Towards a climate resilient cross-border mountain community in the Pyrenees

LIFE-SIP PYRENEES4CLIMA project aims to implement one of the first cross-border climate change strategies in Europe led by 6 regions and one state in a mountain area through the Pyrenean Climate Change Observatory (OPCC) of the Working Community of the Pyrenees (CTP). The strategy targets a mountain range, the Pyrenees, with one of the highest biodiversity values in Europe and where CC is producing impacts on surface processes, natural resources and economic activities. The Pyrenean Climate Change Strategy 2050, EPiCC, was approved on the 13th of Dec 2021 by the Presidents (highest authority): Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitanie, Aragon, Catalunya, Euskadi, Navarra and Andorra, covering 254.766 Km2 with a population of 23,5 million inhabitants. EPiCC is also participated by the representatives of the Spanish and French Ministries of Ecological Transition. The project is organised on 5 main pillars: understanding climate impacts, increasing resilient natural areas, adapting the mountain economy, protecting the population and territory and enhancing a new governance. The proposal singularity is a joint commitment, ensuring the multi-sectoral and multi-territorial dialogue to effectively and efficiently address CC policies. This proposal builds on 12 years’ experience of OPCC, a flagship initiative of the CTP, and reinforced by a participatory process (+600 participants). In addition, the CTP-OPCC and the 6 European regions involved are part of the European Adaptation Mission and they are active members of the Adaptation Community of Practice. The consortium involves administrations and recognised entities specialised in the different thematic, representing all the territories, with experience in management and cooperation, and organised in well-defined levels of responsibility, with a medium-long term implementation vision, becoming a real accelerator in the adaptation to CC in mountain regions in Europe, and contributing to the EU Adaptation Mission.