation Plans ▪ Adapted management plans ▪ Policy recommendations in territorial strategies ▪ Joint common adaptation strategy ▪ Policy improvements ▪ Risk management plans

Strategies and Studies

▪ Memorandum for Flood Protection. ▪ Strategies, guidelines and decision tools to reduce . ▪ Studies and action plans for climate change

Infrastructure

▪ Joint early warning system ▪ Equipment investment.

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Training, Knowledge sharing and Networks

▪ Joint trainings ▪ Network of radars ▪ Improved forecasting ▪ Knowledge sharing

Tools and platforms

▪ Joint co-working platforms ▪ Pilot projects ▪ Tools and on-line applications ▪ Information and monitoring systems ▪ Mapping tools and cartography ▪ Alert systems

TYPES OF OUTPUTS PRODUCED DEALING WITH CLIMATE CHANGE AND RISKS IN 2007-2013

Policy recommendations 27% Strategies and Studies 3% 23% Infrastructure 13% Training, Knowledge sharing and Networks

34% Tools and platforms

Diagram 3: Types of output financed by the projects identified in the sample dealing with Climate change & biodiversity and Managing natural and man-made threats and risks management in period 2007-2013

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4. Outlook on Climate change and Risks activities in Interreg Programmes 2014-2020.

4.1. Background

The Seventh report on economic, social and territorial by the European Commission 2, specifically mentions that environmental challenges are increasing in number and importance. Global warming and the associated climate change are likely to have fundamental consequences for the EU economies and societies, notably with the increase in the frequency of extreme natural events that is expected to accompany the general rise in temperature. For the 2014–2020 period, around €78 billion of cohesion policy funding has been allocated to supporting the shift towards a low-carbon economy (thematic objective 4), adaption to climate change and risk prevention (thematic objective 5) and improving environmental protection and resource efficiency (thematic objective 6). This amounts to almost a third of ERDF and Cohesion Fund resources, the two sources of financing most concerned with .

The Seventh Cohesion Report continues mentioning how European regions differ widely in relation to the challenges they face from climate change. Mediterranean regions are likely to experience significant increases in days of extreme heat, growing risk of droughts, declining crop yields and more multiple climatic hazards. Coastal areas face the risk of rising sea levels, increasing sea temperatures and growing numbers of ‘marine dead’ zones. The Atlantic region will experience increasing instances of heavy rainfall and more risk of river and coastal flooding and damage from winter storms. Mountain regions are expected to suffer higher increases in temperature than the European average, a shift of plant and animal species to higher ground and a greater risk of some of them becoming extinct, as well as more chance of rock falls and landslides and reduced potential for hydro - electricity generation. At the same time, climate change might create opportunities, such as an expected reduction in energy demand for heating in Northern European and Atlantic regions or new possibilities for exploiting natural resources and sea transport in Artic regions.

But, in general, climate change will have major adverse effects on the environment which it will be necessary, and often costly, to adapt to. Vulnerability to climate change varies widely from one region to another. According to meta-analysis integrating assessments covering multiple areas (water, agriculture, tourism, ecosystems and so on), Italy, Spain and southern and central France are likely to have the highest number of areas adversely affected, along with parts of south-eastern Europe. Climate change is also expected to increase the occurrence of natural hazards throughout the EU in the coming decades. Recent studies mentioned in the report show that places where the effects are likely to be

2 Available in http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/information/publications/reports/2017/7th-report-on-economic- social-and-territorial-cohesion

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particularly severe (i.e. affected by increase in the probability of hazard occurrences of at least 20% for three or even four of the 7 hazards considered) will progressively extend northwards to central and western Europe in the coming decades, covering, by 2050, many areas of the Netherlands, the UK and Ireland as well Spain, France, Italy, Bulgaria and Romania (see map 2 here below).

Map 2: Map showing the areas in Europe most adversely affected by Climate Change exposure. Source: JRC, EC Report on Cohesion Policy

Estimating the economic costs of climate change is particularly challenging, but most studies indicate that these costs could be high even for modest changes in climate. The PESETA II study estimates total damages in the EU of up to €190 billion by the end of the 21st century under a high economic growth scenario, mostly from heat-related deaths and losses in agriculture and coastal areas.

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The costs are expected to be far from evenly distributed across Europe, and much higher in southern Europe than elsewhere (the CIRCE project estimates that Mediterranean countries could lose an average of just over 1% of GDP by 2050 notably from damage to tourism and energy).

