Commission européenne, B-1049 Bruxelles / Europese Commissie, B-1049 Brussel - Belgium. Telephone: (32-2) 299 11 11. E-mail: Jacques.Delsalle@ec.europa.eu

EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL ENVIRONMENT Directorate D - Water, Chemicals & Biotechnology ENV.D.1 - Water Climate Change Adaptation Team

EU CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS, VULNERABILITY AND ADAPTATION CLEARINGHOUSE CONCEPT NOTE AND MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR PHASE 1

The objective of this note is to develop the concept of an EU Clearinghouse on Climate Change Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation, proposed by the White paper on Adapting to Climate Change.

It is based on the White Paper and its Impact Assessment, on EEA/WHO/JRC 2008 report, on the contribution received from MS to EPRG discussion document (January-February 2009), on the position paper from the network of EPA (June 2009) and on a scoping study1undertaken for DG ENV in 2009.

It has benefited from comments of Commission services, the EEA, several EU Member States (AT, DE, DK, FI, FR, ES, IE, IT, NL, RO, SE and UK) as well as from CH, NO and WHO.

Previous drafts have been discussed at the EIONET meeting on 30 June – 1 July 2009, at a Commission Inter-service group on 16/9/2009, at a workshop on 19th October 2009 with national adaptation knowledge platforms and EEA, and at the preparatory meeting for the Impacts and Adaptation Steering Group on 20/11/2009.

The note is made available on CIRCA2, as a background document for the technical annex for the open call to tender for the implementation of the European Climate Change Impacts Vulnerability and Adaptation Clearinghouse - Phase 13

1 A study conducted by AEA was launched at the end of 2008 to develop the concept, functionalities

and scope of the Clearing House Mechanism. The final report submitted in August 2009 has not been fully approved by the Commission and will not be published. It is available on request.

2 http://circa.europa.eu/Public/irc/env/cc_impacts/library?l=/public_1

3 Open call for tender ENV.D.1/SER/2010/0005, published in OJ 2010/S 38-054563, available at http://ec.europa.eu/environment/funding/calls_en.htm

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Table of contents

1. Objectives of the Clearinghouse 3

2. The added value of the European Clearinghouse 3

2.1. Link with international and national initiatives 4 2.2. Link with thematic & sectoral platforms 6 2.3. The added value of the EU Clearinghouse 7

3. Potential users and partnership processes 8

3.1. User target groups 8 3.2. Key groups for the steering and development of the Clearinghouse 9 3.3. Integration of research results 10

4. Roadmap 11

4.1. Phase 0 (February-August 2010) 11 4.2. Phase 1 (2010-2011) 12 4.3. Phase 2 (2012 and beyond) 15

5. Contents 16

5.1. Observations & Scenarios 16 5.2. Vulnerability assessment 17 5.3. Adaptation measures 18 5.4. Adaptation Plans and Strategies 19

6. Key Requirements 20

6.1. Interoperability 21 6.2. Multilinguism 22 6.3. Quality control / quality assurance 22

7. Next Steps 23

8. Annex: Workshop with national knowledge platforms 24

8.1. Denmark 24 8.2. France 24 8.3. Finland 25 8.4. Germany 25 8.5. Sweden 26 8.6. United Kingdom 27 8.7. Norway 28 8.8. Discussion 28

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1. OBJECTIVES OF THE CLEARINGHOUSE

The White Paper and accompanying Impact Assessment4, following the Green Paper and the latest EEA/JRC/WHO5 report, underlined that information on climate change impacts and vulnerability and on the costs and benefits of adaptation measures in Europe remains scarce and fragmented and that more spatially detailed information is needed to develop adequate adaptation strategies. During the elaboration of the White Paper on adaptation, it was recognised that the lack of information, knowledge and expertise at all institutional levels and the lack of guidance to public authorities is, in part, a consequence of the uncertainties as regards climate change impacts, vulnerability and potential adaptation options, and hinders policy-making. The White Paper notes that a considerable amount of information and research already exists, but is not shared across Member States and that an effective way therefore to improve knowledge management would be to establish a web based platform and database, as an appropriate and cost-efficient tool to help overcoming this lack of information structuring and sharing. The White Paper calls therefore for a European Climate Change Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation Clearinghouse to be established by 2011.

The Clearinghouse will be both an integrated and interoperable information system providing access to geospatial information and knowledge service, from multiple sources, for the development of adaptation policies, and a partnership between users and data providers for its development.

The specific objectives of the Clearinghouse are:

• Enhance information structuring and sharing and act as a facilitator for collecting and disseminating scientific information, data and case studies about climate change impacts and vulnerability, to build a consistent and updated knowledge base.

• Assist an effective uptake of this knowledge by international, EU, national, regional, local or sectoral decision makers, by offering guidance, tools, best practices for assessments of vulnerability to climate change at different geographical levels and of adaptation plans and measures.

• Contribute to a greater level of coordination among the relevant sectoral policies, and among different institutional levels.

2. THE ADDED VALUE OF THE EUROPEAN CLEARINGHOUSE

There are several EU, international or national and regional-level initiatives that are developed/developing that could fit into and/or benefit from the Clearinghouse. A key principle for the development of the latter will be to avoiding competition and duplication of efforts (e.g. data gathering, data cataloguing…) and enhancing complementarities between the various systems. The text explains also the benefits from

4 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/climat/adaptation/index_en.htm

5 Impacts of Europe's changing climate – 2008 indicator-based assessment

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developing the EU Clearinghouse compared to a baseline situation with only national and sectoral platforms.

2.1. Link with international and national initiatives

The UNFCCC Nairobi Work Programme6 (NWP) on impacts, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change already delivers a large amount of information, tools and links to other global organisations (including many UN agencies but also NGO, etc). The Clearinghouse could participate, together with other participating organisations, to cover for the EU the topics addressed in this global Work Programme or in any future new tool for co-operation in adaptation, hence facilitating correspondence and analytical work across regions of the world.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and its partner organizations for the World Climate Conference-37 propose the development of a new Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) with the goal to "Enable better management of the risks of climate variability and change and adaptation to climate change at all levels, through development and incorporation of science-based climate information and prediction into planning, policy and practice.” GFCS will have four major components: Observation and Monitoring; Research, and Modelling and Prediction; a Climate Services Information System; and a User Interface Programme. The latter two components together constitute a ‘World Climate Service System’. The User Interface Programme should develop ways to bridge the gap between the climate information being developed by climate scientists and service providers and the practical information needs of users.

The European Commission will discuss early 2010, with UNFCCC secretariat and other organisations involved in the development of GFCS the potential contribution of the EU Clearinghouse to these global actions, and the ways to ensure the compatibility of data formats, database structure, and scenario development. At European level there should also be a discussion on how climate services, being developed by national met offices (with some coordination, e.g. through EUMETNET), can contribute to the EU Clearinghouse.

Some EU Member States or EEA Member countries are already advanced in developing tools which address to some extent the objectives of the EU Clearinghouse at national level. The most relevant examples are:

• Denmark: national web portal for climate change adaptation8

• France, Observatoire national sur les effets du réchauffement climatique (ONERC9)

• Germany, KomPass10,

6 http://unfccc.int/adaptation/sbsta_agenda_item_adaptation/items/3633.php

7 http://www.wmo.int/wcc3/documents/brief_note_en.pdf

8 http://www.klimatilpasning.dk/da-dk/sider/forside.aspx

9 www.onerc.gouv.fr

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• Netherlands, Klimaatportaal PCCC Platform Communication on Climate Change11

• Sweden, Klimatanpassningsportalen12

• UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP13)

• Norway web-based information platform, “Norwegian Climate Adaptation Programme14”

• Finland: EU Life+ project Climate Change Community Response Portal (CCCRP)15 (at planning and user needs survey phase)

The main objective of these platforms is to provide information and guidance for national, regional and local planners, providing in some cases a high level of details in CC impacts.

