Intergroup Water/Wasser

Transcription

1 Intergrup Water/Wasser Reprt n the 6 th meeting f the Intergrup Water, 27 Octber 2010 PRESIDENT: Water and Climate Actin Richard SEEBER (EPP) VICE PRESIDENTS: Judith MERKIES (S&D) Hlger KRAHMER (ALDE) Satu HASSI (Greens) Rbert STURDY (ECR) Marisa MATIAS (GUE) Anna ROSBACH (EFD) SECRETARIAT: Durk KROL (EUREAU) secretariat@intergrupwater.eu Eurpean Cmmissiner fr Climate Actin, Ms. Cnnie HEDEGAARD, addressed the Intergrup Water at its Octber meeting n the pivtal rle water plays in climate change. She underlined that water issues feature in almst all aspects f the EC adaptatin plicy, like e.g. water scarcity, sanitatin, flding, drainage, water efficiency. The key nte speech was fllwed by a lively debate between the Cmmissiner and the public. The meeting was very well attended with mre than 100 participants frm a wide range f rganisatins. The attendees were welcmes by the chair f the day, MEP Ms. Judith MERKIES and by Klara SZATKIEWICS, president f EUREAU. The meeting was cncluded with a ccktail drink 1

2 Intergrup Water/Wasser Intrductin speech by Ms. Klara SZATKIEWICS, President f EUREAU Dear Ms. Hedegaard, As president f EUREAU, the management bdy f the Intergrup Water, I wuld like t seize this pprtunity t share with yu the sme key cncerns f the water service sectr with regard t climate change: Climate change represents a key challenge fr the water sectr in terms f availability f water, flding in urban areas and impacts n water and waste water treatment systems and assets. Rapid climatic change may lead t strain and shrtages, including in regins where this has never been bserved befre. We feel that there is nt a sufficiently high prfile given t water in the climate change debate. Water shuld be at the centre f adaptatin planning and EUREAU calls fr a cherent adaptatin plicy acrss all sectrs t deal with the water challenges. Plicy mdificatin is needed beynd the water sectr t ensure adaptatin t climate change, fr example agriculture and energy. The main pririties fr the water service sectr are: A systematic check f climate change impacts f all Cmmunity plicy areas. EUREAU supprts the Cmmissin s prpsed review f Climate Change and Water plicy. EUREAU calls fr full cnsultatin, discussin and participatin acrss all sectrs t enable jined up regulatin and ensure that climate change is fully integrated int the decisin making prcess. Intrduce incentives t encurage mitigatin and adaptatin measures EUREAU calls fr mre incentives and the applicatin f better regulatin principles t further encurage mitigatin and adaptatin. Cntrl f substances and pllutants at surce and effective catchment management The water sectr is a high user f energy in the treatment f wastewater prir t its return t the envirnment and in the treatment f drinking water. The tackling f pllutin at surce will becme increasingly imprtant t reduce the need fr expensive and high carbn emissin and unsustainable end f pipe treatment. EUREAU members actively supprt EU plicy that cntrls substances and pllutants at surce and effective catchment 2

3 Intergrup Water/Wasser management t prtect water resurces and reduce treatment needs as part f an effective mitigatin strategy. Need fr a twin track apprach balancing demand and supply. We need a hlistic apprach cmbining measures f demand management, measures t ptimise existing resurces within the water cycle, and measures t create new resurces. This apprach needs t integrate envirnmental, scial and ecnmic cnsideratins in deciding upn the priritisatin f alternative measures t address water scarcity and drughts. Essential that adaptatin strategies are implemented nw t ensure that water infrastructure is resilient t ur changing climate Water supplies and water and wastewater infrastructure shuld be given mre prminence due t their vital rle in sciety and fr the ecnmy. It is essential that adaptatin strategies are implemented nw t ensure that this vital infrastructure is resilient t ur changing climate. It is imperative that public water supply shuld always be the verriding pririty t ensure access t adequate water prvisin. The Water Framewrk Directive des nt guarantee per se that the water issue will be dealt with effectively: it is a useful tl but even with full implementatin it will nt meet the challenges f adaptatin t deal with all water issues resulting frm climate change. 3

