Information on national adaptation actions reported under the Governance Regulation

Slovenia’s landscape diversity is a feature that counterbalances its small size of only 20.271 km2. As explained in the article Slovenia in geographical typifications and regionalizations of Europe (authors Ciglic, R. and Perko, D., Geografski vestnik 84-1, 2012, 23-37, available at https://www.researchgate.ne[…]_regionalizations_of_Europe) Slovenia’s landscape diversity is due to its position at the intersection of four major European geographical units: the Alps, the Mediterranean, the Pannonian Basin, and the Dinaric Alps. The geographical typification, which is primarily based on natural landscape elements and land use, divides Slovenia into these 4 macro-regions, but the majority of the landscape is characterised by transition and influences between these regions. There is a great natural value to that but also a challenge that demands greater attention devoted to the environment and more detailed spatial planning.

The European Landscape Classification that uses data on climate, elevation, soil and land use, classifies Slovenia under three types Mediterranean, Continental and Alpine. Due to such diverse geology in such a small area, there are greater landslide and debris-flow susceptibilities, even more pronounced as triggering factors such as 24h rainfall and average rainfall intensity are changing and are further projected to change due to climate change by the end of the century. The Map of Biogeographical Regions, generally based on natural vegetation, puts Slovenia into Alpine and Continental region, only partially touching Pannonian and Mediterranean regions. As much as 58.3% of the surface of Slovenia is covered in forests, composing 70% of Natura 2000 sites. Natura 2000 sites cover about 37% of the country’s territory, while more than half of the territory is areas of special interest. The great amount of animal and plant species as well as diversity of ecosystems that are found in Slovenia contribute to country’s resilience to climate change impacts. On the other hand, there is also greater risk of broader forest fires and other consequences of extreme weather events. The Bioclimatic Map of Europe divides Slovenia into Temperate Oceanic bioclimate to the West, and Temperate Continental bioclimate to the East. Slovenia has a warm humid temperate climate but the climate is not typical due to the transit character and variability of its territorial types. Data show that the climate in Slovenia has already significantly changed in the period up to year 2021, mean temperature being more than 2,5 degrees higher than in pre-industrial times. With rising temperature other climate characteristics are changing as well. The decreasing precipitation trend in the west of the country has slowed over the last decade and the climate projections predict that it would turn into a rising one across the whole country in the coming decades. Snow cover, as an important natural water retention element, has halved in the last six decades. That has already a significant influence on the river flow regime, with lower late spring peak and higher late autumn peak. Although the extreme events are rare by definition and therefore it is difficult to detect their significant change it is evident that all climate indicators for extreme heat, extreme precipitation and drought show increasing trend for their intensity as well as for their frequency and durability.

The divisions confirm that it is difficult to assign a single label to a country with such a wide variety of landscapes and regions as it’s the case of Slovenia. This contributes to its resilience in the face of large scale extreme weather events, but also add to its vulnerability in terms of many species and habitats that are difficult to maintain in good status with the fast changing climate or higher risks for avalanches, floods and other events linked to increasingly more present extreme weather.

There have not been any relevant developments since 2021.

As reported in the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan of the Republic of Slovenia (2021, available at: https://www.energetika-portal.si/[…]/nepn_eng.pdf), Slovenia is facing demographic changes that will have a major impact on the future development of society and quality of life. They are reflected in the increase in the number of people over 65, in the low fertility rate and the decrease in the population in the age group of 20-64. Demographic changes are also exerting pressure on the financial sustainability of social protection systems and the pension system.

Slovenia’s Development Report 2020 (IMAD, available at: https://www.umar.gov.si/[…]/Development_report_2020.pdf) also reports about development risks in this area, that social protection systems are insufficiently adapted to demographic change. Slovenia has so far managed to keep age-related expenditure below the EU average, but long-term expenditure projections show a strong negative impact on the long-term sustainability of public finances if current policies remain unchanged and people continue to retire relatively early. The dedicated resources (social contributions) are already insufficient to cover all expenditure necessary to retain adequate pensions and easily accessible public health services. Unresolved funding issues are also among the main obstacles to establishing a new systemic regulation of long-term care.

Demographic growth in Slovenia does thus not threaten biodiversity, unlike in some other parts of the world. Nevertheless, it can be expected that the pressures on the natural environment will continue to increase and the conservation status of plant and animal species will decline in relation to the decrease in ecosystem diversity. Negative impacts of the spread of invasive non-native species and climate change are becoming more pronounced. All the key reasons are linked to human activities and their effect on the environment, which results in the loss, fragmentation and degradation of ecosystems and habitats in terms of both species and populations.

Demographic situation poses significant element in the overall vulnerability to climate change as it's increasing the size of vulnerable groups while decreasing the public finances available to cope with the raising costs of climate related disaster events.

There have not been any relevant developments since 2021.

Information in this chapter is gathered together from various sources, Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan, the Development Report 2020 and Statistical Office Data. The Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted Slovenia's Development Strategy 2030 (SRS2030) in 2017, the country's umbrella development document. As pointed out in the SRS2030, Slovenia's future development will depend very much on its ability to respond and adapt to trends and challenges in the global environment. Trends point to profound changes, especially in demographic trends, pressures on ecosystems, competition for global resources, and economic development. Co-operation at global, European, regional and national levels is thus increasingly important.

Before the outbreak of the economic crisis in 2008, Slovenia had achieved high economic growth in the preceding decade, with many structural deficiencies indicating that the development model before the crisis was unsustainable. During the crisis, there was a sharp decline in GDP, which severely undermined economic stability and had a negative impact on the well-being of the population. In 2014, Slovenia started catching up with economically more developed countries after five years, and the stability of the banking system and public finances has also recently been observed again in the crisis.

In 2016–2018, Slovenia was narrowing its development gap with the EU average, the development in the period of economic growth was generally inclusive and the efficiency of energy and resource consumption increased slightly. Since 2016, the gap with the average gross GDP per capita in the EU, which widened in 2009–2012, has been rapidly narrowing amid strong economic growth. With the adoption of comprehensive measures to stabilise public finances and the recovery of economic activity, the public finance situation also improved significantly after 2013. With the recovery of all statistical regions, regional disparities have remained stable. Disparities between the cohesion regions have increased somewhat, but remain below the highest level from 2007. The economic upturn was reflected in an increase in employment and income and accelerated robotisation and automation of production. In 2020, with the consequences of Covid-19 outbreak, Statistical Office reports that GDP decreased by 5.5%.