Some of these national platforms already provide (or will provide over the coming years) IT-based analytical tools or databases for impact, vulnerability and adaptation assessment (e.g. adaptation measures inventories, interactive maps on impacts, etc.) which should be taken into account at an early stage of the development of the EU Clearinghouse.

Other countries16 do not have an integrated adaptation knowledge platform as such at this moment, but have, in the context of national adaptation strategies, several websites and data platforms which need to be considered for the development of the EU Clearinghouse.

A workshop was organised on 19/10/2009 with 7 of the above mentioned countries to further analyse the structure of their platforms and their projects, and clarify the objectives and specific added value or benefit of the EU Clearinghouse, and the compatibility between the different initiatives. (See Annex)

This workshop helped clarifying that the EU Clearinghouse will complement but not supersede national and international initiatives. It will focus on EU level data, vulnerability information and good practices in adaptation action for those issues and 10 http://www.anpassung.net

11 http://www.klimaatportaal.nl/pro1/general/home.asp

12 http://www.smhi.se/cmp/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=9315&l=sv

13 http://www.ukcip.org.uk

14 www.klimatilpasning.no

15 www.fmi.fi/research_climate/climate_9.html

16 e.g. Spain (depository of climate scenarios at http://www.aemet.es/en/elclima/cambio_climat/escenarios; impacts on biodiversity at http://secad.unex.es/mediawiki/index.php/Portada and impacts on protected natural areas at http://reddeparquesnacionales.mma.es/en/parques/rcg/index.htm), Ireland forthcoming EPA national database on results of observations and modelling in the area and potential sectoral impacts; Italy ISPRA Environmental Data YearBook new section on climate change impact, vulnerability and adaptation, etc.

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sectors for which there is EU legislation (EU level information and data). It will make emphasis on EU funded research activities on impacts, vulnerability and adaptation at EU level, provide link to adaptation strategies in EU member states and neighbouring countries.

The EU Clearinghouse will enhance complementarities among various systems by providing linkages (e.g. with regard to vulnerability assessments by MS or adaptation-related projects) and by giving guidance for comparability of information (e.g. through metadata). A particular attention will also be given to avoid proposing methods that would not be validated at national level and would either slow down national initiatives or not be adapted to the variety of national and local situations.

The development of the EU Clearinghouse could benefit from contents from the national platforms such as articles, interactive modules, glossaries, and spatial data on impacts, observations and scenarios, as well as assistance for innovative participation tools (“Webinar”).

For countries that do not have the resources to develop a national platform, the Clearinghouse will contribute to capacity building and lower the level of disparities between Member States. It will act as a driver and a facilitating factor for developing adaptation policies by providing a contribution to the dissemination of EU policies, scientific research and by favouring the comparisons between countries.

2.2. Link with thematic & sectoral platforms

A huge amount of information that would be useful for different stakeholders for analysing the vulnerability to climate change and assessing adaptation policies at EU level is already available in multiple EU-wide information systems, in particular:

• 6 of the European Data Centres for the environment established in the context of the Shared Environmental Information System (SEIS17'), namely18 Climate Change, Land use, Biodiversity, Water, Soil & Forest.

• Registered components of GEOSS19 (Global Earth Observation System of Systems) and of Europe’s Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES20) initiative.

• Tools or information portals developed or being developed by European Commission services.

• Projects funded by EU Research Framework programmes or European Territorial Cooperation.

17 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/seis/

18 less concerned are Data Centres on air, waste, chemicals and natural resources

19 http://earthobservations.org/

20 http://www.gmes.info/

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A close co-ordination will also be established with WHO initiatives. In line with the 2008 WHA Resolution (WHA 61.19), Member States should be encouraged to integrate health measures into their national climate change adaptation plans/strategies, and the WHO Regional Office for Europe could provide content on health aspects related to climate change.

The integration of (natural) scientific and socio-economic sources of information will be key to the assessment of vulnerability and the development of adaptation policies. For the implementation of the latter, the EU Clearinghouse will also need to extract information from numerous administrative, legal and policy oriented sources of information relevant to adaptation (e.g. EurLex, Inforegio, etc.) describing regulations, sources of finance and policy goals.

Overall, there are numerous initiatives at EU or global level21 that will need to be taken into account for the development of the Clearinghouse. The Clearinghouse will gradually provide access to the information available in these systems. While some of those databases contain data on impacts, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in a structured and easily accessible way, for others, the identification and access to relevant information could be a resource-consuming process and its cost-effectiveness needs to be carefully assessed. Section 4.2 provides a list of the systems which will already be integrated to the EU Clearinghouse in Phase 1.

2.3. The added value of the EU Clearinghouse

The EU Clearinghouse should help assessing impacts, vulnerability and defining adaptation policies and measures by focusing on functionalities for evidence based action possibilities and alternatives. To be an added-value tool with respect to national adaptation knowledge platforms, it should mainly focus on exchanging harmonized & quality checked data at the most appropriate resolution, in a structured way, providing a tool for EU policy domains, for ensuring consistency between actions at national level, and for supporting cooperation in interregional areas (e.g. mountainous or coastal areas), or with neighbouring countries.

The Working Group on Knowledge Base (see section 3.2.) will contribute to the identification of the information or themes that are of common interest, and to a better understanding of local (e.g. geographical or political) specificities of vulnerability and adaptation.

Ultra peripheral regions (UPR)22, among the most vulnerable areas, need a specific dedication. Besides their vulnerability and adaptation particularities (small, isolated sites, many islands), they could act as antennas or reference centres to their neighbouring countries, making strong contributions to the EU cooperation on CC adaptation. Although data availability may be a concern in some UPR, it is essential to including them in the adaptation assessment framework since the beginning.

21 There is a growing number of initiatives, in particular at global level, providing information on

vulnerability and adaptation measures , which will need to be taken into account for the development of the Clearinghouse, e.g.: RFF project Global Adaptation Atlas: http://www.adaptationatlas.org; PIK/GTZ project ci:grasp: http://www.ci-grasp.org/, WeAdapt http://www.weadapt.org/, US Climate Portal http://www.noaa.gov/climate.html, etc.

22 http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/themes/rup_en.htm

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Countries bordering the EU should also be considered, particularly when there are trans-boundary impacts of adaptation actions are expected (e.g. water management, health, ecosystems). In this context, co-operation with i.e. EEA, UNECE, WHO, WMO, research projects etc, which have different geographical scopes, is specially relevant for the building of interoperable assets. Finally, information from outside Europe (e.g. OECD member countries) could be of relevance and could also be made available through the EU Clearinghouse.

Policies and measures to adapt to climate change impacts are not a distinct category separate from sectoral policies. They cut across a broad range of sectors and there is no specific reporting system or obligations on climate adaptation in place. However, because adaptation takes place through integration and mainstreaming into all relevant sectoral decision and policy making many of these are subject to reporting under sectoral headings and not identified as adaptation. Thus information structuring and sharing in this area is characterised by a large variety and heterogeneity of information cutting across virtually all sectoral policies. This makes the 'SEIS principle (information collected once and shared for many purposes) highly relevant in this context. The EU Clearinghouse would therefore be a portal of reliable and fundamental information and tools, with defined minimum quality standards and seeking for common approaches at EU level. The information itself will be mainly generated by research institutes within research projects and/or programs, and by public agencies.

