Facing the environmental challenge
Southern Neighbourhood
ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE PRESS PACK
Southern Neighbourhood
ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE
Facing the environmental challenge
May 2014
1
Environmental problems – a shared concern Horizon 2020 – depolluting the Mediterranean
2
Working together to tackle shared problems – environment
3
Working together to tackle shared problems – climate change
4
Leveraging extra funding for the environment
5
ighbourhood e N r e n a le c a ther for Working toge re inage plus prop is o V n u r u o p ble Travailler ensem
PHOTO GALLERIES
SUCCESS STORIES
VIDEOS 2013 Environment Day - Environment Cooperation with Southern Neighbours - Also available in Arabic 2014 JORDAN - Turning waste into money
This publication exists only in electronic format. It has been prepared by the European Neighbourhood Info Centre, a project funded by the EU. It does not represent the official view of the EC or the EU Institutions. The EC accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to its content.
DOCUMENTS
2013 EGYPT - Hotels are going green too 2012 Environment Cooperation with Southern Neighbours
USEFUL LINKS
STAY CONNECTED
www.enpi-info.eu
Southern Neighbourhood
Environmental problems – a shared concern Facing the environmental challenge has always been a key priority in the EU’s relations with the Neighbourhood countries and is an issue that illustrates the need for sustained cooperation with Partners for the common good. Mediterranean countries have a long history of co-operation in the field of the environment, considered to be a shared value of common interest. The Mediterranean environment is recognised by specialists as one of the richest and most vulnerable in the world, in particular regarding its biodiversity. At the same time, the region has been recognised as a climate change hotspot, facing challenges and vulnerabilities including water scarcity, extreme weather events, desertification, impacting on region's sustainable development and economic growth.
ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE
The strategy's key aims are to: . Reduce pollution levels across the region . Promote sustainable use of the sea and its coastline . Encourage neighbouring countries to cooperate on environmental issues . Assist partner countries in developing effective institutions and policies to protect the environment . Involve NGOs and the public in environmental decisions affecting them.
The European Commission strategy for the region is outlined in a Commission Communication establishing an environmental strategy for the Mediterranean.
The EU has a long-standing political and legal commitment to address the environmental dimension in all its policies. It recognises the importance of a cross-cutting environmental dimension to all its projects and considers it both a challenge to be addressed in its own right, and an aspect of other activities.
1 “Environmental problems concern us as much as our neighbours… the Mediterranean Sea is a shared sea and we have a common interest to look into these issues together and to mobilise all resources including financial in order to tackle the problems”
2 3 4 5
Michael Köhler, Neighbourhood Director at DG Development and Cooperation
SUCCESS STORIES Egypt - Stopping water leakages Tunisia - Protecting Bizerte lagoon Jordan - Turning olive oil waste into euros while protecting nature Egypt - Hotels are going green too
DOCUMENTS
USEFUL LINKS
STAY CONNECTED
www.enpi-info.eu
Southern Neighbourhood
Horizon 2020 – depolluting the Mediterranean The Horizon 2020 Initiative, launched during the 10th Anniversary Summit of the Barcelona Process in 2005, aims to de-pollute the Mediterranean by the year 2020 by tackling the sources of pollution that account for around 80% of the overall pollution of the Mediterranean Sea: municipal waste, urban waste water and industrial pollution.
ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE The initiative has three components, under each of which the EU funds projects: •
Its roadmap for 2007-2013 focuses on: .
Identification of projects to reduce most significant sources of pollution.
.
Identification of measures to create national environmental administrations able to develop and police environmental laws.
.
Use of EU research budget to develop and share knowledge of environmental issues relevant to the Mediterranean.
.
Develop indicators to monitor the success of Horizon 2020.