Outermost regions and environmental challenges

The outermost regions are particularly vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters as shown by dramatic impact of hurricane Irma on Saint Martin. Most of them are tropical or sub-tropical islands with difficult topographies and fragile economies and ecosystems. Climate change is also likely to impact on fauna and flora, with probable effects on agricultural products on which their economies rely, notably sugar cane and bananas.

Being greatly affected, the outermost regions realised at an early stage the need to combat climate change. For example, the French Guiana forest is an important source of decarbonisation of the planet and its preservation helps to limit the rise in global temperatures. The regions are also increasingly reducing the use of fossil fuels for electricity generation. The share of renewable energy in electricity production in French Guiana is already 64%. Martinique, Guadeloupe and Reunion Island have ambitious targets of 100% production from renewables by 2030 mainly through combined use of solar, hydro-, wind and geothermal power as well as smart grids. Guadeloupe has imposed building regulations specifically adapted to local conditions.

The Canary Islands plan to reach total energy and water self-sustainability of the island of El Hierro by upgrading the capacity of the existing hydro power plant, installing additional capacity, using only electric vehicles on the island and making further use of locally produced biomass.

• Information extracted from the “Seventh report on economic, social and territorial cohesion” by the European Commission, Sept. 2017

4.2. Interreg in period 2014-2020

Territorial Cooperation is a key objective of cohesion policy, focusing on joint action and exchange of policy ideas and experience between national, regional and local authorities in different EU Member States. It helps to reduce the obstacles to development which stem from national borders and supports the adoption of common strategies to solve common problems. Around €10 billion have been allocated to such cooperation for the 2014–2020 period.

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Infographic 1: Evolution of Interreg and the increase of budget in 1990-2020. Source DG Regio.

This amount dedicated to Interreg 2014–2020 is invested in over 100 cooperation programmes between regions and territorial, social and economic partners. In accordance with the design of EU cohesion policy for the 2014–2020 period and the focus on concentration of funding, simplification of administration and results as well as the pursuit of the Europe 2020 targets, Interreg has been significantly reshaped to achieve greater impact and more effective use of funding. The breakdown of programmes and budget can be seen in the following infographic:

Infographic 2: Number and budget of Interreg 2014-2020 programmes. Source DG Regio.

The European Council, in reaching agreement on the broad outlines of the 2014-2020 Multi-Annual Financial Framework decided that:

➢ The EU institutions committed to devote at least 20% of the EU budget to climate change adaptation and mitigation in the 2014-2020 programming period.

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Mechanisms for monitoring this in cohesion policy are relatively sophisticated in comparison to some policy areas, although still show some weaknesses.

➢ The coherence and precision of climate-relevant impact and result indicators has been improved as compared to the previous programming period; but still does not provide enough clarity on the contribution of cohesion policy to delivery of the EU’s overall climate objectives. The consistency and integrity of reporting of emissions reductions needs to be further improved.

➢ The introduction of mechanisms such as the Partnership Agreement, and climate- relevant thematic objectives, has been effective in improving the mainstreaming of climate in programmes.

➢ The thematic objectives introduced as part of the programming of ESIF expenditure include two which are particularly relevant for climate. Thematic objective 4 (low- carbon economy) is primarily addressed by ERDF and CF (87% of a total EUR 64 billion commitment. Thematic objective 5 (climate resilience) is less prioritised by ERDF and CF, which represent just under a quarter of the total EUR 42 billion commitment.

Share of Interreg Funds allocated to Climate Actions

9% 7%

84% ERDF TO4 ERDF TO5 ERDF OTHER TOs

Diagram 3: Share of Interreg Funds Allocated to Climate Actions in 2014-2020. Source: EU Cohesion Open Data Portal. DG REGIO.

4.3. Addressing climate change adaptation in transnational regions in Europe

The importance of Interreg in addressing climate change adaptation policies was highlighted by the European Environmental Agency (EEA) in a report published in late 2018.

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This report mentions how the EU strategy on adaptation to climate change was launched in 2013 and has encouraged all EU Member States to adopt comprehensive adaptation strategies, including addressing cross border issues.

The evaluation of the EU adaptation strategy undertaken by the European Commission showed that it has stimulated some actions on cross-border climate risks between Member States, in particular for river basins and alpine areas, but that further action is needed.

The EU supports transnational cooperation mainly through the Interreg V B programme, which is the transnational component of the current Interreg V programme for the period 2014-2020. It promotes better cooperation and regional development within the EU by cooperating to tackle common issues such as climate change adaptation.

