INFORMAL MEETING OF
MINISTERS OF AGRICULTURE
DATE - DATE
VENUE
TOPIC
INFORMAL MEETING OF MINISTERS OF
AGRICULTURE
22-23 May 2017
The Grandmaster’s Palace, Valletta
CLIMATE CHANGE AND WATER RESOURCES IN THE EU:
EMERGING CHALLENGES FOR AGRICULTURE
Background
The food and water nexus has gained considerable importance, not just because of the growing
world population, but also because of the inherent dependency that the agricultural sector has
on freshwater resources. Agriculture is the largest water user of a finite, rather than an
inexhaustible, resource. This state of play is likely to gain further traction under forecasted
climate change scenarios. Therefore the link between climate, water and agriculture is
fundamental.
Climate change will lead to the onset of an unevenly distributed increased risk affecting
generally disadvantaged communities to a higher degree. Europe has been identified as
incurring a medium level of risk to sustaining damage from floods and water restrictions in the
medium term (2030-2040) but which could be set back to lower level of risk through increased
adaptation efforts. Increasing Europe’s adaptation capacity will contribute to increased resilience
whilst lowering the cost associated with mitigation efforts. There remains, however, a limitation
on the level of effectiveness that adaptation alone can secure and, as such, a degree of
mitigation efforts cannot be avoided. Such measures do not only come at a potentially
significant cost but bring with them technological, socio-economic and institutional challenges.
Thus, climate change financing and capacity-building are a critical factor across all economic
sectors to shore up resilience, not least in the field of agriculture which could benefit from
combined adaptive and mitigation measures. This concept was reinforced in the Paris
Agreement of 2015, which advocates efforts to secure financial pathways towards climateresilient development.
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) identifies management of water resources and climate
change as two important priorities. In fact, support is provided to promote environmentally
sustainable farming practices. Nonetheless the threat of deteriorating climatic conditions
prevailing requires analysis on what other long-term measures may be required by European
agriculture, in terms of enhancing its diversification and sustainability. Whilst effective
regulation needs to be in place to safeguard the environment and health, it is equally important
that such instruments are climate-proofed in order to ensure they do not become an obstacle to
the sector in line with the climate adaptation policies.
[email protected]
Presidency Unit, The Grand Master’s Palace, Republic Street, Valletta VLT 1115,
Malta
2017 Maltese Presidency of the Council of the EU
+356 2540 2700
Page 2
Aim
The Maltese Presidency intends to build upon efforts already being undertaken and ensure that
this important issue is placed high on the agenda. In order to provide Agriculture Ministers with
a timely opportunity to discuss the long-term orientations on this important subject, the Maltese
Presidency has invited Ministers to set out their views on the priorities for the EU concerning the
issue of water and climate change in the context of agriculture.
Proceedings
The meeting will be chaired by Hon. Roderick Galdes, Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture,
Fisheries and Animal Rights within the Ministry for Sustainable Development, the Environment
and Climate Change.
A morning-only session with a full roundtable will take place on 23 May.
Participants
The meeting will be attended by EU Agriculture Ministers, the European Commissioner for
Agriculture Mr. Phil Hogan, Mr. Paolo de Castro and Mr. Albert Dess from the European
Parliament.
The European farmers’ organization COPA-COGECA, the European Young Farmers’ Association
CEJA will also be invited to address the debate.
Expected Outcomes
Consequently this Informal Meeting of EU Ministers for Agriculture shall focus on the thematic of
how agriculture is likely to be affected from a climate change perspective, and what strategies
and instruments that need to be prioritized to meet these challenges. Given the inherent link
between agriculture and water, it is considered opportune to factor in these issues in developing
a more resilient agricultural sector as the thematic for this informal meeting of Ministers.
Ministers will have a chance to discuss in more depth at EU level the conclusions of the 9th
Berlin Agriculture Ministers´ Conference held on January 21, 2017 within the Global Forum for
Food and Agriculture (GFFA) “Agriculture and Water – Key to Feeding the World”, and in
particular, the call therein to set up robust water governance frameworks integrating all users of
water.
[email protected]
Presidency Unit, The Grand Master’s Palace, Republic Street, Valletta VLT 1115,
Malta
2017 Maltese Presidency of the Council of the EU
+356 2540 2700
Page 3