R2 AM21: Climate Adaptation Is Justice: Care for Europe’s Vulnerable Territories

Hope is green — but hope alone will not hold back floodwaters, stop megafires,
or prevent hillsides from collapsing.

Across Europe, especially in the Mediterranean basin, the climate crisis is no
longer a warning but a lived reality. The 1.5°C objective is slipping out of
reach. Emissions continue to rise, fossil fuel expansion persists, and political
courage remains insufficient.

From floods in Valencia to landslides in Sicily and megafires across Southern
and Central Europe, the pattern is clear. Climate impacts are intensifying and
unevenly distributed. Inland, mountainous, and rural territories — often
politically invisible — are on the frontline.

These regions are already strained by austerity, depopulation, and extractivist
land use. Small farmers, forest workers, and elderly populations are paying the
highest price for a crisis they did not create.

Where infrastructure is fragile and public services weakened, climate breakdown
becomes a multiplier of injustice.

Climate adaptation is therefore a matter of justice.

Mitigation remains essential, but it will not protect vulnerable communities
already facing irreversible impacts.

Adaptation must become a central political priority, rooted in CARE, solidarity,
and structural transformation.

This crisis is not only environmental but systemic. It is rooted in capitalism,
which is inherently structured around extractivism, where ecosystems are treated
as infinite resources to be exploited in the pursuit of continuous growth. Such
a model reinforces territorial and class inequalities, and undermines the
resilience of the very systems on which it relies on.

Addressing this crisis requires a systemic shift towards approaches that
overcome this perpetual growth, such as post-growth economy, which understands
and prioritises ecological limits, redistribution and collective well-being over
accumulation and profit.

Ecosystems are weakening as socio-economic vulnerabilities deepen. Europe’s
vulnerable territories are not spaces to abandon or exploit — they are essential
socio-ecological infrastructures that require CARE. Their resilience is directly
linked to that of the entire continent.

Inland areas sustain biodiversity and provide vital ecosystem services: water
regulation, soil regeneration, pollination, climate regulation, and protection
against extreme events. Yet these systems are under growing pressure. Rising
temperatures, prolonged droughts, and extreme events interact with habitat
fragmentation and resource overexploitation.

Fragile systems also mean rising tensions, including conflicts between human
activities and wildlife. These conflicts reflect policy failures — lack of
coordination, scientific grounding, and community participation — not ecological
imbalance.

Adaptation cannot be reduced to technological fixes or urban-centric policies.
It must be grounded in the care of socio-ecological systems and the
interdependence between communities and their environments.

Inland territories must be recognised as both vulnerable spaces and strategic
laboratories for ecocentric adaptation. Healthy ecosystems are among the most
effective defenses against climate impacts.

Agriculture is a foundational socio-ecological infrastructure. Caring for
agricultural systems means recognising soil as a common good. Soil degradation,
erosion, and loss of organic matter are reducing the capacity of land to retain
water and withstand shocks, while monocultures increase vulnerability.

A transition toward agroecological practices is essential: crop diversification,
soil restoration, improved water retention, and reduced dependence on
unsustainable irrigation. Farmers must be supported in adapting to climate
change, including through resilient crop varieties.

Rural landscapes are also protective infrastructures. Hedges, terraces,
woodlands, and small water networks are essential defenses against
hydrogeological instability, desertification, and biodiversity loss.

Without a public strategy centered on care, vulnerable territories risk losing
not only economic viability, but also identity, cohesion, and future prospects.

A different path exists: one of care, where these areas become laboratories of
socio-ecological adaptation and collective well-being.

We call on European institutions to recognise the central role of inland
territories in the climate transition and adopt a justice-driven approach to
adaptation based on CARE.

We therefore demand:

• Recognition of inland, rural, and mountainous areas as key to European
  climate resilience, integration of agricultural adaptation into EU
  policies, and restoration of rural landscapes as protections against
  desertification, floods, and biodiversity loss.

• Recognition of agriculture as core climate and food infrastructure,
  support for agroecological transitions that build resilience, and
  investment in water-smart farming to reduce vulnerability to climate
  shocks.

• An EU framework treating soil as a common good with targets for organic
  matter, erosion, and water retention, alongside large-scale ecosystem
  restoration and connectivity in vulnerable inland areas.

• Alignment of agricultural, environmental, and rural policies toward
  resilient, non-extractive systems;

• Support for farmers through resilient crops, technical assistance, and
  local knowledge; meaningful involvement in adaptation strategies;
  programmes strengthening their role as socio-ecological custodians; and
  investment in environmental monitoring, restoration, and green jobs.

• The promotion of decentralized renewable energy systems, including small-
  scale solar, wind, and sustainable biomass, to reduce dependence on
  centralized grids and strengthen energy security;

• The recognition Strong public financing, simplified administrative procedures, priority grid access, and support ofbinding legal protections for energy communities, enabling local
  ownership and governance of energy production and ensuring that economic
  benefits remain in rural areas;

• Structural investment in climate-proof rural infrastructure, upgrading
  roads, bridges, and transport networks to withstand floods, landslides,
  and extreme heat, particularly in mountainous and remote regions;

• The prioritization of nature-based infrastructure, including wetlands,
  floodplains, and reforestation, to complement or replace grey
  infrastructure and enhance natural water management and disaster risk
  reduction;

• Support for resilient buildings and settlements through the retrofitting
  of homes and public infrastructure for energy efficiency and climate
  adaptation, using locally appropriate materials and designs;

Adaptation is not optional. It is the ground on which climate justice will
either stand or fail. To care for inland territories is to care for Europe’s
future — without this shift, we will remain trapped in permanent emergency,
reacting to crises instead of preventing them.