GHG emissions have declined in the context of lower economic activity in the crisis, but per unit of GDP, their level remains higher than the EU average. Increasing transit road traffic and overall unsustainable mobility are particularly problematic. Lower consumption in households and industry reduces energy consumption but remains relatively high per unit of GDP due to the high proportion of energy-intensive activities. By 2030, taking into account the dimension of the Energy Union, Slovenia will actively seek to gradually decarbonise the energy-intensive industry and provide financial incentives for restructuring production processes.

The Slovenian economy is above average based on the use of raw materials, which is reflected in its lower material efficiency and its competitiveness. In some areas, such as the share of renewable energy sources (RES) and organic farming, Slovenia is more successful than the EU average. Slovenia also has favourable natural resources, coastal and marine resources and diverse biodiversity, but due to the inadequate use of natural resources (especially in the areas of urbanisation, agriculture and water management), the conservation status of species and their habitats is mostly unfavourable.

Adapting to climate change while moving to a climate-neutral and circular economy would enable Slovenia to preserve natural resources, long term competitiveness and quality of life, but that requires changing production and consumption models at the European level and beyond.

There have not been any relevant developments since 2021.

Systematic observations and measurements of the climate and water variables are carried out by the Slovenian Environmental Agency.

To monitor the weather, climate and water properties, the Agency employs a network of classical and automatic measurements of meteorological and hydrological variables. A substantial archive of historical measurements is especially valuable in monitoring the state of the climate, as only on the basis of long homogeneous datasets of climate variables can the changes of climate be identified.

Hydrological data has been collected in an organized manner on the territory of Slovenia for more than a hundred years, and the national database already contains around 35 million units of hydrological data. As with the assessment of climate change itself, long datasets of historical hydrological data are valuable for assessing the climate change impacts on the water cycle. Within the Operational Programme of Environmental and Transport Infrastructure Development (OP ETID) for the period 2007–2013, the Agency carried out the project Upgrading the system for monitoring and analysing the state of the water environment in Slovenia (called BOBER). The aim of the project was to increase the country’s capacity for comprehensive monitoring of the water cycle. As part of the project, both the hydrological and meteorological measurement network were significantly upgraded and renewed.

In the quality control process, meteorological and hydrological data are systematically checked. Data quality control is then upgraded by a time series homogenization process, by means of which artificial influences on measurements are excluded from time series (e.g. change of instruments, change of the surroundings of measuring point).

Homogenized time series are the basis for studies of past climate change. In 2013, the project “Climate Variability of Slovenia” was completed at the Agency, in the framework of which the time series of main climate variables were systematically homogenized and their trends were calculated. Upon completion, the time series are regularly updated with new measurements. In 2020, the homogenization process was repeated, mainly due to larger inhomogeneities in the measurement time series, which were the consequence of the above mentioned upgrade of the measuring network completed in 2015. In 2020, a new World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) reference period ended and by the end of 2021 climate normals for the new reference period (1991-2020) will be prepared.

Based on the verified measurements and homogenized time series, Slovenian Environment Agency regularly monitors the state of the climate on a monthly basis and evaluates deviations of climate variables from long-term reference values (http://meteo.arso.gov.si/met/sl/climate/current/). The state of hydrological conditions for both surface and groundwater is monitored on a regular basis (http://www.arso.gov.si/vode/podatki/amp/ and http://www.arso.gov.si/vode/podatki/ podzem_vode_amp /) and at the annual level in the form of annual reports (http://www.arso.gov.si/[…]/ and http://www.arso.gov.si/vode / underground% 20water /). In addition to regular monitoring in the event of extreme weather or hydrological events, special reports are prepared, which include a detailed analysis of the extreme event and an assessment of exceptionality in the context of climate variability and change - http://www.arso.gov.si/[…]/poro%c4%8dila%20in%20publikacije and http://meteo.arso.gov.si/met/sl/climate/natural-hazards/.

Homogenized time series of the main climate variables were the basis for the preparation of climate scenarios on a local scale. The first climate change projections were prepared at the Agency in 2014 on the basis of the IPCC SRES greenhouse gas emission scenarios (SRES A1B). In 2016, the Agency launched the project “Climate Change Assessment in Slovenia until the end of the 21st century”. Within this project, more detailed climate projections were prepared for Slovenia on a local scale, based on model simulations with new IPCC greenhouse gas emission scenarios (Representative Concentration Pathways – RCP, from the IPCC 5th Assessment Report).

The new climate projections for Slovenia are based on the simulations of global and regional climate models from the EURO-CORDEX project and taking into account historical homogenized measurements for model bias adjustment and downscaling to 1 km resolution. The projections were prepared for three future periods (2011-2040, 2041-2070 and 2071-2100), taking into account the three possible pathways of greenhouse gas concentrations (low-emission scenario RCP2.6, stabilisation scenario RCP4.5 and high-emission scenario RCP8.5). The projected changes were assessed for basic climate variables (air and soil temperatures, surface, groundwater and sea temperatures, precipitation, reference evapotranspiration, wind and solar radiation) as well as for derived, water-cycle related variables (soil water content, river discharges, groundwater recharge and phenological development of selected plant species). A detailed project report is published on the website http://meteo.arso.gov.si/met/sl/climate/change/, where short summaries of the project report can be found as well. A user friendly web application – “Climate change atlas” allows users to easily browse the climate projections in graphical form.

Based on the projections for climate variables, assessments of climate change impacts on individual sectors or aspects (heat waves, forest fires risk…) are currently being prepared. However, some sector-oriented assessments of the climate change impacts have already been prepared (water, agriculture, energy…). Climate change projections summaries and bias adjusted and downscaled simulations on a daily scale are openly available for users through data point (https://podatki.gov.si/data[…]%2C+projekcije%2C+Slovenija).

Climate projections for Slovenia are based on the model ensemble from EURO-CORDEX database. In the EURO-CORDEX project database, 18 combinations of global and regional climate models were available at the beginning of the project “Climate Change Assessment in Slovenia until the end of the 21st century” carried out by the Slovenian Environment Agency starting in 2016. To avoid an excessive influence of more frequently represented models on the final results, the choice was made to select model combinations. At the same time only models that satisfactorily simulated the past climate over Slovenia were selected. Given the two limitations, there was a choice of 14 different combinations of global and regional models.

Using the measured values interpolated on the model spatial network, the Agency analysed the statistics of daily and monthly values of average air temperature and precipitation. The comparison between measured and model values was made by climate regions. The quality of monthly values was determined by the deviation of the median of the model values from the measured values for each month of the year in the comparison period 1981–2005. The Slovenian Environment Agency only selected models that matched the measurements relatively well (statistics of daily and monthly values of temperature and precipitation by climatic regions of Slovenia). Another aim was also to maximize the diversity between combinations of global and regional climate models in order to cover as much of the uncertainty that stems from the characteristics of both global and regional models as possible.

