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projects should be seen as an important solution, complementary to other existing water

management solutions, that can be used to help tackle desertification and climate change

effects.

5. Highlights the importance of access to drinking water for the well-being of populations and

the risks associated with climate change concerning water quality and availability. Notes the

importance of improving the water management and distribution infrastructure, as drinking

water losses remain a critical problem throughout the region, and invites parliaments and

member states to revisit this issue with the utmost urgency.

6. Highlights the importance of afforestation, reforestation and ecosystem restoration as part of

the solution to combat climate change and biodiversity loss, as a nature-based solution to

capture and store carbon, prevent heat islands and prevent atypical expansions of desert

ecosystems. Stresses the particular importance of these actions within the Mediterranean

context, as planting trees and deploying green infrastructure help to cool urban areas and

mitigate the impact of natural disasters.

7. Stresses the importance of promoting nature-based solutions and recognises that cost-

effective adaptation to climate change, above all, can especially solely be achieved by

protecting and restoring ecosystems. Notes that having a greater number of biodiverse

ecosystems leads to higher resilience to climate change and provides more effective forms of

disaster reduction and prevention.

8. Highlights the trend of more people living in cities, as recognised by the United Nations, and

the important effects of climate change on urban areas. Stresses the role of parliaments and

local authorities in designing and implementing climate mitigation and adaptation policies for

urban areas. Stresses, in this context, the importance of greening cities to reduce the rise in

temperature, and the adverse effects of its increase on urban life.

9. Underlines the importance of furthering the current investment in research, development and

innovation in clean technologies to better address mitigation and adaptation problems. Calls on

member states to invest, while maintaining ecosystem services in good condition, in the

technologies needed to achieve climate neutrality, achieve energy security and modernise

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