The EU Clearinghouse should provide a harmonised and up-to-date knowledge on datasets and best practices from various countries and sectors. This would be done through the building of common definitions and taxonomies, and the provision of interoperable metadata for reports and datasets in national websites, including key results. This would allow lowering language barriers and misunderstandings among different stakeholders and so provide a multi-lingual and multi-sectoral platform for policy making. This would be done in close collaboration with similar activities carried under the framework of ISO, INSPIRE and GEOSS.

The value added of the EU Clearinghouse would be reinforced if other targets were pursued, such as: Identification of the existing gaps on available information, and recommendations about possible lines to take and content to be covered by Member States, as well as comparative analysis of the existing studies and information in order to categorize overlaps. It would encourage the systematic collection of reliable and up-to date information and data, which would be beneficial for policy makers, scientists, stakeholders and the citizens.

3. POTENTIAL USERS AND PARTNERSHIP PROCESSES

3.1. User target groups

The content of the EU Clearinghouse will be defined by user needs, taking into account the supply side (data availability). The discussion on earlier drafts of this concept note has allowed a clear initial definition of user target groups, which will be involved in the design of the tool. The EU Clearinghouse would initially provide an entry point and forum for:

• Governmental decision-makers at regional, national, trans-boundary and EU levels looking for information to develop and implement strategies in interaction with the EU policy agenda.

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• EU-wide, trans-boundary and national agencies, boundary organisations and research projects, both producers of relevant contents and end-users. Involvement of private organisations will help providing information (beyond research) enabling a better understanding of the critical success factors adaptation in practice

The target groups of users and providers for the first phase represent a limited number of institutions; this would facilitate their involvement in the development of the tool, and the further integration of the feedback received. It will be represented in the Working Group on Knowledge base (see 3.2. below), to ensure optimum design of the EU Clearinghouse for users from the beginning.

Information to local authorities, local governments and citizens would be mainly left up to the national or regional knowledge platforms. Local planners and actors need and demand very detailed information and tailored tools, requiring substantial funding and other resources, which can be better developed at country or regional level. However, as a by-product of the information and tools developed to target the EU dimension of the clearinghouse, a substantial knowledge basis can be made available to the general public, and translated when needed (see section 6). This need may be more evident for the countries that will not have the resources to develop a national platform.

The implementation of the first phase of the EU Clearinghouse (see 4.2) will provide the opportunity to get a clearer picture of the potential users and data providers, by identifying the knowledge gaps for adaptation practitioners, and by demonstrating the net benefits of making information accessible through inclusion of metadata and key results in registers (see section 6).

3.2. Key groups for the steering and development of the Clearinghouse

A main coordination body (Management Group) will be established at the EU level. It will consist of representatives of the European Commission and of the European Environment Agency, who would guide the development of the Clearinghouse. It will ensure a proper linkage with EC processes such as INSPIRE, SEIS and GMES, as well as with EC sectoral platforms and EU-funded research projects. It will also ensure coherent development with GEOSS and WHO initiatives.

The European Commission (Joint Research Centre) and the EEA will contribute to the definition of the Clearinghouse architecture (in particular ensuring compliance with INSPIRE, integration with GMES and GEOSS catalogues) and to its contents (Building of a data depository for scenarios, evaluations of impacts and vulnerabilities, assessment of adaptation measures) through various actions detailed in its Work Programme for 2010.

The Clearinghouse should be conceived as a long-term product that will have a long-run development, and, as mentioned above, strong consistency needs to be achieved with national and sectoral initiatives. The Impact and Adaptation Steering Group (to be established early 2010) will contribute to this development, in particular by advising on priorities, taking into account the further definition of EU adaptation framework to be discussed in this forum.

Over the period 2009-2012, a specific Working group on Knowledge Base (WG-KB) on Climate Change Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation will be set-up, composed by experts from member states, of relevant research projects and from EU-wide or trans-

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boundary stakeholders. The WG-KB will complement the work of existing networks and, through ad-hoc expert meetings, will give advice on the structure and metadata, on the technological integration (in particular with global, national and sectoral platforms), and on the user interface.

There are other networks or actors which could also contribute to the Clearinghouse and benefit from the large-scale diffusion of the information, such as EIONET, EPA Interest Group on Adaptation, Fresearch projects (see below), European Territorial Cooperation projects, research networks (e.g. PEER), private actors (e.g. insurance sector, business unions), NGOs, etc.

Learning from national and regional experiences, due efforts should be directed towards making all responsible partners accountable for delivering into the Clearinghouse. Securing reliable and targeted inputs over time to the Clearinghouse will require written agreements and some level of funding, which will be discussed in the context of the shaping of phase 2 (see 4.3.)

Additional activities could be organised around the Clearinghouse, such as conferences on EU and MS/Regions adaptation activities, synthesis studies about vulnerability/resilience methodological approaches in different EU or MS projects, empirical studies on climate governance or surveys on perception of climate change and adaptation options / measures, etc. This should take into account similar activities organised at national or sectoral levels, and be focused on the actual scope of the EU Clearinghouse.

3.3. Integration of research results

Effort needs to be undertaken to ensuring results from key research projects are fed into the Clearinghouse in the most cost-efficient way. This includes as a first step an update of the inventory of all relevant research, and a bi-directional communication effort between the Clearinghouse and the different projects.

For research projects funded under the EU framework programmes23, the following is envisaged:

• For FP6 projects, the process of elaboration of metadata and integration of key results of all relevant projects will be part of the implementation of Phase 1 and will be complemented by specific actions of the European Commission and EEA. The question of property rights needs to be addressed.

• For FP7 projects already started, under negotiation or for call published, it can be envisaged to complement the process described above, with a close co-operation with relevant projects, on a voluntary basis, for achieving integration to the EU Clearinghouse without additional resources constraints. These relevant projects will be invited to the Working Group on Knowledge Base, and a preliminary discussion to define the process will take place at the 1st meeting on 3/3/2010.

23 http://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/index_en.cfm?pg=climate;

http://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/pdf/climate_change_at_cop-15_en.pdf

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• For future calls under FP7 and FP8, formal mechanisms ensuring the integration of results relevant to Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptation to the EU Clearinghouse should be designed, taking into account existing regulations24.

A follow up of the co-ordination of national research programmes undertaken with the ERA-NET CIRCLE project25 could interact with the EU Clearinghouse. The national partners would upload the results of research projects and metadata. On this particular topic co-ordination is needed with national knowledge platform initiatives, often managed national research programme owners and/or managers. An assessment of vulnerability for Europe, in the context of IPCC AR5, would also provide up-to-date scientific information for the set of vulnerability indicators and the knowledge basis available from the Clearinghouse. Finally, partners of a follow up of the ERA-NET CIRCLE project could be part of the agreement on common definitions and taxonomies. Co-ordination with these partners would allow a high level of consistency between national and EU initiatives, and provide a good level of control on the quality of the data/information being integrated into the Clearinghouse.

