Inforegio - Interreg tackles the climate crisis across the Mediterranean
In the EU funding period 2014-2020, 318 Cohesion Policy co-funded cooperation initiatives (22% of the total portfolio of 1.420 projects) backed by €528 million and nearly 1,900 partners, have tackled the climate crisis in the Mediterranean region. Among them we can find: fishes and plants feeding each other to create food, in an eco-sustainable cycle; plants growing without soil, in a virtuous greenhouse production practice; floating photovoltaic waterpower plants, for a new water and soil management.
This information comes from the keep.eu database, combined with additional data from the European Neighbourhood Instrument Cross-Border Cooperation (ENI CBC) programmes. It is the third and final chapter of a study covering the 17 Interreg and ENI CBC programmes active in the Mediterranean region in the 2014-2020 programming period.
Geographically, these programmes cover a total of 22 participating countries, of which 12 were active in projects dealing with forestry and agropastoral activities, climate change and biodiversity, natural and man-made threats management, including waterways, lakes and rivers. Among them six Neighbourhood Partner Countries were involved: Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Tunisia.
Projects have been facing climate change through two complementary approaches: firstly, by adapting human activity to new environmental realities, and secondly by working to mitigate future disasters.
On the adaptation front, agro-projects like INTESA and EauSIRIS helped farmers cultivate drought-resistant olives and citrus fruits, while BLEU-ADAPT transformed environmental challenges into economic opportunities by developing markets for invasive species like blue crab.
On the other hand, mitigation and prevention measures were developed across borders and across the Sea Basin, such as circular aquaculture systems (CELAVIE) and innovative wastewater recycling for irrigation (PROSIM). These projects consistently demonstrated that mitigation and prevention offer a higher cost-effectiveness than post-disaster responses.
Clear leaders in climate investment were revealed. The Interreg programme connecting Spain, France and Portugal stood out by dedicating 40% of its total budget and 42% of its projects to climate resilience measures — the region’s strongest commitment. Equally impressive, the Interreg Italy-Tunisia corridor emerged as an innovation laboratory, producing groundbreaking solutions like MENAWARA’s system for repurposing wastewater to sustain agricultural irrigation.
Perhaps most encouraging was the meaningful involvement of younger generations. The data shows that 39% of all projects explicitly engaged youth participants, with 17% giving them intensive roles that went beyond symbolic participation, to include active design and implementation responsibilities — a crucial investment in the demographic that will inherit these climate challenges.
As the 2021-2027 EU cohesion policy expands climate-focused projects – reaching so far 29% of Interreg selected cooperation projects — one lesson resonates across the Mediterranean: the most effective solutions refuse to choose between past wisdom and future innovation. Across the region, we see traditional water management enhanced by sensor networks, or ancient practices like artisanal salt production being reimagined through modern sustainable techniques. This blending of timelines — pairing ancestral knowledge with cutting-edge tools — may represent the Mediterranean’s most valuable innovation in its fight against climate extremes.