Out of 14 combinations of global and regional climate models, six were finally selected. To study the impact of global models on regional results, the Agency chose two combinations with the same global model and two combinations with the same regional model to study the impact of regional models.

To eliminate systematic errors of the climate model simulations, the Agency used a modified method of quantile mapping. Corrections of model simulations were made for the period 1981–2100, and the comparison period for estimating bias was the thirty-year period 1981–2010. To eliminate the bias, daily ground measurement data interpolated to the model grid was used.

Elimination of the model bias was done for each variable separately. The Agency first performed bias correction (BC) method for precipitation data using the quantile mapping method. More precisely, the non-parametric quantile mapping method using empirical quantiles was utilised. Bias correction was performed for each model cell independently of the others.

All other variables were corrected using the method of quantile delta mapping (hereinafter QDM). The dependence of the considered variable (e.g. daily average temperature) on precipitation was taken into account. The aim was to maintain the model trends for the variable under consideration and the relationship between precipitation and the variable that follows from meteorological measurements. For the considered variable, the deviations of this variable from the average annual course in the comparison period for the four precipitation classes were corrected using the quantile mapping method. Corrections were performed for each precipitation class and for each model cell independently of the others and for 30-year periods (2011–2040, 2041–2070 and 2071–2100). After corrections of deviations, the absolute values of the considered variable were obtained by adding the average annual course.

As the individual variables vary greatly in absolute terms throughout the year, the average seasonal course of the variable and the deviation from it was separated for each class before eliminating the bias. The average seasonal course was calculated by smoothing the data with the locally estimated scatterplot smoothing function (LOESS). The window of 61 days was taken for the smoothing window, paying attention to the smooth transition at the edges of the year (December, January).

All calculations were first performed for each model of the ensemble and by each model grid point separately. For the selected RCP scenario, the future change for each model and each model grid point was estimated. The change was analysed by comparing the results for one of the three projection periods with the comparison period or by estimating the trend over the entire period (1981–2100).

Regional model data at each model grid point were analysed in two ways:
1. Estimating the changes in the average values of climate variables or their indicators over three thirty-year periods compared to the comparison period.
2. Assessing the long-term trend of extreme values of climate variables or their indicators.

The statistical significance of the change in mean values was assessed by testing the null hypothesis that there was no change. The statistical significance of extreme value trends was assessed by estimating the confidence interval for the trend. Changes were assessed on an annual and on a seasonal basis.

The comparison period was the thirty-year period 1981-2010. Statistical significance was checked by Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test. The characteristic level (a) for the test was set to 0.1.

The values of changes and statistical significance of the changes for individual model were combined – the Agency estimated the coherence of the model ensemble, which tells whether the models of the ensemble show similar changes. A change of the ensemble mean value was marked as reliable if more than half of the models showed a statistically significant change with the same sign. If approximately the same number of models showed a statistically significant change on either side, the change was marked as unreliable and reported as such in the report.

Long-term trends of the extreme values of climate variables have been assessed using the extreme value theory (Coles, 2001). A linear trend of extreme values was estimated for the entire period. The values of trends and their errors (trend confidence intervals) for an individual model were finally combined into an estimate for the whole model ensemble using the bootstrap method. The Agency got the mean value for the ensemble trend and its estimated error - a confidence interval that is greater than the confidence intervals of individual model trends. The statistical significance of the whole ensemble trend was assessed similarly to the assessment of changes in the thirty-year periods.

The whole process - from data quality control, homogenisation and model data downloading to data processing (bias adjustment, downscaling), data analysing and results visualisation is done by self-developed tools using R, Python and CDS.

Despite its small size Slovenia has great geographical landscape diversity due to its position at the intersection of four major European geographical units: the Alps, the Mediterranean, the Pannonian Basin, and the Dinaric Alps. As a result, the climate of this small piece of land is also extremely varied, due to the transit character and influence of three major climate types: Alpine, Mediterranean and Continental. The diverse geology of such a small area makes it highly susceptible to landslides and debris flows. This is exacerbated by the increasing intensity of rainfall, which is an important triggering factor that is projected to increase in the future.

In the period 1961–2020, the average air temperature increased by 2°C. With rising temperature other climate characteristics are changing as well. The signal for precipitation is not uniform. In the period 1961-2010 precipitation decreased by some 20 per cent in the western half of the country and by 10 per cent in the eastern half at the annual level. In the last 12 years (period 2011-2022) the decreasing precipitation trend has stagnated and even changed to increasing trend. Climate projections predict that it would turn into an increasing one across the whole country in the coming decades. Snow cover, as an important natural water retention element, has halved in the last six decades, what has already had a significant influence on the river flow regime, with lower late spring pick and higher late autumn pick. Although the extreme events are rare by definition and therefore it is difficult to detect their significant change it is evident that all climate indicators for extreme heat, extreme precipitation and drought show increasing trend for their intensity as well as for their frequency.

The assessment of further climate change in Slovenia until the end of the 21st century drafted by the Slovenian Environment Agency reveals that the climate will continue to change drastically in Slovenia.

Climate change poses significant pressure on existing environmental, economic and social challenges already present in Slovenia. With regard to environment, climate change poses additional threat to biodiversity, causes more frequent natural disasters due to storms, floods and other weather extremes, as well as it impacts sectors that are most exposed, such as agriculture, forestry and tourism. Among other, warm winters are more common which has an already observed impact on biodiversity such as disturbed hibernation patterns, expansion of thermophilic species, etc. In economic terms, warm winters also mean less days in ski season. The regions that are already suffering due to difficult economic situation were assessed as being more vulnerable to climate change impacts in the Expert basis for risk and vulnerability assessment (2014). There are large disparities between regions in indicators such as growing number of people older than 65 or the level of education in the region, further contributing to their vulnerability.

