Speaker
Description
The Mediterranean Experts on Climate and environmental Change (MedECC) is an independent scientific network assessing climate and environmental change risks in the Mediterranean Basin. As a unique science-policy interface, MedECC provides region-specific information to stakeholders, governments, and citizens for informed decision-making. In 2024, MedECC published the Special Report on Climate and environmental coastal risks in the Mediterranean Basin, assessing the available literature on the drivers of change (climate, pollution, biologic and socio- economic processes), their evolution, impacts on ecosystems and people, the risks and pathways for sustainable development.
Climate change already affects the Mediterranean coastal zone’s terrestrial and marine environments. Projections show rising temperatures, extreme heat, sea levels, and evapotranspiration, alongside decreasing precipitation. Tied to greenhouse gas emissions, this threatens ecosystems and key economic sectors like summer beach tourism, agriculture, aquaculture, and fisheries. Rising sea levels will worsen coastal floods, permanent inundation, and erosion, impacting ecosystems and infrastructure like airports, transport networks, ports, and cultural heritage sites. Expanding urbanisation will also increase flash flood risks in certain coastal areas.
Water scarcity risks will rise due to a regional drying trend, coastal aquifer salinisation, and growing demand from population growth, irrigation, tourism, industry, and the energy sector. Current adaptation options focus on increasing water supply, improving water quality, and supporting governance, rather than reducing water demand.
Marine heatwaves already partially cause mass mortalities in coastal waters and the decline of coastal wetlands, trends expected to increase. The success of conservation depends heavily on climate mitigation, as more hard limits are reached with every increment of global warming.
Current environmental, adaptation, and mitigation actions are insufficient to attain the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Meeting them requires transformative actions across all sectors, systems, and scales. This involves identifying vulnerabilities from human activities and climate impacts, and assessing options to reduce risks to communities and ecosystems. A mix of legal, policy, and economic instruments, plus behavioral nudges, are available at local, national, and regional levels to promote resilient development.
| Are you participating to the "AnaEE Environmental Rising Star Award "? | No |
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