4 Intergrup Water/Wasser Cnnie Hedegaard Member f the Eurpean Cmmissin Water and Climate Change SPEAKING POINTS I wuld like t thank the Intergrup fr inviting me here tday. It is impssible t talk abut adaptatin t climate change withut talking abut water and water related issues. That is why water issues feature in almst all aspects f ur adaptatin plicy: - water scarcity, sanitatin, flding, drainage, water efficiency t name but a few. Water is therefre, naturally, a key feature in ur White Paper n Adaptatin t climate change. The White Paper, published last year, presents ur framewrk fr adaptatin measures and plicies t reduce the Eurpean Unin's vulnerability t the impacts f climate change and specifically tackles increasing the resilience f bidiversity, ecsystems and water. Overall, the White Paper refers t Fur Pillars: 1) Building a slid knwledge base fr the EU n the impacts and cnsequences f climate change, 2) Integrating adaptatin int EU key plicy areas, 3) Emplying a cmbinatin f plicy instruments and 4) Strengthening internatinal c-peratin n adaptatin. I will talk mre abut the white paper plicy areas later, but first I wuld like t talk briefly abut the impacts f climate change. Impacts Eurpe is expected t be hit hard by climate change. Climatic changes are hwever diverse acrss Eurpe: The area under high water stress in Eurpe is likely t increase due t climate change, in particular in Suthern Eurpe where water scarcity is already a majr issue. The additinal number f peple affected is estimated t be between 16 and 44 millin accrding t the IPCC "Climate Change 2007". 4

5 Intergrup Water/Wasser While Suthern Eurpe is expected t suffer heavily frm increased water scarcity, mst f Eurpe will experience mre frequent perids f extreme rainfall events which may lead t an increase in the number and intensity f flds, ersin and landslides. The impact f climate change n water is expected nt nly t affect water quantity, but als water quality and increases the risk f cntaminatin f public water supplies. Warmer water, extreme rainfall and drughts can increase the ttal micrbial lads in freshwater and have implicatins fr disease utbreaks and water-quality mnitring. In additin t physical impacts there will als be significant ecnmic impacts particularly in water-dependent ecnmic sectrs. This includes agriculture and the water services sectr but als ther sectrs such as energy and turism. Fr example: Agriculture is highly sensitive t climate change and weather extremes. Changes in rainfall can affect water availability, run-ff and related sil ersin rates and sil misture, all f which are imprtant fr crp yields. Additinal water demand fr agriculture and industry is expected t cnflict with the additinal demands fr human cnsumptin if adaptatin measures are nt put in place in due time. Climate change affect the availability and temperature f cling water fr pwer plants and the river flws that are feeding hydrpwer statins. Warmer surface waters are mre prne t pllutin which may als have cnsequences fr bathing waters and related human health risks. Adaptatin means planning ahead fr the years and decades t cme and preparing fr the inevitable impacts f climate change. The risk t water availability due t climate change means that it is vital t keep ur water resurces clean, ur aquatic ecsystems healthy and t maximise ur water efficiency. Early actin is needed t build capacity t adapt in the water sectr, but als in ther sectrs that are water dependent (agriculture, transprt, energy, turism, industry, etc). Healthy water ecsystems will be mre resilient t climate change impacts, and may help t mitigate the effects f flds and drughts. By restring aquatic ecsystems, which naturally buffer, purify and cnserve water, the effects f drughts, flds can be alleviated. River flds are the mst cmmn natural disaster in Eurpe. Glbal warming is generally expected t increase the magnitude and frequency f extreme precipitatin events 5