The National Disaster Risk Assessment, Version 1.0, compared the risks of 12 types of disasters (earthquake, flood, hazards of biological, chemical, environmental or unknown origin to human health, highly contagious animal diseases, nuclear or radiological accident, railway accident, aircraft accident, drought, large wildfire, terrorism, ice storm, accidents involving dangerous substances) which were identified in 2015 on the basis of risk assessments for individual disasters. In 2016, certain risk assessments for individual disasters were amended taking into consideration the impacts of future climate change (Risk Assessment for Floods, Risk Assessment for Drought, Risk Assessment for Large Wildfires, and to a lesser extent, Risk Assessment for the Outbreak of Highly Contagious Animal Diseases and Risk Assessment for the Hazards of Biological, Chemical, Environmental or Unknown Origin to Human Health). The Risk Assessment for Ice Storms was also amended, even though according to current knowledge in this area, future climate change will most likely have no significant negative or additional impact on the occurrence of ice storms. In 2018, three new risk assessments for individual disasters were prepared (Risk Assessment for Cyber Threats, Risk Assessment for Accidents at Sea, Risk Assessment for Diseases and Pests Affecting Forest Trees), whereas the Risk Assessment for Nuclear and Radiological Accidents was amended. The National Disaster Risk Assessment, Version 2.0, thus incorporated national disaster risk matrix representing a joint overview, i.e. an overview of all impacts and likelihoods of all the 15 assessed disasters, that shows that the highest risk in the Republic of Slovenia due to the combination of the impact levels and the likelihood of their occurrence, are floods, the only one at a very high risk level. In terms of their likelihood and frequency of occurrence, large wildfires and cyber risks represent a greater risk than floods. However, their impacts are much lower than those of the disasters with the highest impacts at least with regard to representative risk scenarios. Risk assessments for disasters are constantly being amended.

The workshops with experts carried out in preparation of the Expert basis for risk and vulnerability assessment in Slovenia (2014) demonstrated large differences in experts’ assessment of climate change impacts on different sectors. For example, in forestry sector before 2014 there was no agreement on whether forest fires and sanitary felling are to be considered important. In the following years, after 2014, sanitary felling has proved to have a major impact on the state of forests due to the various natural disturbances. In water sector, changing patterns in water flows and floods were assessed as important, while for health impacts of heat waves and new diseases were deemed important alongside the changing quality of drinking water. In energy, most important impacts were considered impacts on RES, disturbances in energy transmission and higher demand for cooling in summer months. Infrastructure was deemed vulnerable due to already existing pressures on public finances resulting from higher damages to infrastructure and buildings. In urban areas, air quality was deemed to be worsened, as well as available space for settlement lost due to natural disasters. In the field of national security, among identified as most important were threats of supply chain disruptions, corresponding need for self-sufficiency in food and more health impacts due to heat. Assessed as important were also impacts on increasing number of refugees and new possibility of climate refugees as well as an increased possibility of a war in the region.

Non-native species are being recognised as a great threat to biodiversity in Slovenia since it is evident that they are spreading fast along rivers and traffic routes. Wetland ecosystems are the most threatened by invasive non-native species, as two thirds of the most problematic invasive species are spread exclusively by and along waters. In many areas invasive plant species have already spread to such an extent that they completely replaced the natural vegetation. Campaigns for rising awareness and the correct way of disposal of invasive species are on the rise. They are mostly organised by municipalities and non-governmental organisations and increasingly by the managers of protected areas and the Institute for Nature Conservation within its projects (e.g. Wetman, Climaparks, Ljuba, Suport).

Since 2019 a research project co-funded by the Climate Change Fund is carried out by the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Ljubljana with partners (Establishment of monitoring of vectors and vector-borne diseases in Slovenia, more information available at https://www.mf.uni-lj.si/[…]/V3-1903_ANG_LOGO.pdf).

The aim of the project is to establish standardized procedures for monitoring mosquitoes and sandflies and determine the exact species of the diseases vectors as well as the prevalence of medically important pathogens in vectors, such as Dengue virus, Zika
virus, Yellow fever virus, West Nile virus and Chikungunya virus. Data on the presence and distribution of the vectors and vector-borne pathogens together with environmental data, will be the basis for the risk assessment of emerging pathogen introduction of and the impact it will have on public health in Slovenia. The research will contribute both to the recognition of the current state, as well as to the control of the spread of emerging pathogens in Slovenia. The data will be the basis for continuous monitoring of vectors and emerging microorganisms in Slovenia. An early warning system for emerging pathogens in Slovenia will be established. The collected data will not only be useful for Slovenian public health professionals, but also for other European countries, as warmer temperatures have allowed many disease-carrying vectors to expand their distribution northwards and to higher altitudes in Europe

Research into impacts of climate change on forest fires, spread of tropical diseases, buildings using wood as a material, ski tourism, irrigation, new species in agriculture and forestry, as well as biodiversity, green, blue and other infrastructure, is currently planned to be carried out in the period 2021-23.

In Slovenia, the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Energy is responsible for the field of climate change, incl. adaptation policies, together with other relevant sectors. The Environmental Protection Act (Official Gazette of RS, no. 158/20, available at http://www.pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=ZAKO8286) regulates matters related to climate change with adaptation more specifically mentioned only in connection with the provision of finances from the Climate Change Fund to adaptation measures. The process of preparing the national Climate Law has started in 2022 and it is expected to be adopted by the end of 2023. The new law will also incorporate adaptation related provisions. Specifically, the obligatory content of the national climate change adaptation strategy, responsibilities of relevant stakeholders and other related topics, which are still under development.

The Resolution on the National Environment Protection Programme with programmes of measures until 2030 (ReNPVO20-30, Official Gazette of RS, no. 31/20, available at http://www.pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=ODLO1985), adopted by the Parliament in March 2020, forsees the latest set of measures in the area of planning and steering of activities for achieving goals concerning climate change adaptation.

According to the National Environment Protection Programme with programmes of measures until 2030 (ReNPVO20-30), available at http://www.pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=ODLO1985, individual sectors are responsible for preparing climate vulnerability assessment for their respective sector. In the area of risk assessment, sectors are also responsible for disaster risk assessments for disasters they find important. For both assessments, there are mechanisms in place helping the preparation and coordination of work (Intersectoral Working Groups). The Slovenian Environment Agency offers also climate services to interested parties that help in the preparation of assessments. Such services provide information on the state of climate and anticipated changes of climate that are adapted to the needs of users (sectors, researchers) in a user-friendly manner enabling future uses.A few relevant assessments are the 2010 publication of the Slovenian Environment Agency entitled “Climate variability in Slovenia and its effects on the aquatic environment”, “Expert basis for risk and vulnerability assessment in Slovenia” from 2014, “Climate change assessment in Slovenia by the end of the 21st century” from 2018, and the report “Climate variability in Slovenia 1961-2011”, also from 2018.

