Adapting to extremes: key insights for bridging climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in the european green deal

Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) are both concerned with society–risk dynamics and require engagement with complex risk assessments, foresight, and strategic planning to build resilience. Yet, the policy communities engaged in each tend to be distinct – the two communities rely on separate sources of information, funds, and use incompatible technical language.

Today, as Europe weighs options for promoting a green recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and considers how to make this recovery compatible with the European Green Deal, it is more critical than ever that our foremost ambition is to build resilient societies and systems. The authors recommend the following policy solutions:

• Building more resilient societies, including advancing the European Green Deal, should be a central concern as Europe considers its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. The COVID-19 recovery must be climate-compatible and focus on building long-term resilience, in addition to responding to short-term priorities.
• Climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR) are important processes for managing future risks and galvanising cooperation between communities, across sectors and scales and beyond borders. Insights from these areas should be leveraged for the European Green Deal and COVID-19 recovery.
• Improving communication, harmonising language, connecting actors, and building structures for cooperation will be essential for a resilient European Green Deal and green COVID-19 recovery. A wealth of tools and approaches are available to take immediate steps. Continued investments are needed to strengthen existing institutions and create new ones to manage risk and promote cooperation in a warming world.