The unique landscapes of the Pyrenees, with their deep valleys and imposing peaks, are facing a challenge that touches the heart. The mountains, custodians of a unique biodiversity, are undergoing remarkable transformations at an unprecedented pace. Climate change, a result of our own actions, poses a threat to the ecosystem services that the Pyrenees offer, ranging from water sources and natural habitats to forest resources. The scientific community has demonstrated that temperatures in mountainous areas are rising above the global average. Specifically in the Pyrenees, over the past six decades, temperatures have risen 30% more than the global average. The majesty of the Pyrenees is intertwined with the fragility of both its ecosystems and inhabitants.
Cross-border cooperation harnesses this vulnerability as a catalyst for positive and innovative action, which spreads throughout its territory in the form of a network that involves 46 entities from Spain, France and Andorra. These entities, aware of current and future changes, cooperate with a clear objective: to strengthen resilience in the Pyrenees through the implementation of measures to adapt to climate change.
The LIFE- SIP PYRENEES4CLIMA project marks the starting point of the implementation of the Pyrenean Climate Change Strategy (EPiCC), the first European cross-border climate change strategy in Europe, led by the seven Pyrenean territories, involving regions from three different states, and co-designed in cooperation for a specific mountain bioregion: the Pyrenees. This project will accelerate climate policies in the region, and reinforce governance based on territorial climate cooperation. It stands as a flagship project rooted in joint commitment, ensuring an ongoing dialogue between the stakeholders to effectively and efficiently address climate change adaptation policies.
The project is based on five fundamental pillars: understanding climate impacts, improving the resilience of natural spaces, adapting the mountain economy, safeguarding the population and the territory from natural-climate risks and the deterioration of resources, and promoting an innovative system of climate governance that involves citizens, socio-economic sectors, the scientific community and political decision-makers.
In the Pyrenees, this federated project gives climate action a new dimension. Not only in terms of its capacity for territorial impact, multiplicity of approaches and integrating vision but also in its temporal dimension (almost 8 years of joint work), and in its economic dimension (€20M), capable of propelling and consolidating efforts that go much further.
Find out more about how PYRENEES4CLIMA will transform the Pyrenees to meet the challenges of climate change at https://www.opcc-ctp.org/
