Workshop A: Regions, resources and environment - Climate change and new energy paradigm

Hundreds of millions of people exposed to increased water stress Climate change: Key impacts as a function of increasing global average temperature change (IPCC, 2007) Hundreds of millions of people exposed to increased water stress Increasing species range shifts and wildfire risk Increased damage from floods and storms Increasing mortality from heat waves

Climate change: Issues identified by the scenarios Structural impacts: drought in southern Europe (impacts on the economy, the environment and the production of hydro-electricity) mountain regions dependent upon winter tourism; potential positive impacts on the northern half of Europe (new opportunities for rural areas and for winter tourism in the Nordic countries) Impacts of natural hazards: river valleys, coastal areas, forest areas in southern Europe, but local risk is probabilistic Less prosperous regions have less resources to allocate to prevention and mitigation measures Global issue: Risk of increasing socio-economic disparities at global scale Important migratory movements

Energy: the global context

Energy: the impact Share of transport and taxes in the price of a shoe: 5% Share of energy in total consumption of manufacturing industries: 3% Labour cost differential between Germany and China: 40:1 Accessibility top priority for companies when chosing a location Share of energy in total household expenditure in Belgium: 8% Share of housing in total household expenditure in Belgium: 21%

Energy: Issues identified by the scenarios Expensive energy vs rare energy Evolution of mobility and accessibility (substitution through telecom services ?); Evolution of settlements (compact cities?) Delocalisation of companies towards lower energy prices Opportunities for regions with renewable energy sources and new energy technologies Likely positive impacts on the urban environment (hydrogen technologies) Competition between food and energy production in rural areas Environmental damages resulting from intensive energy-related agriculture and forestry.