The Intersectoral Working Group on Climate Change Adaptation (WG), with members from all concerned ministries, agencies and government offices, was officially nominated by the Government in September 2016 and is tasked with the implementation of the National Adaptation Strategy and horizontal and vertical coordination of adaptation policy-making. The Group serves as a main reference point during the process of adaptation policy development, and is led by the Ministry responsible for climate, if necessary, with the help of external experts. However, due to a large number of members, the work on developping climate change adaptation policy and measures was mainly done bilaterally. Due to the size of the group, members were mostly invited to comment on the documents or to attend relevant events with presentations of results of climate projections bilaterally. Implementation of measures is also mainly agreed on a bilateral basis and provision of finances for adaptation action have been secured from the Climate Change Fund. There has been little action so far with relation to monitoring, evaluation and revision of adaptation policy as more attention is devoted to early stages of planning.

As the NAS foresaw, several activities have been implemented to strengthen the use of instruments of environmental impact assessments for mainstreaming climate adaptation in all policies, plans and projects. One day trainings for authors of environmental reports and report verifiers were carried out in organisation of Ministry of the Environment every year from 2016-2020, providing guidelines, examples of good practices and exchange of experience. The Guidelines by the European Commission – DG CLIMA (Outline of the Climate Change related requirements and guidance for major projects in the 2014-2020 programming period) were translated to Slovene and presented at trainings. Guidelines for the Inclusion of Climate Change in Strategic Environmental Impact Assessments for National Spatial Plans (NSPs) in the field of state infrastructure (roads, railways) were prepared. An Instruction to the producers of the environmental report for projects was prepared by The Slovenian Environment Agency. Guidelines on the use of climate projections have been prepared for designers of infrastructure when extreme rainfall input data are used to include climate change impacts, adapted to design calculations and their verification. Further preparation of Guidelines for including climate change impacts in assessments of administrative procedures, recommendations and other tools for strengthening the use of instrument of environmental impact assessments, as well as exchanges and upgrades of databases, are ongoing.

In Slovenia, there is close cooperation between relevant government bodies, both informal and formal, in the preparation and integration of outcomes into relevant policy documents and planning. For both disaster risk and capabilities assessments and adaptation policy development, there are mechanisms in place to provide support and to coordinate the work (Intersectoral Working Groups), and members of relevant sectors are included as members in both working groups, while the Slovenian Environment Agency offers climate services to interested parties that help in the preparation of such assessments and policy making.

All detailed data on climate projections are freely available on open data portal OPSI (https://podatki.gov.si/) as well as at the Weather portal of the Slovenian Environment Agency, also in in the Atlas of climate projections. Data on climate related disaster Risk Assessment, Risk Management Capability Assessment and all the data related to damage assessment after natural disasters is freely available at the Administration for civil protection and disaster relief (former) websites (http://www.sos112.si/) and new government websites (https://www.gov.si/[…]/).

Adaptation priorities are laid down in the Strategic Framework for Climate Change Adaptation, adopted by the Government in December 2016 (available at https://www.gov.si/[…]/SOzP_ang.pdf). The document provides a long-term vision, purpose and strategic guidelines for enhancing adaptation-related activities under four chapters that are relevant for all sectors: mainstreaming, wider cooperation, research and development and education, training, communication and public awareness. In these four priority areas, actions have been defined, as well as the importance of providing funding was put forward in a separate chapter. Slovenia is also in the preparing a national climate law, which will include several provisions addressing the issues of adaptation to climate change. The law is planned to be adopted by the end of 2023.

In Slovenia, climate change vulnerability has not yet been fully assessed. However, information on challenges, gaps and barriers to adaptation can be gathered from the draft report on implementation of the NAS, the Strategic Framework for Climate Change Adaptation, in the period from 2016 to 2020. The report concluded with an overall assessment that the implementation was only moderately successful.

The Report shows a different level of success in the implementation of individual steps. The most successful were the integration of climate change adaptation into strategic planning, involvement in European and international activities, the provision of climate services and actions with regard to the preparation of an analysis of the situation in the field of education. The implementation of some steps was assessed as only partially successful, e.g. enhanced use of EIA / CPVO instruments, inter-ministerial cooperation, connecting databases and communication activities. Actions that were assessed as mostly unsuccessful were in the field of cooperation with the local and regional level (national contact point was not established) and the private sector and activities to establish regular cooperation between researchers and decision-makers, as the climate portal was not established. A key achievement was a significant increase in funding for adaptation purposes, and the biggest failure was the lack of progress in preparing the indicator for vulnerability assessment. With the adoption of the ReNPVO20-30, these activities have been postponed to the following years.

In particular, it is necessary to continue and upgrade knowledge on the impacts of climate change on individual sectors (as planned in the ReNPVO20-30 through the preparation of vulnerability assessments), and to plan priority measures on this basis. More efforts are needed to provide systematic research, planning and implementation and monitoring of measures, while also strengthening organization for implementation. An online consultation to develop the long term climate strategy has also shown that knowledge of adaptation (and also measures) to climate change among the general public is much weaker than in the area of climate change mitigation.

Agriculture and forestry were assessed as the most vulnerable sectors due to their exposure to climate change impacts. Therefore, already in 2008, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food prepared a Vulnerability assessment and the Strategy for climate change adaptation of Slovenian agriculture and forestry. The only sectoral adaptation strategy to date was then followed by an action plan for the periods 2009–2011 and 2010–2011. Due to the subsequent cessation of funds, the measures were no longer implemented. During the 2014–2020 period, the discussion of climate change was among the strategic objectives of the Common Agricultural Policy and adaptation was highlighted as one of the central objectives in the new agricultural policy 2021–2027. In its 2.04 Annex II the strategy includes an assessment towards the contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation and sustainable energy (available here https://view.officeapps.liv[…]ocx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK ). Adaptation measures are also included in certain other sectoral policies, especially pertaining to water (e. g. Flood Risk Reduction Plan, water management plans). In 2016, the national adaptation strategy, Strategic framework for climate change adaptation (SFCCA), was adopted by the government.

The SFCCA, NAS, included a vision and general objectives as well as horizontal guidelines for all sectors. The vision states that by 2050 Slovenia should become a society adapted and resilient to climate change impacts and characterised by a high quality of life and a high degree of safety of life, while taking full advantage of the changed climate on the basis of sustainable development. To strengthen capacities for climate change adaptation, management of risks and for taking advantage of the opportunities presented thereby several objectives and guidelines were put forward. General objective was to reduce Slovenia’s exposure, sensitivity and vulnerability to climate change impacts and increase the climate resilience and adaptive capacity of society. Horizontal guidelines were 4: on mainstreaming, broader cooperation, Research and knowledge transfer and Education and training, awareness raising and communication.