European transnational regions are vulnerable to climate change across their wide range of economic sectors and natural ecosystems. Their exposure and sensitivity are increased by non-climatic drivers, such as changing patterns and population change. Some particularly vulnerable European regions already experience the impacts of climate change and are likely to be increasingly affected by future impacts. These “hot spots” have been identified by the EEA in the Northern Periphery and Arctic, South West Europe and Mediterranean areas (which include large parts of the Adriatic-Ionian and Balkan- Mediterranean areas), as well as in the mountainous part of the Alpine Space.

The EEA acknowledges that Interreg is the key EU transnational cooperation programme covering all transnational regions and aiming to promote better cooperation and regional development to tackle common challenges such as those posed by climate change.

4.4. Climate change and Macro Regional Strategies

Further to Interreg, macro-regional strategies have been emerging in the EU in the recent years. These strategies offer an opportunity to complement the traditional national and territorial policies and address issues and challenges at a multi-sectoral, multi-country (including non-EU countries) and multi-governance level. As of 2017, four macro-regional strategies have been adopted.

❖ EU strategy for the Baltic Sea region (EUSBSR) adopted in 2009 ❖ EU strategy for the Danube region (EUSDR) adopted in 2010 ❖ EU strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian region (EUSAIR) adopted in 2014 ❖ EU strategy for the Alpine region (EUSALP) adopted in 2015

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These EU macro-regional strategies are integrated frameworks endorsed by the European Council and are also supported by Interreg programmes to address common challenges faced by defined geographical areas involving EU Member States and non-EU countries. These strategies have the potential to further strengthen cooperation between multiple countries and address common challenges, such as climate change. For instance, the EUBSR helped to foster cooperation on climate change adaptation and supported the development of the Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change in the Baltic Sea Region (see project Baltadapt in pg. 14).

The EUSDR also promoted the implementation of various environmental and climate projects, such as the development of a common methodology for natural risk assessment and management under climate change. While it is still early to fully comment on the implementation of the EUSAIR a thematic focus on climate change adaptation also appears to be an important area.

The use of macro-regional strategies could be further mainstreamed into Cohesion Policy as they have the potential to lead to coordinated regional actions in various fields, including climate change mitigation and adaptation. Experience so far suggests that the role of these strategies is more significant in fostering adaptation and management actions rather than mitigation. At the same time, these strategies are only briefly mentioned in the EU’s Adaptation Strategy but also DG CLIMA which will be reviewed starting November 2017.

However, adaptation actions differ between transnational and macro-regions. Transnational cooperation has supported several Climate Change Adaptation actions in European transnational regions. It plays a key role in developing and exchanging regionally specific adaptation knowledge, tools, good practices and related experiences in Transnational regions. The North Sea, Atlantic Area and South West Europe have prioritised funding for climate change under the current Interreg programme. In other transnational regions, climate change is defined as a cross-cutting theme or as a mainstreaming goal alongside other topics, e.g. climate change mitigation. Climate Change is addressed as a target, a thematic objective or an action to be pursued in all four existing EU macro-regional strategies:

➢ In EUSALP, climate change adaptation is bundled together with disaster risk management in one of nine actions. ➢ In both EUSAIR and the EUSBSR, climate change adaptation is currently defined as a horizontal principle, relevant to all thematic pillars of both strategies. ➢ In the EUSDR, climate change adaptation is addressed mostly as an environmental issue, prominently in the context of flood and water management.

The implementation of EU macro-regional strategies is expected to be strategically aligned with the respective Interreg Transnational programmes in the same region. There are

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mechanisms to ensure that cofounded projects are in line with the objectives set out in the action plans of the macro-regional strategies.

Climate change adaptation projects in the transnational regions have addressed regionally specific climate change challenges or sectors (e.g. water management in the Danube region or natural hazard management in the Alpine Space), while cross-sector or integrated adaptation is considered less frequently. Border-crossing river basins, shared coastal regions and maritime areas are thus often at the centre of transnational climate change adaptation projects, as confirmed by the evaluation of the EU adaptation strategy. These projects focus on knowledge generation and dissemination, awareness-raising, capacity building, networking and cross-country exchange, rather than on implementing actions on the ground. Difficulties in translating the knowledge generated into new adaptation planning and practice are left until the post-project phase. The knowledge gained is not always well exploited due to a lack of ownership, commitment and clear responsibilities for the use of the results. This is also affected by the ending of funding and the lack of a durable business and/or capitalisation model.

The European Climate Adaptation Platform (Climate-ADAPT) has a section that provides an overview of information about the policy frameworks and initiatives, including those related to knowledge creation and sharing, in the European transnational regions. It was put in place to enforce and strengthen cooperation on climate change adaptation at the transnational level.

