The signing took place at the on-going a climate change adaptation conference in Lisbon. The programme will contribute to better preparation and planning for a changing climate in Portugal.
Through the EEA Grants, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway provide €3 million to address the impacts of climate change in Portugal. The aim of the programme is to support the start-up of projects on adaptation to climate change in the country.
An important part of the programme is the cooperation between the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) who is operating the programme and the donor programme partner Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection (DSB). DSB plays a key role in facilitating cooperation and acts as a contact point for public and private entities from the donor states wishing to operate in Portugal and participate as partners in projects funded through the programme.
The programme will contribute to increase the knowledge about climate change in Portugal by:
- Creation of a website, with systematic collection of data on past climate trends, with local level climate change information using the latest information from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The website will produce information important for all the projects under the programme
- Municipality officers from at least 20 municipalities will participate in training in local adaptation strategies and then contribute to develop municipal adaptation strategies in their municipality
-At least 100 teachers and 1500 students will receive climate change training and education. There will also be n competition for climate change adaptation measures in schools
- A small grants scheme focused on sectors which are vulnerable to the effect of climate change This may include projects such as vulnerability assessments for agriculture to inter-annual water storage variability; studies on the vulnerability of the power sector in relation to water availability; the expansion of networks for monitoring vector and water borne diseases.
′This cooperation makes it possible for us to share knowledge, learn from each other and strengthen the cooperation,′ said the Portuguese Minister of Environment, Jorge Moreira da Silva. The agreement was signed 7 October in Lisbon at the international conference ‘Too Much, Too Little – The Role of Water in Adaptation to Climate Change’ which is addressing the impact climate change has on water resources in Europe.
Watch the conference live here.
Read more about other EEA Grants programmes in Portugal here.