He climate change It is a reality that affects all sectors of society, in this context and in the face of this reality, analyzing both its effects and the needs and measures to minimize its negative effects, has led to the Naturgy Foundation and to Spanish Chapter of the Club of Rome to organize a new edition of its Conversations between experts, with the focus on ‘Mechanisms of adaptation to climate change’.
The last session had the participation of Francisco Herasdeputy director general of Adaptation to Climate Change of the Spanish Office of Climate Change of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge and Efren FeliuManager of Adaptation to Climate Change in the City, Territory and Environment Area of TECNALIA. The opening session of the day was led by Maria Eugenia Coronadogeneral director of the Naturgy Foundation and was closed by José Manuel Moránvice president of the Spanish Chapter of the Club of Rome.
During his speech, Francisco Heras highlighted the need for administrations and companies to take into account that the impacts of climate change are generating problems in areas such as biodiversity, water, the economy, health, peace and security. “We must anticipate and prevent these impacts,” he stated, focusing on the National Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change. “One of the great successes of this Plan has been to ensure that adaptation to climate change is transversal in public policies, there are already more than 30 actions that incorporate these criteria. Key sectors such as infrastructure are making progress in diagnoses and in the identification of vulnerable critical points, something complex, but in which progress is constantly being made. The same occurs in housing, where climate change poses new challenges, such as excess heat or energy impact. Today, no one conceives of designing an infrastructure that is not prepared to withstand the conditions. climatic conditions,” said Heras.
Adaptation and mitigation
In relation to mitigation, Heras stressed that “adaptation without mitigation has a very bad prognosis.” We have a certain room to adaptbut it is not infinite, so we need to defend ourselves from the dangers and risks posed by climate change. But we must attack the causes to stop the root of the problem, which is global warming due to greenhouse gas emissions. Adaptation and mitigation are two complementary responses and have many synergies.”
Heras believes that “we must be aware that to face the future, not only what we knew in the past is valid. We have to understand that we face new risks and we must be cautious. The greater the uncertainty, the greater the caution.” and ended his speech by highlighting that “the security of infrastructure in the face of climate change is one of the great current challenges. New designs already incorporate these variables, which is driving the development of more resilient materials, components and specific solutions. In addition, progress is being made in the analysis of infrastructure at the national level and in regulatory evolution, in parallel to a growing level of awareness in both the public and private spheres.”
For his part, Efrén Feliu explained that TECNALIA is developing digital tools to improve decision-making in adaptation, with greater control in the quantification of risk and the application of adaptive measures. However, “The current context requires a greater harmonization both data sources and analysis methodologies and part of our work focuses on advancing this standardization, approaching it from a scalable perspective and applicable to different sectors such as energy or infrastructure,” he stated.
Feliu insisted that climate change impacts in all sectors without exceptionso adaptation must be integrated into any management area, both public and private. From the natural environment or water to the urban environment or the financial sector, everyone is exposed. “In this context, the energy sector plays a key role in establishing priorities, but it is essential not to stop analyzing any sector through the prism of adaptation,” said Feliu.
Furthermore, the manager of Tecnalia highlighted the importance of planning mitigation with energy transition elements, since generation and demand conditions will be different in the future. “The safety of infrastructure in the face of climate change is one of the great current challenges. The new designs already incorporate related variables, promoting resilient materials and solutions,” he added.
For her part, the director of the Naturgy Foundation, María Eugenia Coronado, stressed the importance of adaptation for anticipate coming changes and, also to reduce risks, “especially in infrastructure affected by recent natural disasters such as fires, floods and droughts.” Coronado recalled that the Mediterranean region is especially vulnerable according to the scientific community and highlighted the need for everyone to know the point at which we are regarding adaptation mechanisms.
José Manuel Morán, vice president of the Spanish Chapter of the Club of Rome, in charge of closing the meeting, pointed out the moment of enormous uncertainty that we are experiencing, marked by geopolitical tensions and the questioning of scientific evidence. Which, in his opinion, makes it difficult address climate change with the necessary urgencyalthough its effects are already transforming economies and territories. Morán emphasized the need to “offer global solutions adapted to local specificities and the human capacity to innovate to respond to unprecedented scenarios.”