Climatic Change in the Mediterranean Basin: Territorial Impact and Search for a Common Strategy

Climate change assumes special importance in the Mediterranean basin, a region characterized by the presence of large desert areas whose fragile ecosystem is deeply exposed to environmental degradation. The lack of agreement on the causes of climate change affects the opportunity to adopt a common strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In the European countries, these measures entail changes in the energy policy, investments for the development of alternative energy and the introduction of constraints and charges for firms. For the Arab countries, the economic system reconversion has to face great resistance since it represents an additional cost delaying the industrial development and the short-term goals of the development policy. In this context, the role of the Northern countries is particularly important in supporting Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, in order to build their adaptive capacity through scientific and technological cooperation and financial assistance.