Some of the transnational regions have developed web-based adaptation platforms for sharing knowledge on climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation within the region. These include:

▪ Wadden Sea Climate Change Adaptation Information Platform, which was developed as part of the trilateral cooperation on the Wadden Sea in the North Sea; ▪ Climate Adaptation Platform for the Alps (CAPA), which was developed as part of the Interreg Alpine Space project C3-Alps in the Alpine Space; ▪ Pyrenean Climate Change Observatory (OPCC), which was created in 2010 by the working community of the Pyrenees (CTP) in South West Europe.

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4.5. Ongoing projects in climate change

For a more detailed characterisation of the projects under Thematic Objective 5, project information available in KEEP was consulted resulting with 73 projects for the 2014-2020 period. However, it is important to note that this analysis is constrained by the information available in KEEP and how projects were classified therein. In some cases, project information was insufficient to check the relevance of these projects. The main limitation of this analysis and the results presented in this report comes from the fact that the 2014- 2020 period is still on-going and that programme funds have not been fully disbursed to projects. It is likely that the number of projects working under each of the sub-themes will change soon, and therefore, the information presented will vary by the end of the 2014-2020 Map 3: Regions in Europe with project partners participating in TO5 programming period. projects in period 2014-2020. Source KEEP December 2018.

Number of Climate Change and Risks projects per Interreg programme 2014-2020

INTERREG V-A Greece - Cyprus INTERREG V-A Greece - Bulgaria INTERREG V-A Slovenia - Croatia INTERREG VB Atlantic Area INTERREG VB South West Europe INTERREG VB North Sea INTERREG V-A Italy - France (Maritime) INTERREG V-A France - Belgium - The… INTERREG V-A France - Italy (ALCOTRA) INTERREG V-A Romania - Bulgaria 0 5 10 15 20 25

Diagram 3: Table showing number of projects per programmes in Interreg 2014-2020 in Climate Change and Risks. Source: KEEP

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TOPSOIL

TOPSOIL is an EU cooperation supported by the Interreg VB North Sea Region programme in line with priority 3 of the programme: ‘Sustainable North Sea Region, protecting against climate change and preserving the environment’.

When considering the major risks resulting from climate change, people often watch the skies, expecting extreme rainfall events and storm surges to have an impact on their daily lives and working lives. However, the water under our feet is also known to be a major actor when it comes to the quality and quantity of our water resources. Many of our day-to-day activities are tied up to the upper part of the soil layer. This is where we cultivate crops, build infrastructure and develop our modern societies. In addition, the main hydrological and chemical dynamics are also represented in this layer of the subsurface.

Dialogues with the most important stakeholders in the North Sea Region, at local, regional and EU level, have pointed out that climate change is having a rapid impact on the topsoil- and groundwater layers. As a result, many regions in Europe are faced with an increased threat of flooding due to rising groundwater, while other regions are facing and a scarcity of drinking water.

TOPSOIL wishes to adopt a novel approach, in order to maximize the transferability of solutions by incorporating the collective knowledge and experiences of the partnership. Throughout the project, TOPSOIL will hold stakeholder consultations in order to improve the understanding of the challenges and to identify and manage the need for the development of new services. As a result, a technical investigation plan will outline the field measurements needed for targeting the different subsurface challenges. Combining this new information with existing data will allow a more accurate interpretation of the challenges in different pilot projects. These data will allow the modelling of solutions that lead to more resilient soil- and water resources management

In the context of transnational cooperation, it is necessary to explore the best means of governance and the best practices from the five countries involved, in order to achieve new best standards. Therefore, a joint transnational governance team will be created. The team's main task will be to contribute to sustainable climate change adaptation, by creating a new management regime and by developing new ecosystem services based on the demonstrated outputs from the project.

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OPCC-2 (Pyrenees Climate Change Observatory)

The OPCC was created in 2010 as an initiative of the Working Community of the Pyrenees (CTP). Its first actions (from 2011 to 2014) were carried out as a result of a joint project of the CTP (the 7 member territories) and 11 partner organizations, within the framework of the 2007-2013 Operational Programme for Territorial Cooperation Spain-France-Andorra – POCTEFA. The OPCC-2 2016-2020 project is co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). It has 7 partners, of which the Working Community of the Pyrenees (CTP) stands out as project coordinator, the others being the University of Zaragoza (UNIZAR), the Aula Dei- State Agency Higher Council for Scientific Research Experimental Station (EEAD-CSIC), the Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM), FORESPIR, the Syndicat Conservatoire botanique prénéen agréé - Conservatoire botanique national des Pyrénées (CBNPMP) and the Pyrenean Institute of Ecology - State Agency Higher Council for Scientific Research (IPE-CSIC).