•
•
Investments for Pollution Reduction Mediterranean Hot Spots Investment Programme – Project Preparation and Implementation Facility (MeHSIP-PPIF) http://www.mehsip-ppif.eu/
1 2 3 4
Capacity Building Horizon 2020 Capacity Building/Mediterranean Environment Programme (H2020 CB/MEP) http://www.h2020.net/
5
Review, Monitoring and Research ENPI Shared Environment Information System (SEIS) http://enpiseis.ew.eea.europa.eu/
H2020 in action – protecting the Bizerte lagoon From a distance, the view onto Lake Bizerte in northern Tunisia is breathtaking. But as you get closer to this natural lagoon, the extent of the damage can be seen: a worrying level of pollution resulting from unregulated industrial activity and a lack of public awareness. There is reason to be optimistic, however, thanks to an integrated project to transform the lake, supported under the H2020 initiative. Click here to read the full story
DOCUMENTS
USEFUL LINKS
STAY CONNECTED
www.enpi-info.eu
Southern Neighbourhood
Working together to tackle shared problems – environment Cooperation is essential in tackling environmental problems, which stop at no borders, and can often only be dealt with through a regional approach. EuropeAid’s regional programmes in the South of the European Neighbourhood are among the most important tools in addressing challenges like the use of solar energy, pollution and climate change, bringing Neighbours together and sharing best practice. Sustainable Water Integrated Management (SWIM) Aims at enforcing sustainable water management policies, disseminating good practices in the region and supporting the initiative for the de-pollution of the Mediterranean. SWIM consists of two major components, which are inter-related and complement each other: • A Support Mechanism (€6.7 million) • Demonstration Projects (€15 million), ranging from adaptation to climate change of Mediterranean agricultural systems, to water harvesting and agricultural techniques in dry lands in the Maghreb http://www.swim-sm.eu
ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE 1
Development of a Mediterranean marine and coastal protected areas network (MedPAN) Assists countries to expand and strengthen the management of the Mediterranean marine protected areas network http://mediterranean.panda.org/ about/marine/marine_protected_area/ the_medpan_south_project/
2 3 4
SWITCH-Med: Switching to more sustainable consumption and production in the Mediterranean The project promotes the shift of Southern Mediterranean economies towards sustainable consumption and production patterns and a green economy, helping them to become more resource efficient, thus contributing both to the environment and to economic competitiveness. http://enpi-info.eu/mainmed.php?id=449&id_type=10
5
Cross-Border Cooperation For the Cross Border-Cooperation in the Mediterranean Programme (CBCMed), promotion of environmental sustainability at the basin level is one the key priorities, with standard and strategic projects addressing issues ranging from waste management and energy efficiency to air quality and groundwater. http://www.enpicbcmed.eu/projects/running-projects Examples of projects include MEDOLICO, a collaboration between scientists from both shores of the Mediterranean to discover the perfect method of minimising the environmental impact of olive oil mill wastewater, generating bio-products for commercial use in the process (read the full story), and AQUAKNIGHT, a project aiming to optimize water consumption and to minimize leakages in the Mediterranean region (read the full story).
DOCUMENTS
USEFUL LINKS
STAY CONNECTED
www.enpi-info.eu
Southern Neighbourhood
Working together to tackle shared problems – climate change “The Mediterranean region has been recognised as a climate change hotspot, facing challenges and vulnerabilities including water scarcity, extreme weather events, desertification, impacting on region's sustainable development and economic growth.” European Commission 2014 ENP Report To tackle this problem across the region, and support the initiatives of individual countries, the European Union is supporting a number of regional actions aiming to mitigate the effects of climate change. Addressing climate change in the Middle East and North-Africa (MENA) region Integrates climate change into the planning processes of different sectors (e.g. water, agriculture, energy, social) to make development more sustainable and to reduce vulnerability to climate change http://www.enpi-info.eu/mainmed.php?id=471&id_type=10
ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE Cleaner energy-saving Mediterranean cities Supports the efforts of local authorities in the ENPI South Mediterranean Partner Countries to respond more actively to sustainable policy challenges by developing the capacities of local authorities in the region to formulate and implement sustainable local policies, such as those implied by joining the Covenant of Mayors http://ces-med.eu
Clima South: Support for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in the ENPI South region Supports the transition of ENP South countries towards low carbon development and climate resilience, in a context of sustainable and democratic development, by enhancing regional cooperation, information sharing and capacity development on climate change mitigation EU Bilateral cooperation projects and adaptation The EU also funds environmental projects on a bilateral http://www.climasouth.eu level. Priorities are set out in national Action Plans,
2 3 4 5
which promote good environmental governance to prevent environmental degradation and pollution, protect human health, and achieve a more rational use of natural resources. Priorities are identified in key areas such as water quality, waste management, air pollution, natural disaster prevention and preparedness, and climate change, with projects ranging from ‘Coastal Development Programme for the Algiers coastal region’ and ‘Wind Farm in Gulf of El Zayt (Egypt)’ to ‘Support programme to forest policy (Morocco)’, through ‘Improved Water and Waste Water Programme (Egypt)’ and ‘Support programme for the water resources sector (Algeria)’.