4. ROADMAP

The development of the EU Clearinghouse will adopt a phased approach, as there are still large uncertainties and a strong need for co-ordination to define the final product. However, comments received on the White Paper and on preliminary versions of this Concept Note highlight the need to have the EU Clearinghouse operational as soon as possible, so that more Member States and regional, local and sectoral authorities are able to benefit from the sharing of data and information. If the process takes too long, the exchange of best practices will come to late too be adopted into plans and strategies.

4.1. Phase 0 (February-August 2010)

This phase begins with the publication of this concept note, together with the publication of the open call for tender for the implementation of Phase 1.

In their tenders, the potential contractors will have to explain the solution they can provide for the translation of the various sources into a useful format and structure, the gateways, etc. based on the priority list of sources provided by the technical annex.

During the tendering and evaluation period (approximately 6 months), the European Commission, together with the EEA and the Working Group on Knowledge base, will further work on the underlying concepts for the metadata: definitions and taxonomies, chains of impacts, analysis of vulnerability, characteristics of adaptation measures and their impacts, design of adaptation policies, link with EU policies, etc.

24 Special clauses 28 (space related projects) & 29 (environmental projects)clauses in FP7 (see:

ftp://ftp.cordis.europa.eu/pub/fp7/docs/ipr_en.pdf) already allow inserting, in the EC Grant, agreements giving the Community certain access rights to foreground (and in the case of space related projects also to information specifically acquired for the project), primarily for developing, implementing and monitoring Community policies in these areas.

25 http://www.circle-era.net

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The first results of this work (in form of conceptual maps) will be available when the contract for the implementation will begin, and will be further used by the contractor as a starting point for the elaboration of ontology and metadata.

4.2. Phase 1 (2010-2011)

In Phase 1, the Clearinghouse will be a knowledge tool oriented to deal with the sectors that are comprised under the common European policies, with trans-boundary impacts and transnational resources (e.g. water, biodiversity, health, etc) and with other issues of common interest for certain countries (i.e. coastal or mountain impacts & vulnerability). It will be a platform to collect and interlinking European, national and regional institutions, strategies, policies, initiatives, research etc.

The Clearinghouse will provide as priority outputs:

1) exchange of information and data in a structured overview on vulnerability and adaptation measures, including, access to tools for vulnerability assessment and adaptation planning under uncertainty, integrating in priority EU wide tools/models

2) access to adaptation plans and research results as well as comprehensive information on stakeholder involvement and adaptation processes and guidelines covering the whole process of adaptation policy

The data sources that the contractor would have to integrate into the Clearinghouse (by creating registers, exchange protocols and metadata) are described in the technical annex. The system will be build in an open way having in mind interoperability and compliance to international standards (see section 6.1.) and a priority task for the Working Group on Knowledge base will be to advise on the ontology and metadata structure, enabling an easy integration of additional sources, not only at EU level but also at national and regional levels, on a voluntary basis.

The financing of the implementation of Phase 1 (both contents and structure) is covered by current management plans of the European Commission and the EEA.

In its Phase 1, the Clearinghouse will provide access at least26, through metadata and protocols for data extraction, to relevant data and information stored in the following sources:

26 Without prejudice of the additional sources the selected contractor for phase 1, or members of the

Working Group on Knowledge Base, could propose to link to the EU Clearinghouse, by providing metadata and protocols for data extraction already during phase 1.

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Source Contribution to Clearinghouse

Climate Change Indicators (EEA/JRC/WHO 2008 report)27

The various sources for the EEA/JRC/WHO 2008 report (containing about 40 indicators)– most of them are quoted individually in the present table – will be reviewed and fully integrated to impacts, vulnerability and adaptation indicators of the clearinghouse

EEA (Land use and Spatial Information)28

Land and Ecosystem Accounting (LEAC) geo-statistical analyses based on CORINE Land Cover and GISCO layers

WISE, Water Information System for Europe29

Monitoring data on current state of water quantity & quality: the information reported by Member States is uploaded onto the EEA’s Reportnet Central Data Repository30 (CDR). and, after being processed, displayed in the WISE map viewer31. identification and assessment of adaptation plans & measures in the River Basins Management Plans (RBMP). (electronic reporting formats (XML schemas) to be agreed with Member States)

European Community Biodiversity Clearing House Mechanism32

The EC Biodiversity Clearing House Mechanism (EC-CHM) managed by EEA was established to fulfil the obligation of the EU as a signatory party to the Convention on Biological Diversity. The objective is to promote technical cooperation within the EU and the Pan European Region.

Biodiversity indicators (SEBI)33

The 'Streamlining European 2010 Biodiversity Indicators' (SEBI 2010) aim to help monitor progress towards the 2010 biodiversity target. SEBI 2010 also ensures that the data flows for the production of indicators are in place. EEA has produced assessments and fact sheets for 26 indicators

EUNIS34 EUNIS (managed by EEA) consists of information on Species, Habitat types and Sites, compiled in the framework of the NATURA2000 (EU Habitats and Birds Directives), but also from a number of other (international) data sources.

European Soil Portal35 Data and information regarding soils at European level, connecting to activities within JRC SOIL Action. Web Mapping Services have been developed in the context of INSPIRE, compliant with INSPIRE principles and Open GIS Consortium standards. This means that the SOMIS (Soil database attribute), PESERA (Soil Erosion) and OCTOP (Organic Carbon), MEUSIS(Multiscape European soil Information System) layers can be viewed through any Web Mapping Service Client (WMS Standalone or Web viewer, ESRI ArcGIS). Metadata are also available.

27 http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/eea_report_2008_4

http://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/climate/indicators

28 http://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/landuse/eea-activities

29 http://water.europa.eu

30 http://cdr.eionet.europa.eu/

31 http://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/water/mapviewers/water-live-maps

32 http://biodiversity-chm.eea.europa.eu/

33 http://www.eea.europa.eu/highlights/publications/progress-towards-the-european-2010-biodiversity-target/

34 http://eunis.eea.europa.eu/

35 http://eusoils.jrc.ec.europa.eu/

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Source Contribution to Clearinghouse

European Forest Data Centre 36

Extensive monitoring system Assessment of forest biomass, tree species and their distribution under future Climate Change scenarios Land use and fire risk under varying climate

European Floods Portal37 European Floods Portal brings together information on river floods and flood risk in Europe, resulting from ongoing research within the “Floods” Action at the JRC, as well as from public available information from EU countries.

Integrated Land Use Modelling Platform (JRC-IES)38

Further development of land-use models Linkages with hydrological and phenological models Analysis of feed-back mechanisms climate-land use Production of continental and regional scenarios of land use evolution under varying adaptation options

European Database of Vulnerabilities (EVDAB)39

EU Database of Vulnerability for urban areas (IES) Exposure and vulnerability indicators for 305 Urban areas in the UE – Preliminary delivery: Sept. 09 – First delivery: Dec. 2009

Regional Climate Data Repository (JRC-IES)40

Fine resolution (17 Km) transient simulation (1960-2050) of the present and future climate for Europe under two IPCC scenarios. Simulations performed in collaboration with the CLM community (COSMO-CLM Regional Climate Model). Access to the results of ENSEMBLES: extensive multi-model ensemble of transient simulations for Europe on a scale of 25 km resolution for the time period 1950-2050 and, in some cases, 1950-2100. Data processing for down-scaling and specific grid-based representation – for direct interface with impact assessment applications (see sections below) Data and parameters available on a web (script based- user friendly) platform

AGRI4CAST41 Agro-meteorological and crop growth modelling systems in place or about to be developed. Developing of data infrastructure and simulation tools to include the capability to simulate impacts and adaptation responses on crop production in Europe, Asia and Latin America.

