On November 14th the OPCC, represented by Aitor Zulueta Telleria, Director of Natural Heritage and Climate Change at the Basque Government, took part in the High-Level Event on climate change adaptation in European mountain ranges. The event was part of the Conference of the Parties under the UN Framework on Climate Change (COP23) in Bonn. The aim of this high-level fringe event, titled Mountains in motion: Climate Action in the Alps, the Carpathians, the Pyrenees and the Apennines, was to set out the actions and policies around climate change adaptation being implemented in the main mountain ranges in Europe.

During the round table debate, representatives from governments and cross-border organisations agreed that mountain areas are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

They also stressed the important role of sub-regional governments and NGOs in the fight against climate change in mountain ranges, and the fundamental role of cross-border cooperation in sharing and exploiting crucial information about databases, adaptation initiatives and good practices.

The event was attended by representatives from the EU, the Italian Ministry of the Environment, the Austrian Government, the Alpine Convention and the Carpathian Convention, as well as representatives from the Catalan Office for Climate Change and the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy.

Work in the Pyrenees on climate change has once again been showcased on the international stage thanks to the good relationship between the Working Community of the Pyrenees — through the Pyrenees Climate Change Observatory — and the Alpine and Carpathian Conventions.