MedECC 2020 Summary for Policymakers

Wolfgang Cramer (1) , Joel Guiot (2) , Katarzyna Marini (3) , Brian Azzopardi (4) , Mario V Balzan (5) , Semia Cherif (6) , Enrique Doblas-Miranda (7) , Maria José Palma Lampreia Dos Santos (8) , Philippe Drobinski (9) , Marianela Fader (10) , Abed El Rahman Hassoun (11) , Carlo Giupponi (12) , Vassiliki Koubi (13) , Manfred Lange (14) , Piero Lionello (15, 16) , Maria Carmen Llasat (17) , Stefano Moncada (18, 19) , Rachid Mrabet (20) , Shlomit Paz (21) , Robert Savé (22) , Maria Snoussi (23) , Andrea Toreti (24) , Athanasios T. Vafeidis (25, 26) , Elena Xoplaki (27)

1 IMBE - Institut méditerranéen de biodiversité et d'écologie marine et continentale
2 CEREGE - Centre européen de recherche et d'enseignement des géosciences de l'environnement
3 MedECC - MedECC Secretariat, Plan Bleu, France
4 Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology
5 Malta Council for Science and Technology
6 ISSBAT - Institut supérieur des sciences biologiques appliquées de Tunis = Higher Institute of Applied Biological Sciences of Tunis
7 CREAF - Centre for Ecological Research and Applied Forestries
8 ISCTE - University Institute of Lisbon
9 LMD - Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (UMR 8539)
10 International Centre for Water Resources and Global Change, Federal Institute of Hydrology
11 CNRS-L - National Council for Scientific Research = Conseil national de la recherche scientifique du Liban [Lebanon]
12 University of Ca’ Foscari [Venice, Italy]
13 ETH Zürich - Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology [Zürich]
14 CyI - Cyprus Institute
15 DiSTeBA - Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche e Ambientali
16 University of Salento [Lecce]
17 Department of Applied Physics, University of Barcelona
18 University of Malta [Malta]
19 ISSI - Islands and Small States Institute
20 INRA Maroc - Institut national de la recherche agronomique [Maroc]
21 Department of Geography and Environmental Studies [Haifa]
22 IRTA - Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries = Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology
23 UM5 - Université Mohammed V de Rabat [Agdal]
24 JRC - European Commission - Joint Research Centre [Ispra]
25 CRSLR - Coastal Risks & Sea-level Rise Research Group
26 Christian-Albrechts University of Kiel
27 Department of Geography, Justus-Liebig- University

Virtually all sub-regions of the Mediterranean Basin, on land and in the sea, are impacted by recent anthropogenic changes in the environment. The main drivers of change include climate (temperature, precipitation, atmospheric circulation, extreme events, sea-level rise, sea water temperature, salinity and acidification), population increase, pollution, unsustainable land and sea use practices and non-indigenous species. In most areas, both natural ecosystems and human livelihoods are affected. Due to global and regional trends in the drivers, impacts will be exacerbated in the coming decades, especially if global warming exceeds 1.5 to 2°C above the pre-industrial level. Significantly enhanced efforts are needed in order to adapt to inevitable changes, mitigate change drivers and increase resilience.

Keywords: Anthropogenic changes; Mediterranean Basin; Climate; Environmental change

Domains: Environmental Sciences

Wolfgang Cramer, Joel Guiot, Katarzyna Marini, Brian Azzopardi, Mario V Balzan, et al.. MedECC 2020 Summary for Policymakers: In Climate and Environmental Change in the Mediterranean Basin – Current Situation and Risks for the Future. First Mediterranean Assessment Report. [Cramer W, Guiot J, Marini K (eds.)]. Climate and Environmental Change in the Mediterranean Basin – Current Situation and Risks for the Future. First Mediterranean Assessment Report, Union for the Mediterranean, Plan Bleu, UNEP/MAP, pp.11-40, 2020, 978-2-9577416-1-8. ⟨10.5281/zenodo.5513887⟩. ⟨hal-03107451v2⟩