The international scientific community has emphasized the particular vulnerability and sensitivity of mountain areas to the impacts of climate change. The Pyrenees Climate Change Observatory (OPCC) was created in 2010 by the Working Community of the Pyrenees (CTP), as a crossborder initiative to assist the 7 territories to sept up adaptation policies to cope with climate change challenges.

Its mission is to be the flagship platform on climate change and adaptation in the Pyrenean massif, through a policy of cooperation, transparency and information exchange. The OPCC-2 project was created to promote the strategy and action plan of the Pyrenees Climate Change Observatory.

The general objective of the OPCC-2 is to study and to understand the climate changes in the Pyrenees in order to reduce the vulnerability of natural and human systems to the impacts of such changes and support them in the definition of adaptation strategies through the transfer of knowledge. To achieve this general objective, the OPCC-2 has defined three strategic or specific objectives:

1. To identify, analyse and provide the bases of scientific knowledge on the main impacts of climate change in the Pyrenees, as well as on the vulnerability of the main natural and socioeconomic systems to such impacts; 2. To develop tools and methodologies to facilitate decision-making on climate change adaptation, and disseminate the results of reference research to the different socio- economic stakeholders of the territory; 3. To raise awareness of the Pyrenees at European and international level in terms of observation and adaptation to climate change, in a transnational cooperation context.

More information: https://www.opcc-ctp.org/en/opcc

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5. Conclusions

According to the Seventh report on economic, social and territorial by the European Commission3, the amounts allocated to Interreg are relatively small. The cross-border programmes, which account for the bulk of funding, amounted to only some €20 per head of population in the regions covered in the 2007–2013 period. The programmes, therefore, have to be highly strategic and focused.

By the end of 2013, these programmes had funded over 6 800 projects in policy areas at the core of the Lisbon, and later, Europe 2020 strategy. They included the creation and expansion of economic clusters, the establishment of centers of excellence, higher education and training, cooperation networks between research centers and cross-border advisory services for enterprises and business start-ups.

The 1 300 or so environmental projects involved the joint management of natural resources, including sea and river basins, cooperative action to combat natural risks, to respond to climate change and to preserve biodiversity and pilot initiatives to develop renewable energy.

Although the indicators available are limited and incomplete, they show that around 3 500 jobs were directly created as a result of the projects undertaken, 487 km of roads were improved and over 500 000 people participated in joint education or training activities. In the case of the transnational programmes, the indicators show that 2 207 jobs were created and 260 transnational projects in RTD and innovation, accessibility, risk prevention and water management were carried out. Most of the projects involved tackling common problems through collaboration, joint research or exchange of experience.

The most frequent outcomes were the establishment of networks or partnerships between SMEs and research centers, the joint management of natural resources and joint action for environmental protection. A major aspect was the creation of critical mass, i.e. assembling funding on a sufficient scale to tackle territorial and environmental problems, to set up RTD networks and to create common services (such as in the case of transport in the North- West Region).

In the case of Interreg, the aim of which was to improve the effectiveness of regional policies through cooperation and exchanges between regions, the programme succeeded in setting up a framework in which local and regional authorities from across the EU could share experience and examples of good practice in relation to the problems they faced. However, the evaluation found little evidence of knowledge or experience being

3 Available in http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/information/publications/reports/2017/7th -report-on-economic- social-and-territorial-cohesion, page 202

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disseminated outside of the regions involved in the projects and outside of Interreg more generally.

Beyond the outputs and results described above, the programmes also had wider effects, notably in terms of alleviating barriers to cooperation (mainly cultural and physical barriers) and increasing social integration.

Transnational cooperation has helped to make employment and social policies more effective and has contributed to the implementation of reforms, by facilitating the exchange of experience and good practice.

For 2014–2020, Interreg has been extended through the establishment of Thematic Networks that bring together representatives from the bodies managing the Operational Programmes, policy experts, academics, social partners and civil society organizations in order to share examples of good practice and innovation, as well as to coordinate the launch of calls for projects.

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6. Reference and bibliography

KEEP Database, https://www.keep.eu/keep/

European Structural and Investment Funds Cohesion Data portal https://cohesiondata.ec.europa.eu/

European Territorial Cooperation Work Package 11 Ex-post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013, focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund (CF): European Territorial Cooperation Work Package 11: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/policy/evaluations/ec/2007-2013/#11

“Climate mainstreaming in the EU budget”: https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/1df19257-aef9-11e7- 837e-01aa75ed71a1

7th Report on Economic, Social and Territorial Cohesion, DG REGIO https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/information/publications/reports/2017/7th- report-on-economic-social-and-territorial-cohesion

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