Social and ecological resilience in the face of climate change in the Mediterranean Region (SEARCH) Develops and pilots a resilience framework for adaptation to climate change, implemented in demonstration sites in such a way as to enable joint learning with stakeholders, through local action planning and testing of interventions designed to increase climate change resilience. http://www.enpi-info.eu/mainmed.php?id=439&id_type=10 http://www.iucn.org/about/work/programmes/water/wp_our_work/wp _search_initiative/
DOCUMENTS
1
USEFUL LINKS
STAY CONNECTED
www.enpi-info.eu
Southern Neighbourhood
Leveraging extra funding for the environment The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Environment and water and energy are among the priority areas of the Union for the Mediterranean and focus on the following priorities: • H2020 initiative to depollute the Mediterranean • UfM Water Agenda based on the Draft Water Strategy for the Mediterranean (SWM) • Protection of Marine Environment • Mediterranean Solar Plan Renewable energy to combat climate change The Mediterranean Solar Plan is a flagship initiative of the UfM to create a shared roadmap for the development of adequate framework conditions allowing the large scale and sustainable deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency in the Mediterranean region. Its objective is to develop an additional renewable energy capacity in the region of 20 GW by 2020, as well as energy efficiency. http://ufmsecretariat.org/ mediterranean-solar-plan/
ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE
Among the projects labelled so far, two have an environmental impact: •
•
Governance and Financing for the Mediterranean Water Sector – aims to provide solutions to the lack of basic elements of a sound governance framework in many countries of the region, including absorption capacity at both national and local levels, for the mobilisation of financing for the water sector. http://ufmsecretariat.org/mediterranean-watergovernance/
1 2 3 4
Integrated Programme for Protection of the Lake Bizerte against Pollution – aims to eliminate the main sources of pollution contaminating the lake in order to guarantee a healthy environment, and sustainable urban and economic activities such as agriculture, industry, tourism, aquaculture or fisheries. http://ufmsecretariat.org/integratedprogramme-for-protection-of-the-lake-bizerte-against-pollution/
5
Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF) The Neighbourhood Investment Facility aims to finance key infrastructure projects, including in the sectors of environment, water and climate change, with a mix of grants and loans, leveraging financial assistance from international lenders. According to the NIF operational annual report 2012, between 2008 and 2012, 41 projects combating climate change across the Neighbourhood benefited from NIF support, representing a total amount of some €5.2 billion invested in the sector. Projects benefiting in 2012 included a wastewater treatment project in Lebanon and support to renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in the Mediterranean Solar Plan. Neighbourhood Investment Facility
UfM projects In line with its policy priorities, the UfM 'labels' a number of projects in the region. Once a project receives the UfM 'label', the UfM secretariat works to facilitate its promotion, especially its financing needs.
European Investment Bank – FEMIP In the ten years since its creation, the European Investment Bank’s Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership (FEMIP) has provided €1.3 billion in financing 22 projects in the environment sector. The main sector is water management and sanitation, which is responsible for 80% of the pollution in the Mediterranean. At the same time FEMIP has paid particular attention to cleaning up those parts of the coastal environment that have suffered from industrial or urban pollution and to promoting efficient uses of energy.
DOCUMENTS
USEFUL LINKS
STAY CONNECTED
www.enpi-info.eu
Southern Neighbourhood
Useful links
ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE
EuropeAid – Environment and natural resources http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/what/environment/index_en.htm DG Environment - International Issues http://ec.europa.eu/environment/international_issues/index_en.htm
1
European Environment Agency (EEA) http://www.eea.europa.eu/
2
EuropeAid - Climate Change and Developping Countries http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/what/development-policies/intervention-areas/environment/climate_en.htm
EU Neighbourhood Handbooks From the EU Neighbourhood Info Centre website, a number of different handbooks can be downloaded, offering tips to media professionals for improved coverage of EU cooperation activities, but also providing information on how to access EU funding or to navigate through EU jargon. A wealth of knowledge at your disposal, just a click away on www.enpi-info.eu.