6 Intergrup Water/Wasser Accrding t an IPCC study, withut adaptatin strategies, river flding wuld affect 250,000 t 400,000 additinal peple per year in Eurpe by the 2080s, mre than dubling the number with respect t the perid. Wetlands are vulnerable t climate change but, if prperly prtected and managed, als can increase resilience t climate impacts. In rder t cme t grips with water scarcity and drughts, the first pririty is t mve twards a water-efficient and water-saving ecnmy. There is a huge water saving ptential in Eurpe. At least 40% f Eurpe's water cnsumptin is wasted. Apprpriate water pricing shuld an imprtant tl t achieve this. The water services sectr (waste water and drinking water industries) is als a GHG emitting sectr. Saving water als means saving energy and thus lwering the carbn impact f extracting, transprting and treating waste water and drinking water. Mainstreaming The plitical views f the Cmmissin n the new budget perid were published n Octber 19 in the Budget Review Cmmunicatin. The Budget Review makes it clear that climate plicy, including adaptatin and water management shuld be a key part f the new financing framewrk. As f mid-2011, the Cmmissin will table prpsals fr the next financial framewrk pst- 2013, which will include prpsals fr changes t the majr EU plicies accmpanied by funding, such as the Cmmn Agriculture Plicy, including the Rural Develpment Plicy, and the Chesin plicy. The pprtunity t integrate climate change and water related issues int the new financial perspective must nt be missed. Funding fr a swift transitin t a lw-carbn, climate resilient and resurce efficient green grwth ecnmy and sciety shuld be increased. This wuld allw fr, amng ther things, increasing investments fr delivering gd quality water, efficient water use, resilient aquatic ecsystems, multipurpse fldplains, etc. The idea f 'mainstreaming' adaptatin t climate change thinking int EU plicies was already ne f the pririty actins identified in the White Paper. Cnceptually, yu are certainly aware f what mainstreaming is abut, as it is smething yur grup has als been cnsidering in relatin t integrating water cncerns int ther plicies. 6

7 Intergrup Water/Wasser The Water Framewrk Directive, its Daughter Directives (n grundwater and envirnmental quality standards) and the Flds Directive, thugh nt including climate change related prvisins, culd cntribute t adaptatin, in that they address all pressures and impacts n the aquatic envirnment in a cyclic management apprach. Anther key dcument that needs t be integrated in the frthcming 2012 Blueprint t safeguard EU waters is the fllw-up reprt t the 2007 Cmmunicatin n Water Scarcity and Drught that presents a wrk prgramme fr the medium and lng term with a particular fcus n imprving water efficiency in agriculture, industry, husehld appliances and in buildings. Anther pririty pillar f the white paper is the develpment f the knwledge base fr adaptatin including in relatin t water related issues, and the Cmmissin has recently launched a majr prject t develp the climate change impacts and vulnerability clearinghuse. The clearinghuse will help with disseminating scientific infrmatin, data and case studies abut climate change impacts and vulnerability, t build a cnsistent and updated knwledge base. It will assist an effective uptake f this knwledge by EU, natinal, reginal, lcal r sectral decisin makers, by ffering guidance, tls, best practices fr assessments f vulnerability t climate change at different gegraphical levels and f adaptatin plans and measures. With the clearinghuse peratinal we hpe t have a tl that can be used by decisin makers t develp their adaptin strategies. In relatin t water, we are lking t help with the identificatin and understanding f risks and the develpment f vulnerability maps, and then with guidance and ideas n hw t deal with these risks and hw t increase resilience. In terms f mving ur plicies in the right directin, an Adaptatin Steering Grup has been established. This grup includes representatives f all interested EU Member States, the Eurpean Parliament, the Cmmittee f the Regins, the Eurpean Envirnment Agency, as well as ther representatives f civil sciety, and it held its inaugural meeting in September. Amngst thers things, the Steering Grup is helping the Cmmissin taking frward the mainstreaming agenda and will help with the develpment f a cmprehensive EU strategy fr adapting t climate change fr 2013, that is presented in the White Paper n Adaptatin. 7

8 Intergrup Water/Wasser I hpe the wrk f this Intergrup can infrm and enrich the strategy, n which we are nw wrking, in relatin t water issues. T cnclude, I wuld like t stress again hw crucial water is fr develping adaptatin plicy and hw imprtant the wrk f the Eurpean Parliament can be in guiding this plicy develpment. Climate change will affect water quantity as well as water quality and these impacts are already visible. There is a vast ptential fr adaptatin in the water sectr and water using sectrs and fr strengthening the resilience f aquatic ecsystems. Thank yu very much. 8