On July 3 and 4, 2025, events were held at the RheinAhrCampus Remagen to commemorate the 4th anniversary of the flood disaster in the Ahr Valley. Under the title “Better cooperation in the EU in crises following climate-related events”, experts from science, administration, business and politics discussed innovative approaches for effective crisis and risk management. Some experts from Valencia took part in order to exchange views on the processes of the flood in Valencia and the flood in the Ahr valley.
As part of an excursion to the Ahr Valley, successful reconstruction projects were presented, but the difficulties of planning and implementing reconstruction were also discussed with various stakeholders. Workshops on topics such as sustainable waste management, resilience strategies and modern early warning systems then offered further in-depth insights.
The conference on the following day focused on the European perspective. In keynote speeches and panel discussions, experts discussed the need for closer EU-wide cooperation and possible guidelines for improving crisis prevention and early warning systems.
The event showed that climate adaptation, regional expertise and European networking are crucial in order to be able to react more quickly and effectively to extreme weather events in the future.
(Image source: Amelie Wobig, newly constructed bridge in the Ahr valley)