European countries are working to build climate change adaptation into their disaster risk reduction strategies
Acclimatise reports that a survey conducted by a Working Group on Climate Change Adaptation indicates that there are already European countries which have started to integrate climate change adaptation into their disaster risk reduction policy programmes.
"This is still an emerging issue and we should keep the focus on climate change adaptation to ensure that it is adequately addressed in the new framework on disaster risk reduction which will be agreed in 2015," said Working Group chairman, Dag Olav Hogvold, Senior Adviser, Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Planning, Norway.
"The 14 country respondents maintaining databases on physical and economic losses listed the following hazards covered in their databases: floods, 13; forest fires, 13; landslides, 11; extreme precipitation, 11; drought, 9; extreme wind, 9; cold wave, 9; sea level rise, 6; heat wave, 6; storm surge, 6; and change in biodiversity, 3."