European Drought Observatory42 (EDO)

The JRC is developing the prototype of EDO for drought forecasting, detection, and monitoring in Europe. EDO is conceived as a web-based information system, integrating information from various sources and disciplines relevant to monitor and detect droughts throughout Europe.

GEOSS43 and GMES44

registered contents GEOSS provides common infrastructure, cross-cutting datasets and outputs to all societal benefits areas GMES can contribute by providing observed trends in a number of Essential Climate Variables (ECV), monitored by in situ and satellites measurements, and by the reanalysis of ECV. GMES will also have a 'support function' related to information provision in the context of CC Adaptation services through the provision of relevant data to bridge earth

36 http://efdac.jrc.ec.europa.eu/)

37 http://floods.jrc.ec.europa.eu/

38 http://moland.jrc.ec.europa.eu/lump/lump.htm

39 http://moland.jrc.ec.europa.eu/evdab/HTML/home.html

40 http://ccu.jrc.ec.europa.eu/clm_sci.php

41 http://mars.jrc.it/mars/About-us/AGRI4CAST

42 http://edo.jrc.ec.europa.eu/

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Source Contribution to Clearinghouse and marine observation data to policy information.

Exchange platform on Integrated Coastal Zone Management OURCOAST45

Database of case studies of adaptation measures

European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODNET)46

Integrated and inter-operable network of European marine observations, data communications, management and delivery systems, supported by a comprehensive user-oriented toolkit to enable implementation of the Integrated Maritime Policy for Europe.(forthcoming)

Actions in the field of developing knowledge-based disaster risk prevention policies47 EuroHEAT and CEHAPIS projects coordinated by WHO/Europe and co-funded by the European Commission48, as well as ECDC Projects49 Relevant FP6, FP7, INTERREG and ESPON projects.50

4.3. Phase 2 (2012 and beyond)

On the basis of the final product of Phase 1, the Working Group will produce a report on the achievements and shortcomings of the system. This report will be discussed in IASG and will be the basis of the proposal of the European Commission for the follow-up to be given. The proposal will be consistent and published together with the EU Adaptation Framework to be proposed in 2012

These recommendations will:

• Include evidence from stakeholders about their needs, and how well the system developed in Phase 1 is meeting their needs.

• Set out how the Clearinghouse interacts with, and complements, international and national initiatives such as those described in Chapter 2.

43 http://www.earthobservations.org/

44 http://www.gmes.info/

45 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/iczm/ourcoast.htm

46 http://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/emodnet_en.html

47 http://ec.europa.eu/echo/civil_protection/civil/prevention_overview.htm

48 http://euro.who.int/globalchange/assessment/20020710_2

49 http://www.ecdc.europa.eu/EN/HEALTHTOPICS/Pages/Climate_Change_Actions.aspx : European Environment and Epidemiology Network (E3) Handbook for National Vulnerability, Impact, and Adaptation Assessments Assessment of magnitude and importance of vector-borne diseases in Europe (V-Borne Network) Risk assessment and knowledge-base for the impact of climate change on food and waterborne diseases Infectious disease indicators for climate change: salmonella, cryptosporidium, and lyme disease 50 See http://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/index_en.cfm?pg=projects and http://www.interact-

eu.net/

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• Set out options for taking forward Phase 2, offering different possibilities for the level of resource and investment needed for ongoing development and maintenance.

The report should explore the possibilities to use the EU Clearinghouse as a data collection platform and framework instrument for structuring and harmonization of data, offering analytical tools for analysis of these harmonized data. It should also assess whether the collected information and data can be used for reporting obligations and for the EU-wide granting of funds.

5. CONTENTS

5.1. Observations & Scenarios

The Impact Assessment identified the need for developing consistent, comprehensive and regularly updated climate change and socio-economic scenarios (projection data) for analysis across Europe. This should include climate change observations and a range of projections/scenarios for Essential Climate Variables (ECV) such as temperature, precipitation, snow coverage, etc. for the next decades up to 2100, focusing on Europe.

However, a proper identification and design of adaptation options does not always require the availability of a fully accurate climate prediction. Policy makers and stakeholders already have to take robust decisions, e.g. identifying no-regret measures. For this purpose, they need a foundation of knowledge upon which to base action, a capacity to learn from experience and close attention to what is going on in the present (increased climate risk).

In phase 1, the Clearinghouse will focus on facilitating the access to the information on global and regional climate scenarios developed at EU and Global level and on providing guidance for policymakers and/or existing methodologies and tools on decision making when facing large uncertainties (e.g. in terms of statistical probability). This implies building metadata on available climate scenarios at European level, in particular the results of FP6 ENSEMBLES and follow-up projects (indicating information sources, models and methods for their construction, strengths and weaknesses, risks, etc.) and providing a link between data providers and users. This will enable progressing in the comparability at the EU level and mutual usefulness (e.g. for trans-boundary resources).

The Clearinghouse will include analytical tools putting in perspective observations and scenarios not only from on climate variables, but also related to ecological and socio-economic systems, in order to provide a better understanding of vulnerability to climate change and potential impact of adaptation measures (see next sections).

In phase 2, the Clearinghouse could provide an increasing interaction between the climate modelling community and the user community that is analysing impacts, vulnerability and adaptation in order to develop high-resolution, tailor-made climate change scenarios for the regional and local level, and to adopt a consistent set of climate and socio-economic scenarios. This requires ensuring interdisciplinary cooperation to link the different research approaches to sustainable development.

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The climate modelling community is moving towards the provision of climate services51, integrating research model and data into end-use knowledge systems. The development of an EU network of Climate Services in the context of GFCS will take place over the coming years52, and needs to be co-ordinated with the development of vulnerability and adaptation services. The latter would often follow a bottom-up approach, consistent and contributing to UNFCCC NWP, starting from a location or a sector and evaluating current and future vulnerability to CC, in an interactive (stakeholder driven) approach, although this also requires the use of climate projections provided from a top-down perspective from meteorological/climate communities.

5.2. Vulnerability assessment

Developing adaptation strategies requires as a first step to build a structured information dataset to better understand the territorial and sectoral distribution of current and especially projected vulnerability to climate change impacts and the cost of inaction. Vulnerability is being defined as a function of potential impacts (exposure and sensitivity) and the adaptive capacity of a system or a territory. At EU level, this requires a complex approach addressing regional and sectoral disparities as well as a network perspective (e.g. transport or energy) and providing the linkage with socio-economic variables (in particular land use changes) and the climate mitigation strategy. Vulnerability assessment will require a balance between scientific data and more policy oriented data, which needs to be discussed in the Working Group on Knowledge Base.

In Phase 1, the EU Clearinghouse should allow sharing of information, data, tools and methods (including the results of their implementation) for vulnerability analyses, by providing access to available vulnerability assessments, guidance on use of such information and lessons learned for other vulnerability issues.

The Clearinghouse should provide access to datasets and key results of research projects related to each element of a conceptual map (including as a minimum all sectors/systems mentioned above) describing the chain of potential impacts and the components of adaptive capacity. Against that background, an analytical tool should be provided to, on the one hand, making accessible existing and also helping building vulnerability indicators from a common set of potential impacts and adaptive capacity set of data and indicators (cognitive mapping) and on the other hand provide a geospatial interface which would help to put into perspective data from various sources with standardised searches through catalogues.

