PAN statement after the flood – TVN Meteo

In Tuesday's announcement from the Problem Committee on the Climate Crisis at the Presidium of the Polish Academy of Sciences, we read that “climate challenges must be taken into account both in urgent post-flood reconstruction activities and strategic undertakings.”

“In the era of ongoing global warming, extreme events related to disruptions in the water cycle (torrent rainfall, floods and droughts) are becoming more frequent and more severe than in the past, affecting residents and the economy,” write in a press release representatives of the committee for post-flood challenges in 2024.

Experts report that the likelihood of extreme rainfall events – which recently triggered flooding – and similar events have doubled as a result of climate change.

“If we do not take immediate action to reduce anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions, the probability of similar events will increase rapidly as temperatures rise,” scientists warn.

According to researchers, the risk of high flood losses may deepen due to inappropriate adaptation to the greater frequency of more intense rainfall. Therefore, in their opinion, greater emphasis should be placed on taking blue-green infrastructure into account in spatial management. Water management, in turn, should take into account changes in the water balance of the catchment area. Floods may become more severe due to landscape degradation and technical infrastructure not adapting to changing conditions.

Scientists call for reconstruction after a catastrophic flood to “look to the future, not apply solutions from the past.” The threats are growing and it is necessary to try to mitigate them in advance. “There is a need for a knowledge-based change in the way we think about the environment and nature, not as an obstacle to development, but as an ally in effectively ensuring hydrological, food and health resilience and security.”

Scientists call for effective changes to be quickly introduced in legal solutions regarding adaptation to climate change. These activities should include, among others: spatial planning, where it should be noted that physical and natural processes do not take into account administrative boundaries.

When it comes to forest management, the protective functions of forests and forest ecosystem services (including the impact of forests on the water balance of the catchment area) should be taken into account. In turn, in agriculture, actions are needed to restore soil, landscape structures and strengthen ecosystem services for water management. When it comes to water management, it is necessary – in the committee's opinion – to take into account landscape and environmental retention. It is also worth integrating landscape management at the catchment scale with spatial planning. Researchers also call for the introduction of flood and drought risk management plans; effective implementation of environmental protection requirements and ensuring the legal and financial framework for the restoration of ecosystem services (in accordance with the regulation on the restoration of natural resources).

In infrastructure solutions, scientists call for the use of synergy that can be achieved by simultaneously using technical and environmental solutions (nature-based solutions, NBS). nature based solutions). This includes: about wetland restoration, spatial planning, good agricultural practices, natural and landscape retention with hydrotechnical protection. Scientists also point out that development should be limited or even withdrawn from flood areas to avoid flood losses.

Committee representatives also want to introduce regulations enabling faster and systemic adaptation of water and spatial management to climate change.

The Climate Crisis Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences was established in 2023. It included 26 experts from various fields of science. The committee's task is to inform the public and authorities about the threats related to climate change and to propose solutions to reduce and adapt to it. This body is a problem committee of the Presidium of the Polish Academy of Sciences.