The importance of an adequate and timely provision of funding for climate change adaptation activities and measures both in Slovenia and in developing countries was also stressed. For a comprehensive implementation of guidelines (the steps and methods for their implementation are set in the strategy), it was foreseen that the monitoring should take place on a regular basis by an inter-ministerial climate change adaptation working group, which will also report on their implementation. However, to date, only one draft Report on the implementation of the SFCCA in the 2016–2020 was prepared, but never put for adoption to the working group due to changes of government political priorities. The draft report served as an input to the long term climate strategy, adopted by the parliament in 2021 (Resolution on Slovenia’s Long-Term Climate Strategy Until 2050, available at https://unfccc.int/documents/302702). This strategy expanded on the SFCCC and gives special focus also to biodiversity protection and foresees implementation of measures for conserving biodiversity to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

For the success of monitoring and evaluation, indicators were foreseen to be developed to assess the degree of Slovenia’s vulnerability at the national and municipal levels. This assessment has been carried out throughout 2022 and finished in February 2023. The vulnerability indicator illustrated the level of exposure (for selected meteorological variables, natural hazards and non-meteorological variables), adaptive capacity (municipalities are divided into 5 groups of municipalities: rural, industrial, suburban, urban and major cities), sensitivity (selected set of variables for each municipality, for example on land use structure, age structure, work activity, health status of the population) for all 212 municipalities in Slovenia. From the prepared data, target areas and municipalities for adaptation action by the government can be determined.

Due to insufficient implementation of the NAS, Slovenia prepared a strategic integrated LIFE project proposal, that was successful at the first stage. The project entitled “SLOVE LIFE4ADAPT” is now prepared for submission in the second stage. The proposed project, aims at contributing to the full implementation of the NAS, SFCCA, adopted by the Government in 2016. The project proposes a comprehensive set of activities to target main bottlenecks in the field of climate change adaptation, adjustment of major risks that will be identified in the project across sectors and includes key stakeholders in the process, as foreseen by the SFCCA. So far, implementation of the NAS was facing major barriers in the form of institutional capacity, know-how and wider recognition of risks leading to suboptimal implementation will, capabilities and capacities across all sectors, levels of government and wider public. This has changed with climate impacts felt across Slovenia in 2022 due to events of extreme drought, heat weaves and widespread forest fires. The project thus proposes to implement activities ranging from upgrading climate services at Slovenian Environment Agency, through establishment of a new two-tier interdepartmental Working group on Adaptation, Climate Portal and Local contact point for municipalities and regions, to developing a national action plan of measures for climate change adaptation, underpinned by work packages on implementation of pilot measures, trainings, communication, devising M&E system, innovative financing mechanisms and post-project implementation plan.

Mainstreaming of adaptation is carried out mainly through SEA/IEA instruments that guarantee that strategies, plans and projects have also included consideration of climate change impacts. Many national level strategies have included climate change impacts already in the preparation phase, or through public and interministerial consultation processes. Some sectors, such as agriculture and forestry sectors have their own adaptation strategies and carry out measures which address climate change impacts through both national and European funding.

Slovenia's Development Strategy 2030 (SRS2030), the country's umbrella development document adopted in 2017, explicitly addresses climate change goals. The Strategy for sustainable growth of Slovenian tourism for 2017-2021, also adopted in 2017, included a measure of having a climate change vulnerability assessment for the tourism sector, besides measures on further developing the green scheme and making tourism infrastructure more resilient through providing funds for energy retrofitting and other. In the water management sector, the Water Management Plan for the Danube and Adriatic See Basins for the 2016–2021 period was adopted, which also defines measures that contribute to climate change adaptation. Climate change impacts have been included in the second cycle of the EU Floods Directive (2007/60/EC) assessment of flood hazard in flood risk assessment and management process. Climate services have been provided by the Slovenian Environment Agency to experts so that floods hazard maps have been prepared using climate projections of impacts on precipitation. Since 2006, Slovenia has been the host of the Drought Management Centre for Southeastern Europe – DMCSEE (under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification – UNCCD and the World Meteorological Organisation – WMO). The groundwork for the National Action Plan for Drought Management in Slovenia was prepared in the framework of DMCEEE, which examined current drought management in Slovenia and put forward specific proposals for its improvement. For biodiversity conservation, The Natura 2000 Management programme for Slovenia for the period 2014-2020 has been adopted, especially for the management of NATURA 2000 sites. It determines conservation goals for habitats and species with the aim to maintain or improve their conservation status and thus also to improve their resilience to climate change. On 29 January 2020, the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia adopted the Resolution on the National Program on Strategic Directions for the Development of Slovenian Agriculture and Food "Naša hrana, naravni viri in podeželje po letu 2021". The document defined the basic strategic framework for the operation of agriculture, food and rural areas and is the basis for new strategic planning for the period after 2021. Ministry for agriculture, food and forestry has identified the following specific objectives: reduction of negative impacts on water, soil and air, climate change mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity protection, preservation of the cultural landscape and ensuring higher standards of animal welfare.

Mitigation and adaptation of agriculture to climate change is one of the central challenges it has addressed with solutions such as adaptation of species and varieties of agricultural plants, consideration of modern crop rotation guidelines and implementation of modern technological solutions. This will consequently change the current practices of many farms and also affect market conditions.
 

The energy renovation of buildings, both public and private, had a number of multiple effects in Slovenia, such as: cost reduction, better quality of life and job creation with the revival of the construction sector and the timber industry. The Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted an Action Plan to increase the competitiveness of the forest-wood chain until 2020, which aimed at creating a market for timber products and services, improving the sustainable management of forests, increasing the amount and processing of timber with new technologies, creating new jobs and increasing the added value per employee in the wood processing industry.

Administration for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief under Ministry of Defense, is the national coordination body for risk assessment processes (providing links with adaptation related policies through Inter-ministerial working group on Disaster Risk and Management Capabilities Assessments) and also responsible for national emergency response plans in co-operation with other ministries. Climate change impacts have been included into relevant disaster risk assessments.

Other related legislation has also been amended, for example the new Spatial Planning Law integrates climate change adaptation in spatial/urban/land use planning processes at all levels. Adaptation is not mainstreamed in insurance policies, however there are incentives for investments in risk prevention in agriculture.

The National Disaster Risk Assessment, adopted by the Government in 2016 and updated in 2018 to include Risk Assessments with integrated climate impacts, provides a comprehensive risk assessment analysis for disasters and identifies that the major disaster risks for the country are related to floods. Water management (and associated risks of flood and drought) together with agriculture and forestry are sectors that have devoted the most attention to climate change adaptation action in the past also due to the high impact of extreme weather events. Main measures in agriculture that are important also for climate change adaptation are carried out through Common agricultural policy funding and Rural development programme. The Ministry for agriculture also provides incentives to farmers for investments in risk prevention in agriculture as a means of risk transfer.