The scope of the information to be provided in Phase 2 will be further defined having in mind the policy instruments that the vulnerability assessments would have to support. This will be based on a review, to be undertaken by WG-KB and discussed by IASG, of the potential for vulnerability indicators in the context of EU adaptation policy. A preliminary assessment by the European Commission in 2009 has identified the following options: 1) raising awareness of vulnerability to climate change across the EU (e.g. for the need for local and regional action); 2) assessing (ex-ante or ex-post) the

51 See recent workshop "Climate change information services for decision making and adaptation"

organised by KNMI: http://www.knmi.nl/climatescenarios/workshop09/

52 GMES combined with EU research projects ensuring the follow-up of FP6 ENSEMBLES could constitute a potential European Regional Framework for Climate Services

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effectiveness of adaptation actions in reducing vulnerability of ecosystems, society or economy to CC impacts; 3) helping to determine allocation of public funds for adaptation (in addition to other indicators like GDP) and 4) monitoring the progress of implementation of adaptation (at different governance levels)

5.3. Adaptation measures

EU, National or regional/local and third countries adaptation strategies would benefit from a comprehensive knowledge base including existing or potential adaptation measures (from examples or research at EU level, in member states or third countries), an assessment of their environmental, social and economic impacts, allowing identifying no regret measures or mal-adaptation. Projects funded under the 6th and 7th European Research Framework Programme 53 or under the European Regional Development Fund (especially Interreg projects) provide a basis for the impact and vulnerability assessment and development of adaptation measures, which needs to be complemented by a deeper analysis of the objectives, impacts and condition for effective implementation, through further research projects at EU, national and local levels. Detailed information on research needs is provided in a recent Commission Staff Working Paper including the impacts of climate change and adaptation54.

Forthcoming guidelines on water and climate change for WFD implementation and from UNECE will also provide a useful starting point, to be complemented by a constellation of existing research reports and case studies available at sectoral and country level. Moreover, as adaptation measures are in many cases synonyms of ‘good practice’ rather than genuine CC adaptation practice, the information under this chapter should be developed also from the planning and management areas. Adaptation to climate change is also likely to benefit from experience gained in the field of disaster prevention, specifically risk assessment (e.g. by the insurance sector), development of alert systems and management good practices.

The range of adaptation measures should be kept ample and open to new measures, as a non-prescriptive tool to facilitate planned adaptation. The detailed typology of adaptation measures could include a crucial element on potential geographic validity, because certain adaptation measures can be optimal for certain locations but become mal-adaptation if applied in other locations.

The scientific information, data and case studies should be completed with studies on costs and benefits, so that comprehensive decision making can be reached, as well as other relevant matters that are actually been discussed in the international negotiations and where the EU needs to build on a common position. For instance, focus on adaptation measures that have mitigation effects or the potential of the establishment of insurance mechanisms.

53 http://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/index_en.cfm?pg=climate ,

http://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/pdf/cop-15.pdf

54 Commission Staff Working Document Integrated climate change research following the release of the 4th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and most recent research developments, SEC(2008) 3104. http://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/pdf/commission_working_doc.pdf

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In Phase 1, the Clearinghouse should include an extensive database of adaptation measures covering a broad scope of strategic measures to end-user practical actions, with a detailed typology, providing elements of assessment of their effectiveness (impact on vulnerability), of their environmental, social and economic impacts, and of the critical success factors for their implementation (policy instruments). This database should be accompanied by analytical tools allowing queries and a GIS interface.

In Phase 2, the scope could be broaden, include ex-post assessment of measures, case studies, best practices, balancing research and "real world" results.

5.4. Adaptation Plans and Strategies

In Phase 1, the EU Clearinghouse should provide systematic information on the existing/planned adaptation plans and/or strategies at national, regional or sectoral (e.g. at EU level) and on which public authorities have been given the mandate to undertake climate change adaptation activities. This should include tools for meta-analysis of the plans and strategies, building on what has been done in the context of the PEER study55 or the Guidelines for Regional Adaptation Strategies study56.

The EUClearinghouse should provide information on the actual mainstreaming of adaptation into EU policies and give information on the regulatory measures (in particular EU legislation) and funding mechanisms (research, inter-regional, regional, LIFE+, etc.) that could support or have to be taken into account for the design and implementation of adaptation measures in the Member States and regions.

It should provide access to a broad range of practical tools for the overall development and evaluation of adaptation policy (guidance, benchmarking, communication, etc.) recognising the diversity of contexts for the elaboration of adaptation policies across territories and sectors.

It should also provide information on joint activities between Member States and with third countries, including joint implementation of measures, integration into relevant sectoral policies, research activities or agreements. This multinational scope should apply to trans-boundary resources and impacts, but also to the set of common policies for which the EU has assumed competencies.

It could also map and take stock of regional and international institutions, networks and projects to facilitate awareness and coordination of adaptation actions, enhancing synergies while avoiding duplication with national initiatives.

In Phase 2, the possibilities to enhance the EU Clearinghouse ability to provide input (reporting, national communications, etc.) to third partners (e.g. UNFCCC) should be explored.

55 http://peer-initiative.org/media/m256_PEER_Report1.pdf

56 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/climat/adaptation/index_en.htm

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6. KEY REQUIREMENTS

From an IT perspective, the scope of the system to be implemented goes beyond the concept of clearinghouse, as it includes also analytical tools, link to best practices and guidelines, etc.

The architecture of the clearinghouse needs to taken into account all required functionalities (some of them to be identified during the user requirement analysis). The following key elements have been already identified:

• A primary user interface website (Web Portal) proving access through standard interfaces to the Clearinghouse and its associated registries but also to non-registered information and to available analytical tools.

• A component (Clearinghouse software) providing access to a proprietary registries abut as a well as to distributed catalogues and community portals that conform to standardized interface for catalogue service and metadata

• A set of registries of resources including components, services, data, best practices, user rights and user requirements allowing easy population and supporting standard search protocols to promote interoperability and integration.

• Any other functional component providing access to -or required by- analytical tools described in the previous chapter, which will be gradually developed, and by the set of generic functionalities.

The proposed scheme is a preliminary and incomplete architecture to be further refined during the implementation. This consideration brings to the recommendation to have the system requirements set by the contractor during the first 2 months of the implementation contract. This task should produce clear user requirements and "Consolidated System Requirements" for the Clearinghouse architecture. The proposed contract will foresee a stop and go point when the user requirements analysis will be completed and scenarios for possible architecture proposed. Due to the long list of functionalities a System requirements analysis is mandatory before any further step.

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6.1. Interoperability

The Clearinghouse will follow the principles upon which the Shared Environmental Information System (SEIS) is to be based.

Wherever relevant, Interoperability will be ensured by the compliance with the INSPIRE Implementing Rules and INSPIRE guidelines, in particular for:

– Metadata

– Interoperability of spatial data sets and services

– Network services (discovery, view, download, transform, invoke)

The Clearinghouse will also guarantee interoperability with the GEOSS Common Infrastructure. For themes not covered by INSPIRE, spatial data interoperability needs to be based on non-proprietary standards, if possible with a regional/international dimension. When new specific informal standards will be needed and agreed by the Clearinghouse contributors they should also be proposed as international community standards57 .

