The European Commission said on Tuesday it will present a climate resilience and risk management framework later this year, as Europe faces a particularly severe wildfire season.
The Commission said the plan would integrate climate and environmental concerns across public policy and strengthen the EU’s 2021 strategy on adapting to climate change.
The initiative, which has long been on the EU’s agenda, was requested by both the European Parliament and Member States and has recently been the subject of a public consultation.
A Commission spokesperson said Europe is warming twice as fast as other continents and is experiencing an especially harsh fire season.
The future “integrated framework” is intended to make climate resilience the default approach in policies at both EU and member state level.
The spokesperson said the issue went beyond responding to forest fires, mobilising civil protection and coordinating solidarity measures, even though those systems had worked well and had been tested repeatedly this summer.
It also affects a wide range of sectors, including the environment, agriculture and health, the Commission said.
Asked about criticism that parts of the Green Deal had been rolled back in recent years, the Commission rejected any suggestion of deregulation.
It said the measures currently underway were aimed at administrative simplification to reduce burdens on businesses, while climate targets remained clear and overall ambition unchanged.
The Commission added that the experience of this summer would need to be taken into account and said the climate resilience framework is due by the end of the year.