EuropeAid Interactive Map - Climate Actions for a Better World http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/climate-change-actions/ EU Climate Action – Working with international partners http://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/international/index_en.htm Environment and the Med http://ec.europa.eu/environment/enlarg/med/ UfM – Environment and Water http://ufmsecretariat.org/environment-water/ Horizon 2020 Programme http://ec.europa.eu/environment/enlarg/med/horizon_2020_en.htm EU water initiative http://www.euwi.net/#237
3 4 5
Videos SWIM project video http://www.swimsm.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=160&Itemid=28&lang=en Horizon 2020, cleaning up the Mediterranean http://www.enpi-info.eu/zoom_video_med.php?id=122 Water projects in the Palestinian Territories (August 2007 – time 03’05”) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW59Y3YOyaQ&feature=PlayList&p= D05F4B8E0CB662F9&index=5 NPI The Covenant of Mayors http://www.enpi-info.eu/zoom_video_med.php?id=579
press packs Other Info Centre Press packs are available online: EAST and SOUTH
USEFUL LINKS DOCUMENTS
STAY CONNECTED
www.enpi-info.eu
Southern Neighbourhood
Publications and documents
ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE
Environmental policy convergence guides for ENP partners http://ec.europa.eu/environment/enlarg/short_convergence.htm
1
Supporting a climate for change: The EU and developing countries working together
2
http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/multimedia/publications/documents/thematic/ea_climatechange_br_final.pdf
Guidelines on the Integration of Environment and Climate Change in Development Cooperation
3
http://www.enpi-info.eu/files/publications/172a_guidelines_envintegration_en.pdf
4
EU publications – Directorate-General for the Environment http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/directorate-general-for-the-environment-cbr1sKABstjgMAAAEjvIYY4e5K/
5
Challenges without Borders – ENP leaflet on Energy and Environment http://eeas.europa.eu/enp/publications/enp_energy_environment_en.pdf
Institute for European Environmental Policy – Assistance in the implementation and monitoring of the environmental components of the ENP Action Plans http://ec.europa.eu/environment/enlarg/pdf/methodology_report.pdf
Environment fact sheet: climate change http://ec.europa.eu/environment/pubs/pdf/factsheets/climate_change.pdf
EU Neighbourhood Library Our online database
A progress report on the first three years of Horizon 2020 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/enlarg/med/pdf/sec1118.pdf
Action plans Agreements Country reports
PHOTO GALLERIES
Declarations Resolutions
Images from across the Neighbourhood highlighting EU cooperation projects in the field of Environment. High-resolution pictures available for download here.
Strategy documents
www.enpi-info.eu/library/ DOCUMENTS USEFUL LINKS
STAY CONNECTED
www.enpi-info.eu
Southern Neighbourhood
ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE The EU: a major donor for the Neighbourhood
1
EU support to the region is mainly channeled through the European Commission’s Directorate General for Development and Cooperation – EuropeAid http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid
2
The European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI) funding approved for the period 2014-2020 is € 15.4 billion. The ENI replaces the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI), for which the funding was € 11.2 billion for the period 2007-2013. The new instrument provides faster and more flexible funding, allowing for incentives for best performers, to 16 partner countries to the East and South of the EU’s borders.
3 4
East: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine. South: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria*, Tunisia.
5
* EU Cooperation with Syria is currently suspended due to the political situation
The EU Neighbourhood Info Centre is an EU-funded Regional Communication project highlighting the partnership between the EU and Neighbouring countries. www.enpi-info.eu
Stay connected Stay connected Stay connected A project implemented by
EU Neighbourhood Info Centre An ENPI project The EU Neighbourhood Info Centre is an EU-funded Regional Communication project highlighting the partnership between the EU and Neighbouring countries. This presspack has been produced by the EU Neighbourhood Info Centre.
Photos: AFP/EPA for the EU Neighourhood Info Centre Copyright EU/EU Neighbourhood Info Centre 2013-2014
STAY CONNECTED DOCUMENTS
USEFUL LINKS
www.enpi-info.eu