All infrastructure projects and government plans have to assess climate change impacts through SEA/IEA procedures. A dedicated process to facilitate stakeholders' involvement forms an integral part in the preparation of environment reports in SEA/IEA processes. Cooperation with external experts takes place, plans on how to involve stakeholders are developed and a number of public events and regular consultations with experts are held. A continuous process for improvement, especially of the coordination between policy-makers and science, is undertaken.

Stakeholders are being engaged as a part of general policy making. There is an obligation to consult with representative organizations of municipalities in all policy making. There are many practices of municipalities engaging with stakeholders particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts, as municipalities in Slovenia have wide ranging responsibilities from civil protection in natural disasters to elderly care. On the local level, adjustments of contingency plans for emergency situations, including the ones caused by climate change (floods, forest fires, heat waves etc.) are being made. Many municipalities also promote local resilience by providing urban gardens, social housing, local spatial planning directed into development of more green and blue areas, elimination of invasive alien species in municipal grounds etc. A good practice example from the sub national level is also municipalities engaging with stakeholders in the process of participatory budgeting.

Many measures in agriculture are important as they are contributing to resilience through promoting self-sufficiency in food. The ministry of agriculture has many actions directed towards promotion of high quality local foods, thus engaging with the private sector especially in food production area. Many municipalities are also assisting farmers in providing services to local public and private actors, public kindergartens and schools, and carrying out improvement of energy efficiency of public buildings (including kindergartens and schools) through public-private partnerships, thus engaging with the private sector on many levels.

Adaptation measures are being carried out in priority sectors and the monitoring of progress takes place as defined in the respective action plans (water management plans, flood risk management plans, in agriculture and forestry sectors). Measuring the effectiveness/efficiency of adaptation progress has been developed with the Vulnerability Indicator, described in the Annex 4 (Process of development and structure of the Vulnerability Indicator) of the NAS, Strategic Framework for Climate Change Adaptation.

Assessment of the degree of Slovenia’s vulnerability at the national and municipal levels has been carried out throughout 2022 and finished in February 2023 to be further examined. Vulnerability indicators for all 212 municipalities in Slovenia could show the level of exposure (for selected meteorological variables, natural hazards and non-meteorological variables), adaptive capacity (municipalities are divided into 5 groups of municipalities: rural, industrial, suburban, urban and major cities), sensitivity (selected set of variables for each municipality, for example on land use structure, age structure, work activity, health status of the population). From the data prepared in this way, target areas and municipalities for adaptation action by the government can be determined.

A system for the periodic review of adaptation action at sectoral and local levels and the allocation of reporting responsibilities is planned to be developed within the framework of the National Action Plan on Adaptation (NAP), in the framework of the proposed project “SLOVE LIFE4ADAPT”. The latter also foresees development of a monitoring and evaluation system to be established alongside NAP.

There are indicators developed within the wider framework of Environment indicators of the Slovenian Environment Agency, specifically on climate change adaptation, available at http://kazalci.arso.gov.si/[…]/climate-change-adaptation.

The implementation of adaptation actions within the Climate change fund has been assessed in two steps – first in their overall contribution to the criteria for inclusion for funding, among which is contribution to climate change adaptation through increasing resilience (other criteria are also the preparedness of the project, wider impacts, etc.), and secondly through the process – have climate change impacts been assessed and included in the implementation or design of the measure. In this way, there are double guarantees that actions have contributed to adaptation objectives of increasing resilience to climate change impacts.

There is no overview in terms of disbursement of funding to increase resilience to climate change in Slovenia. Such an overview would also be impossible to make as measures that contribute to climate resilience are distributed across sectors and layers of government and in many cases are not reported for these purposes, but for example in Rural development programme across the farms. In many cases these include the agricultural practice itself, not only the part that is related to climate change adaptation. The funds disbursed to wider adaptation purposes - irrigation (infrastructure, equipment, sprinkling and pipeline), spraying system against frost, foil for protection against cracking and burning of fruits, hail nets and greenhouses, amounted in the period 2014-2020 to 23.135.154,00 EUR (already disbursed funds until the end of 2020). However, the data has to be interpreted with caution as one farm might have received funds for more than one of these measures, and that one measure can also mean that funds for plantations have been counted among the measures.

In Slovenia, there is no earmarking of funds for climate adaptation. There are also practical difficulties in distinguishing to what degree certain measure in for example communication activities is only for adaptation, or possibility of double counting in the case of measures for energy efficiency in buildings, important for both greenhouse gas emissions reductions and improving resilience to weather extremes.

However, funding for cross-cutting climate adaptation actions is available within Climate Change Fund, and allocations to specific climate adaptation research or implementation measures are increasing. There are a number of other funds, from European Cohesion Funds for floods defence measures and disaster risk management measures to EEA and Norway grants mechanism that are contributing to adaptation goals.

No such assessment of spending used to support climate adaptation as the additional investment that makes a project (that would have been realised anyway) climate resilient has been realised in Slovenia. From experience, there is no more than 20% of higher security thresholds needed to include projected climate change impacts and most of the time these are already included within the security parameters of designing guidelines.

Progress towards reducing climate change impacts, vulnerabilities and risks has not yet been assessed in Slovenia.

There is also no assessment of progress towards increasing adaptive capacity in Slovenia.

Slovenia has set-up a qualitative and quantitative monitoring process for the implementation of the Strategic Framework. The latter outlines a set of indicators that will form the vulnerability indicator. The aim is to monitor climate change by collecting information on a range of variables like exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity variables, key climate change impacts and identified risks and opportunities. Monitoring of the implementation of measures will be selected when adaptation plan and actions are developed.

Qualitative assessment of progress towards meeting adaptation priorities as set in the NAS have been made through assessment of actions preformed under each guideline and corresponding steps in the draft report on implementation of the NAS, the Strategic Framework for Climate Change Adaptation, in the period from 2016 to 2020.

Barriers to adaptation have been only assessed implicitly in the NAS and progress towards addressing them reported in the form of the draft Report on implementation of the NAS, the Strategic Framework for Climate Change Adaptation, in the period from 2016 to 2020, report assessing progress towards adaptation goals through carrying out the steps and guidelines for enhancing climate resilience.

The NAP drafting hasn’t yet started. The first vulnerability assessments for sectors and municipalities is still ongoing. Indicators and a periodic adaptation review system are to be developed in the framework of a NAP.

There is no planned revision of the National Adaptation Strategy.

