a)

Take into account the risks related to climate change in the disaster management cycle, for example capitalising on the tools set up together by the Commission and the European Environment Agency, such as the Climate-ADAPT platform;

b)

Foster work and research on the ways in which the effects of climate change can be reviewed and incorporated into their disaster risk management systems; integrate such work and research into the Member States national risk assessment, the development of risk management capability assessment and the disaster risk management planning improvement provided for in Article 6 of Decision No 1313/2013/EU on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism;

c)

Support and pool research and innovation in order to improve national civil protection capacities in the context of climate change, in particular through the Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network (hereinafter the ‘Knowledge Network’), and, in that context, through centres of excellence, universities, researchers and thematic communities or centres of expertise;

d)

Encourage investment in research and innovation in the field of civil protection in the context of climate change and mobilise relevant European funding;

e)

Develop adequate prevention and preparedness actions, including ensuring the availability of sufficient capacities, aimed at the risks resulting from climate change such as forest fires and flooding, that both constitute an increasing risk for Union citizens;

f)

Pursue, in this regard, the development of ECPP and rescEU capacities based amongst others on current and forward-looking scenarios provided in Article 10 of Decision No 1313/2013/EU, taking into account identified and emerging risks and overall capacities and gaps at Union level, in particular in the areas of aerial forest-firefighting, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear incidents, emergency medical response, as well as transport, logistics and shelter;

g)

Make civil protection operations greener and more sustainable in all phases of the disaster management cycle and promote research, innovation and knowledge sharing;

h)

Take account of environmental and climate change impacts in the assistance provided through the UCPM, notably by pooling resources where appropriate;

i)

Support the preparedness and resilience of the population exposed to climate change-related risks through specific information, education, training and exercises that may involve the national and sub-national levels and even a cross-border dimension, paying particular attention to people with specific vulnerabilities;

j)

Strengthen volunteers organisations as an integral part of civil protection;

k)

Consider to integrate, in this regard, spontaneous initiatives in response operations where appropriate and in coordination with local authorities;

l)

Put forward the importance of citizens’ contribution to their own safety and resilience, and encourage any initiative aimed at valuing, recognising and promoting, where appropriate through a legal framework, their active involvement in voluntary actions and arrangements for disaster response;

m)

Account for the special role of youth in that regard;

n)

Promote the citizen who actively participates, as an actor of his or her own safety and resilience or as a member of national or local civil structures contributing to civil protection, through the following three dimensions:

o)

Take into account the importance of long-term emergencies and the increasing risks they can pose to civil protection systems both at national and European level;

p)

Consider the impact of climate change in international civil protection actions, by strengthening cooperation and supporting disaster and crisis management;

a)

Pursue the regular update of the ‘cross-sectoral overview of natural and man-made disasters risks that the Union may face’ by taking account of the impacts of climate change, on the basis of Member States national risk assessment reports;

b)

Ensure that the impacts of climate change are systematically taken into account throughout the disaster management cycle;

c)

Ensure that the UCPM takes account of the diverse nature of disasters in a manner which is both reactive and adaptable and, when possible, proactive;

d)

Strengthen the availability of experts in the field of environment and climate change for deployment under the UCPM;

e)

Promote the complementarity of the UCPM with other Union crisis management mechanisms;

f)

Support research and innovation in the field of civil protection namely by establishing an inventory of available knowledge and to enrich the Knowledge Network, the Disaster Risk Management Knowledge Centre and the centres of excellence that could be created within that framework, as well as the centres maintained by international organisations;

g)

Strengthen and adapt the Union’s disaster and crisis management and decision support instruments, tools and platforms under the Common Emergency Communication and Information System, the European Drought Observatory, the European Flood Awareness System, the European Forest Fire Information System as well as the Galileo, Copernicus and EU Governmental Satellite Communications programmes;

h)

Improve the anticipation and response capabilities of the Emergency Response Coordination Centre, in particular by exploring how to better use technological innovations, including artificial intelligence and available data sources to detect and anticipate extreme climate risks;

i)

Foster greener and more sustainable European civil protection operations by supporting research and innovation, establishing an overview of the current state of play and drawing up guides to good practice in this area;

j)

Further promote the engagement of civil society in the prevention of and operational response to climate change by supporting citizens’ contributions to their own safety and resilience and by promoting any volunteer-based disaster response initiatives, in coordination with the national or subnational authorities, including through European awards;

k)

Develop training programmes and exercises for the management of environmental and climate related disasters, including within the EU training programme, and encourage the availability of expertise with a view to deployment within the framework of the UCPM;

l)

Explore the issue of climate change in international civil protection actions, including through fostering exchange of experiences and good practices with partners, for example in the Western Balkans and in the context of the European Neighbourhood Policy;