57 for example by registering them in GEOSS interoperability arrangement registry

Clearinghouse software

Web Portal

EU CC IVA Clearinghouse

Components

Best Practices

User rights & profiles

Registries Registered

Components

Registered

Services

Client Tier

Business Process Tier User right

management Model Access

server

Workflow

Management

Processing

Servers

Services

User Requirements

Ontologies

Data

….

Other web portals

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The Clearinghouse should also ensure compatibility (e.g. through mediators) with Reportnet58 (EIONET’s infrastructure for supporting and improving data and information flows) which is based on linked data instead of catalogues and metadata. This issue should be tackled by the future contractor, although some discussions are on-going with EEA in the SEIS framework which could clarify/facilitate the work of the contractor during the implementation.

The development of common definitions and taxonomies (ontology) also requires following an interoperability paradigm. It must be ensured that the ontology is defined in a way that enable accommodating changes in the future e.g. in ontologies in other domains. The development of interoperability assets can also benefit from the IDABC programme59

of the European Commission.

6.2. Multilinguism

In order to best serve the greater community and support the principle of improved sharing and communication of information, data and practices, a practical and efficient solution to the issue of multilinguism has been explored.

Orienting the EU Clearinghouse towards a great level of knowledge integration would make this task easier, as it would rely on common taxonomies and a detailed metadata (e.g. key assumptions results of a report integrated to the Clearinghouse, instead of a simple link to the report)

On the input side, the clearinghouse could include a specific multilingual technical glossary60 to support consistency in translation and in the terminology used. This would ensure the provision of metadata and normalised contents is done properly when using primary sources in other languages than English.

For the areas of the Clearinghouse targeted to general public, the extraction of data on climate change impacts and vulnerability could easily be associated to linguistic interfaces, so that a detailed level of information is available in a variety of languages without additional cost. Parts of the Clearinghouse presenting information of non-technical nature could also be translated and give link to corresponding national platforms when available.

6.3. Quality control / quality assurance

Metadata will need to incorporate precise and transparent information on sources, data processing history and data uncertainty. Warnings are needed to avoid the information to be used incorrectly.

Structuring and validation of the information according to agreed standards will be important to ensure meaningful information collected form the various sources. A priority task will be the building of the definitions and taxonomies. Because the

58 http://www.eionet.europa.eu/reportnet

59 http://ec.europa.eu/idabc, in particular the project www.semic.eu

60 To be elaborated in the context of the agreement on definitions and taxonomies, building on existing resources, e.g. EEA general multilingual environmental thesaurus (GEMET).

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information related to the Clearinghouse will be very diverse, these registers should not be defined in isolation and should take on board existing registers and definitions in similar EU-wide activities (e.g. disaster prevention). The definitions and taxonomies will be drafted in the context of the implementation of phase 1 and approved by the Management Group.

Quality control (QC) requires checking the integrity, correctness and completeness of the information. This will be part of the construction of the metadata.

Quality assurance (QA) requires the assessment of the quality of the information provided, relates to ensuring minimum quality standards and informing users on how the information should be used. Metadata will include quality, validity and conformity information, and will have to comply with ISO standards and INSPIRE implementing rules (IR) as described above. The QA mechanisms will depend on the category of content.

Quality assurance should also be performed on applications, so that clear guidances and caveats are provided for the use of the outputs of the applications registered in the EU Clearinghouse.

Phase 1 will set out specific proposals for maintaining quality assurance, and concrete proposals on who should be responsible of QC/QA and what should be the resources dedicated to this task.

7. NEXT STEPS

This document will be presented and discussed at the 1st meeting of the Working Group on Knowledge Base on 3/3/2010.

Further discussions will take place in particular to explore the potential integration of the EU Clearinghouse to global and sectoral knowledge platforms.

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8. ANNEX: WORKSHOP WITH NATIONAL KNOWLEDGE PLATFORMS

A workshop took place on Monday 19 October 2009 in DG Environnement, Brussels, to discuss the development of the EU Clearinghouse, and in particular its value added to the tools developed or being developed at national level. Officials from Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Netherlands61, Sweden, United Kingdom and Norway were invited. Officials from European Commission and the EEA also attended the workshop.

The workshop included presentations62 on the state of play of the implementation of the White Paper on Adaptation to Climate Change, on concept and minimun requirements for the EU Clearinghouse, and on the structure of the national knowledge platforms and on-going projects.

An open discussion took place to clarify the specific added value of the EU Clearinghouse, and the compatibility between the latter and national portals/initiatives.

8.1. Denmark

The Danish Portal for Adaptation to Climate Change63 is an important initiative in the government’s climate adaptation strategy: “Danish strategy for adaptation to a changing climate”, made public in March 2008. It was developed by the Information Centre for Climate Change Adaptation under the Danish Ministry of Climate and Energy in collaboration with an array of other institutions. Work in the individual institutions is coordinated by a portal working group set up for the purpose.

The portal is a tool for local decision-makers e.g. local authorities but also the citizens and businesses. Its focus is on the main challenge in Denmark – water (inland water as well as sea water). The main part of the portal has been translated into English.

The portal provides information on the newest research and development within climate change adaptation in Denmark and abroad. The portal also contains a number of specific examples (case descriptions) of adaptation measures. It provide indicators and maps on future climate conditions and impacts. The platform combines different information layers from the webGIS. It is based on the recently derived climate scenarios for Denmark. Tools for assessment of storm surge and of flooding from inland water e.g. extreme precipitation or rising groundwater levels, are in preparation.

8.2. France

The web site of Observatoire national sur les effets du réchauffement climatique (ONERC64) provides general information about climate change, together with climate change simulator for nearest city including 23 climate related indicators.

61 Klimaatportaal Platform Communication on Climate Change (PCCC) was invited but no

representative could attended the workshop http://www.klimaatportaal.nl/pro1/general/home.asp

62 http://circa.europa.eu/Public/irc/env/cc_impacts/library?l=/public_1

63 http://www.klimatilpasning.dk/da-dk/sider/forside.aspx

64 www.onerc.gouv.fr

25

The most relevant on-going project of knowledge sharing about CC adaptation is the

Improvements planned in ONERC platform include:

– Translation of the technical and scientific works into more accessible and friendly format : illustrated 4-pages flyers vs 800-pages report

– Didactic medias on climate change (slide shows, etc.) Enhance the collection of local experiments and initiative reports and assessments

– Enhancement of the access to climate modeling at the local level: the DRIAS project65 will provide climate-scenarios for the 21st century, at regional scale. This is a new type of « climate services » designed for climate-data end-users, the « impact » community.

– Dissemination of adaptation experiments from neighbouring countries or similar territories. Disseminate methodologies and tool-box for impact assessment and adaptation planning. The EU clearinghouse could serve this purpose.

8.3. Finland

The forthcoming Climate Change Community Response Portal (CCCRP)66 for Finland is a EU-funded Life+ project. Technical framework pilot will be open to the test user group in May2010, the first pilot of the portal will be launched in December 2010, and official launch will take place in August 2011.

In its first phase the portal is targeted towards decision makers and actors in Finnish municipalities, but in the long run it will serve the whole nation. The portal, available in Finnish, Swedish and English, aims at supporting the users with their informal learning process related to CC and by doing so helping them to apply the understanding they build into their work and decision making processes. The portal with support both mitigation and adaptation. It will offer back-up to the users who are facing some climate change related challenges in their work: providing background info, observational data, climate scenarios, impacts and step-by-step guidance.

