Building a low-carbon, climate resilient future: climate action in support of the Paris Agreement

Specific Challenge : Forest fires are a major hazard in Mediterranean Europe and increasingly so in Central, Eastern and Northern European countries. There is a limit in our capacity to deter fires, particularly mega-fires when conditions are most severe. This is the result of unbalanced management strategies and policies that can be effective in fire suppression under normal weather conditions but are insufficient to deal with extreme events such as mega-fires. Areas at risk from forest fires are projected to increase by 200% in Europe by the end of the 21st century, in particular due to climate change. Moreover, the development of urban areas in the vicinity of forest areas combined with a lack of risk awareness will increase the exposure and vulnerability of local communities. This new context calls for more effective science-based fire management and risk-informed decision-making, which takes into account the socio-economic, climate and environmental roots of forest fires. Improving fire management and governance therefore implies shifting the focus from fire suppression to fire prevention, increasing the awareness and preparedness of people at risk, and developing more balanced and long term forest management strategies that integrate fire prevention with forestry and land management (including conservation of habitats structures, resources and diversity), rural development, urban development, climate and energy policy objectives. An integrated fire management strategy is necessary to ensure that wildfires risks are managed in such a way that people and housing safety, economic growth, well-being, carbon sinks, biodiversity and ecosystem services are maintained or increased. Scope : Actions should generate the knowledge, tools, capacity and guidance to underpin an Integrated Fire Management strategy that promotes holistic landscape, land use, and forest management and considers the interaction among all phases of the wildfire management process (i.e. fire prevention and preparedness, fire detection and response, post-fire restoration and adaptation). Proposals should assess the changes in fire regimes under various climate, vegetation and land use change scenarios, including settlement/housing development/infrastructure and rural-urban interface, with particular focus on ignition and fuel patterns, spatial and temporal dimensions of fire activity, including the expansion of the fire-prone area in Europe. Understanding extreme wildfire events, their structural causes, various impacts including on air quality, water quality, soil carbon and nitrogen stocks and greenhouse gas emissions, and the human, biological and physical processes at play is a prerequisite. The trade-offs and synergies between the various socio-economic, climate, and environmental elements influencing forest fires risk management and conditions of enhanced risk should be explored and analysed, particularly in wildland/rural interface areas. Methods to assess and mitigate vulnerability of societies to wildfires should also be developed. In addition, the relation of forest fires with other hazards that may trigger or result from fire (e.g., droughts, floods, debris flows, landslides, heatwaves and storms) should be investigated within a multi-hazard risk assessment framework. Proposals should capitalise on the existing and develop new scientific knowledge (e.g. fire ecology, soil and water science, landscape restoration, social sciences), enhance understanding of the resistance, resilience and habitat suitability of mixtures of plant species, as well as the human factors (considering human behaviour, gender, economics and socio-demographic issues) affecting fire occurrence and develop strategic guidance for improved forest fire risk management and risk-informed decision-making. Participatory approaches with national agencies and competent institutional bodies dealing with wildfire management and protection and land management are required. Actions should a