The fiscal implications of climate change adaptation : N. ECFIN/E/2008/008

Climate change will have an effect on the European Union. The repercussions will be regionally varied, with impacts on several sectors in the economy. Climate change has the particularity of being global with respect to the sources of emissions and local in the consequences (whether positive or negative). The sources of emissions are linked to the most basic aspects of human activity, from energy consumption to farming, while the impact of climatic changes are broader, affecting inter alia economic activities, land use, biodiversity, public health and water systems. This means that for the first time in history there is a need to align large parts of fiscal and regulatory policy with environmental concerns, from the local to the national and supranational levels.