On 7 April 2020, the Croatian Parliament adopted the Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change in the Republic of Croatia for the period to 2040 with a view to 2070 (Official Gazette 46/2020).
This is the first strategic document that provides an assessment of climate change for Croatia by the end of 2040 and 2070, possible impacts and vulnerability assessments. The aim of the Strategy is to raise awareness of the importance and threats of climate change for society and the need to integrate the concept of climate change adaptation into existing and new policies, in order to reduce the vulnerability of the environment, economy and society caused by climate change. In addition, the aim is to encourage scientific research to better understand the complexity of the impacts of climate change and to reduce the degree of uncertainty associated with the effects of climate change.
The strategy contains climate projections in Croatia for 2040 with a view to 2070, taking into account the following climatic parameters: precipitation, snow cover, surface runoff, air temperature, extreme weather conditions, wind, evapotranspiration, humidity, soil moisture, solar radiation and mean sea level.
The Strategy also presents the vulnerability of the sector to climate change, among which eight key sectors have been selected (water resources; agriculture; forestry; fisheries; biodiversity; energy; tourism and health) and two cross-sectoral thematic areas (spatial planning and planning and risk management). For them, 83 climate change adaptation measures are listed, which are divided into five groups and for which estimates of the required amounts and sources of financing by sectors are highlighted.
The adaptation strategy will be implemented through action plans that will include the elaboration of concrete measures and activities, and will be adopted every five years. Action plans for each measure and activity will provide a description, method of implementation, order of implementation of activities, execution deadline, taxpayers and coordinators of implementation of measures and activities, as well as sources of funding. Based on this Adaptation Strategy, the first action plan will be developed, whereby all measures and activities will need to be complementary to the objectives of the European Green Plan.
An appropriate system for monitoring the implementation of measures and activities and monitoring their impact and effectiveness will demonstrate the effectiveness of the implementation of the Adaptation Strategy. It will have to be implemented in coordination with all sectors, with a participatory approach and the involvement of all stakeholders in its implementation and monitoring.