Meeting Water Directors Lisbon, 29 November 2007 Meeting Water Directors Green Paper ‘Adapting to Climate Change in Europe’ State of play and follow-up Unit “Protection of Water & Marine Environment” DG Environment, European Commission

Four lines of priority actions to be considered: Green Paper ‘Adapting to Climate Change in Europe – options for policy action’ Adopted 29 June 2007 Four lines of priority actions to be considered: Early action where current knowledge is sufficient; Includes integration of adaptation in existing and upcoming legislation/policies and in community funding programmes Integrating adaptation into the EU’s external relations; Filling knowledge gaps with EU-level research; Involving society in preparation of adaptation strategies. Water is a cross-sectoral element (agriculture, industry, energy, transport, etc) Notes for the Speaker: More information on the Directive, the implementation process and also the guidance documents are available on the internet.

4 regional workshops in autumn 2007; Follow-up 4 regional workshops in autumn 2007; web-based consultation until end of November; White Paper and Impact Assessment end of 2008. Focus will be cross-sectoral Water will be a priority http://ec.europa.eu/environment/climat/adaptation/index_en.htm Notes for the Speaker: More information on the Directive, the implementation process and also the guidance documents are available on the internet.