Study on greening the Union Civil Protection Mechanism

The study aims to investigate paths towards more ambitious actions to reduce the environmental impact of civil protection in the context of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM), and thereby to provide a concrete contribution to the European Green Deal (EGD).
The study finds that there is scope to improve the environmental performance of civil protection without hindering response effectiveness. This can be achieved through: (i) data collection to estimate baseline environmental footprint, establish indicators and track progress; (ii) grants to help finance green-ing of capabilities to improve disaster resilience and crisis management; (iii) feedback loops to ensure environmental lessons from crisis response lead to actions that reduce environmental impacts from crises, make communities more resilient and improve response effectiveness; (iv) circular economy and waste management actions to reduce, reuse and recycle better, and prevent water contamination; and (v) climate change mitigation by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, especially from transport. The Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network (Knowledge Network) is a relevant instrument for the sharing of knowledge and best practice, the report finds.
This study has focused on initiatives that could be promoted by DG ECHO in cooperation with Member States and Participating States, building on recent experiences and practices and the need to keep progressing.