8.4. Germany

UBA has established the Competence Centre on Climate Impacts an Adaptation (KomPass67). Its main tasks are to:

• consult governmental institutions: scientific advise, research projects

• foster networks and interrelations among regions, sectors etc.: expert discussion, stakeholder dialoges

• raise public awareness: publications, database, maps and charts

65 http://www.gip-ecofor.org/docs/38/manifestations/seminiareoctobre2009/DRIAS-

Dandin%2015%20octobre.pdf

66 www.fmi.fi/research_climate/climate_9.html

67 http://www.anpassung.net

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Current research activities of KomPass cover:

• Adaptation indicators

• Risk mapping

• Decision support tools for enterprises and municipalities

• Stakeholder dialogues

• Adaptation strategies in the water sector

• Communication and participation on the NAS

Activities in preparation include:

• Cost-benefit analysis of adaptation

• Synergies and benefits of adaptation

• Analysis of adaptation measures

• Integrated assessment on adaptation

• Integration of a cross-linking of scenarios

www.anpassung.netwww.anpassung.net

Adaptation Database

Adaptation Database

Synthesis on VulnerabilitySynthesis on Vulnerability Climate Data, Maps & Charts

Climate Data, Maps & Charts

IndicatorsIndicators

Decision Support System/Wizard

Decision Support System/Wizard

German Adaptation Strategy

German Adaptation Strategy

Joint Participation

“Web 2.0”

Joint Participation

“Web 2.0”

Service:Newsletter, Calendar, Extranet etc

Service:Newsletter, Calendar, Extranet etc

= scheduled

The Web portal offers a collection of tools and resources on climate impacts and adaptation options. The portal may contribute to the EU Clearinghouse in many ways, e.g. access to RCM data, vulnerability mapping, data exchange on adaptation projects and tools for stakeholder participation.The Climate Data Center68 (CDC) and Climate Atlas69 operated by the German Meteorological Service (DWD), could be easily accessible from the EU Clearinghouse within Phase 1 of its implementation. CDC offers full technical interoperability (Geonetwork software with linkable metadata in XML), with many national, european, and global climate monitoring products, evaluations of climate projections, and results from climate change impact studies to support the development of adaptation strategies.

8.5. Sweden

A report from a Commission on Climate and Vulnerability in 2005-2007 analysed the vulnerability of Swedish society and need for adaptation in all sectors of society and natural areas. The final report was delivered to the government in October of 2007. A 68 http://www.dwd.de/cdc

69 http://www.dwd.de/klimaatlas

27

Government Bill on a Coordinated Climate and Energy Policy was issued on March 2009. Government agencies are given the task of climate adaptation within their respective sectorial responsabilities. Specific tasks are given to many agencies. The Swedish Environment Protection Agency is given the task to monitor adaptation measures and report regularly to the government70. The Agency coordinates a working group comprising representatives of the National Board of Housing, Building and Planning, the Rescue Services Agency, Geological Survey of Sweden , the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions and Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute . This work is intended to complement that of the government's Commission on Climate and Vulnerability.

A new version of the Adaptation webportal Klimatanpassningsportalen71, managed by Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, was presented in a workshop on 10 November 200972. It provides reports on the impacts of climate change, guidelines for risk management, for the development of adaptation plans and examples of how climate adaptation can be integrated into the daily work, with a selection of good examples of practical adaptation to climate change at local and regional level.

8.6. United Kingdom

UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP73) was set up by UK Government in 1997. It is funded by Defra and based at Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford.

UKCIP focuses on improving knowledge and understanding of the impacts of climate change among stakeholders, and helping stakeholders to be better equipped to undertake adaptation to climate change.

UKCIP have been described as a boundary organisation sitting across the boundaries which exist between scientists, government and society in order to enhance

70 http://www.naturvardsverket.se/en/In-English/Menu/Climate-change/Adaptation/Who-does-what/

71 http://www.smhi.se/klimatanpassningsportalen

72 http://www.smhi.se/klimatanpassningsportalen/om-portalen/Portalen-arrangerar/workshop-centrala-myndigheter-10-nov-2009-1.8371

73 http://www.ukcip.org.uk

28

communication and knowledge exchange with the goal of a well adapting UK, acknowledging that adaptation is an ongoing process.

The Web portal provides a suite of tools and resources to support adaptation decision making. The adaptation wizard provides a structured approach to adaptation and various tools support stakeholders at each stage in the process, through on-line training and link to reports and events.

8.7. Norway

The Norwegian Climate Adaptation Programme is a national coordination initiative which links 13 ministries in order to provide cross-sectorial perspectives and policies. The coordination group is led by the Ministry of Environment; an executive secretariat for the national coordination effort is placed within the Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Planning. An official report on Norway's vulnerability to climate change and adaptation requirements is due for autumn of 2010.

The online portal “Klimatilpasning Norge”74” aims at strengthening the knowledge on climate adaptation and promote exchange of information between sectors and administrative levels.

The presentation emphasized the process for the definition of targets groups for the national platform, and to involve them in the development process. In a first phase, the target users are local / regional planners (land planners, infrastructure etc), county administrators and local / regional politicians. The user groups defined three needs:

• Information on effects of climate change and adaptation

• Best practice on adaptation

• Tools to integrate adaptation in planning

8.8. Discussion

Participants insisted on the need to be very clear about the aims of the EU Clearinghouse and who will use it, by performing e.g. a gap analysis – what do existing mechanisms not cover, and what demand is there for further information? How will we make best use of what does exist? The case for a ECH needs to be clearly made.

Definition of intended audience is essential to know for defining contents and presentation. There is a need to involve users in the design of the platform, which should be user driven not supply driven. Implementation should be phased, starting simple, keeping it under review and involving users in further steps.

For representatives of national platforms, the key priority for the EU Clearinghouse is to provide information on:

– Research activities on impacts, vulnerability and adaptation at EU level (e.g. information catalogue) and a synthesis of study findings.

74 www.klimatilpasning.no

29

– Adaptation strategies in EU member states and neighbouring countries (short overview and links to national sites)

– Projects funded by DG RTD (EU Framework programme) or DG REGIO (Structural and Cohesion Funds, including INTERREG and ESPON)

– Up-to-date information on policies and preparation of policies on EU level

– Best practices, case studies, actions and measures

It was also mentioned that the EU Clearinghouse should enhance complementarities among various systems by providing linkages (e.g. with regard to vulnerability assessments by MS or adaptation-related projects) and by giving guidance for comparability of information (e.g. through metadata).Knowledge on impacts and vulnerability is just one step in the adaptation process. To ensure good decision making it is important not to forget other stages of the process.

The EU Clearinghouse should seek synergies among various systems by linking them, and avoid competition and duplication of efforts. It should focus on EU level data, vulnerability information and good practices in adaptation action for those issues and sectors for which there is EU legislation (EU level information and data). Some kind of meta-information of national databases of vulnerability assessment and adaptation projects is needed, to assess the opportunity and feasibility to make it available at EU level.

A particular attention should also be given to avoid proposing methods that would not be validated at national level and would either slow down national initiatives or not be adapted to the variety of national and local situations.

Further maintenance of the system and update of the knowledge base will require resources over time. The question of quality control also appears essential. It should be defined who will monitor and ensure the quality of the information. At EU level this is made more delicate given the variety of situations across the EU.

Some participants mentioned that they could made accessible articles, interactive modules, glossaries, and spatial data on impacts, observations and scenarios, as well as assistance for innovative participation tools (“Webinar”).

* * *