Benelux

In 2014, Benelux set up a working group on “Adaptation to climate change”, led by its General Secretariat.  Its objective is to create synergies between Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg in this area. 

In November 2014, a conference was organised on “Adaptation to climate change in the Benelux” to identify potential topics for cross-border cooperation.

Following this conference, in 2015-2016, the Benelux General Secretariat organised thematic workshops to identify opportunities for collaboration in four priority sectors:  energy, public health, transport and risk management (see the report “Adaptation to climate change in the Benelux” which summarises this work and provides information on climate change adaptation policies in the Benelux Member States). 

In 2017 and 2018, additional workshops were organised on public health and transport issues, in the form of exercises based on mock scenarios of extreme weather conditions and their impacts on these sectors.  These workshops brought together sectoral experts and crisis managers and provided a better understanding of the practices implemented in the various countries to cope with extreme weather conditions and the existing collaborative practices in these areas within the Benelux.