Based on shared transboundary watercourses and mountains, Slovenia participates in 2 international river commissions, three EU regional strategies and the Alpine Convention. There are a number of cross-border and transboundary cooperation projects that deal with specific adaptation needs on the ground.

No further developments since 2021 were recorded.

Slovenia is cooperating with neighbours and other countries of the Western Balkans in the frame of the Sava River Basin Framework Agreement. Within this framework, a regional Flood Warning System for the countries of the Sava River Basin was established with one of its centres in Slovenia. The system represents a modern and innovative tool not only for the prevention of floods, but also for the climate change adaptation in the region.

No further developments since 2021 were recorded.

Since 2006, Slovenian Environment Agency hosts the WMO Drought Management Centre for Southeastern Europe that helps the countries in the region prepare, assess and improve their drought management through increasingly advanced tools. They were developed in the framework of different EU transnational cooperation programmes, such as Danube and Alpine Transnational Region Programme.

No further developments since 2021 were recorded.

In Slovenia, municipalities are the only official local level of government; they have an extensive role regarding spatial planning, housing, water management, economic development and environmental protection. There are no legal requirements for municipalities to prepare adaptation plans, however climate change impacts are being integrated in their spatial plans through the Strategic Environmental Assessment of these Plans. At the regional level a new spatial planning legislation is requiring regional spatial plans to include climate change impact assessments. Regional development agencies will play a role in developing newly required regional development plans as there is no official regional level government in Slovenia.

Climate change adaptation initiatives at the local and/or regional levels are mostly based on one-off participation in various projects (e.g. pilot research, transnational cooperation and LIFE projects). Collaborations on adaptation across authorities form therefore as a part of a research or other project.

In Slovenia, there are several municipalities, gathered in regions, that have already adopted or are in the process of developing Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP) in line with the Covenant of Mayors methodology, incorporating also regional vulnerability assessment and measures important for adaptation. In the case of the first Slovenian LIFE project on climate change adaptation, LIFE ViVaCCAdapt, there was a regional analysis in support of adaptation of agriculture in the Vipava Valley. The Strategy for adaptation that followed was adopted by two municipalities in the region (Ajdovšcina municipality and a neighbouring one). More is envisaged through the project entitled “SLOVE LIFE4ADAPT”, which is now prepared for submission in the second stage.

In Slovenia, there are not many sub-national strategies, policies and plans in place in particular for addressing climate change adaptation. However, there is a great number of strategies and plans that municipalities, as the only level of local government, have adopted to plan their development in a sustainable way, in many cases including climate adaptation measures such as green infrastructure, floods protection measures and other support for increasing resilience to extreme weather events. These plans are mainly carried out through spatial planning, detailed spatial plans and strategic spatial plans. Larger, city level municipalities have also adopted Sustainable Urban Development Strategies, and some municipalities have gathered into regions and have adopted Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP).

There is one local level strategy for climate change adaptation in agriculture, Climate Change Adaptation Strategy for Agriculture in the Vipava Valley for the period 2017-2021 (https://life-vivaccadapt.si/[…]/Deliverable_C1_FINAL_Strategy-1.pdf) that was developed within LIFE project ViVaCCAdapt. Strategy was based on the Regional analysis to support adaptation of agriculture to climate change in the Vipava Valley, also developed within the project. The strategy has reviewed existing documents on adaptation and selected those measures from Common Agricultural Policy, Rural development programme and other policies in water management (River Basin Management Plans for the Danube and Adriatic Sea River Basins) that were deemed priorities on the basis of the analysis and in the process of wider consultations.

No overview of good practice examples from the sub-national levels to engage with stakeholders particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts has to date been prepared in Slovenia. There have been a number of projects addressing energy poverty, as well as substantive funding provided by the Slovenian Eco Fund for measures that help to address energy poverty.

In the field of reducing energy poverty, Slovenian Eco Fund implements measures aimed at socially weak citizens. Since 2010, in the context of the energy renovation of multi-apartment buildings, recipients of cash social assistance or welfare allowance are entitled to a 100% subsidy for their share of the investment within the overall investment of the block. These are investments in thermal insulation of the facade, thermal insulation of the roof or ceiling against the unheated space, optimization of the heating system and replacement of old heating devices in shared boiler rooms. In addition to the above-mentioned, the Eco Fund has been implementing the ZERO project (Reducing Citizens' Energy Poverty) since 2014, which is intended for citizens who are recipients of regular or extraordinary cash assistance and/or welfare allowance. The ZERO project is carried out under the auspices of the Eco Fund by energy consultants within the public network ENSVET, who visit citizens at their homes.

In 2019, the Eco Fund started implementing the program "Subsidizing EE measures in 500 households with low incomes to solve energy poverty - Program ZERO500", which is implemented within the Operational Program of the European Cohesion Policy for the period 2014-2020. The funds are intended for investments in efficient energy use measures in one- or two-apartment buildings (e.g. for facade replacement, installation of energy-efficient windows, roof insulation, installation of ventilation, etc.) in households with low incomes.

There has been no overview of good practice examples from the sub-national levels to engage with the private sector prepared to date in Slovenia. Engagement with the private sector has been assessed as one of the gaps in the draft Report on the implementation of the SFCCA in the period 2016–2020, and since then, no major measures were taken in this regard.

There is no overview of implementation of measures planned under sub-national strategies, policies, plans and efforts in stakeholder engagement.

As subnational adaptation plans, policies, strategies and measures are in the early stages of development, there are no good practices to report besides the ones already reported under the chapter Adaptation strategies, policies, plans and goals.

There are a number of projects, currently ongoing or concluded, that enhance adaptation action at the sub-national level, such as:
- INTERREG Italy- Slovenia ECO-SMART (2020-2022) project to more effectively monitor the state of climate change and to plan appropriate adaptation measures to prevent the negative effects that threaten the quality of biodiversity in selected coastal NATURA 2000 sites of the included regions in Slovenia and Italy. It developed an adaptation plan for Slovenia protected area Skocjanski zatok.
- INTERREG Italy- Slovenia project POSEIDONE (2023-2026) is addressing the North Adriatic Sea functional area stretching from Chioggia to end of Slovene coastal area with the main objective of promoting local development on common needs and challenges through interventions in three different fields: protection of nature and biodiversity, development of green and blue infrastructure (in Natura 2000 sites and in the agricultural field) and the decrease of touristic pressure on natural parks.
- Interreg SLO-AT CROSSRISK was an Interreg bilateral project between Slovenia and Austria (2014-2020) to improve human safety and improve the protection of infrastructure in the programme area, consisting of eight Slovenian and nine Austrian regions. It also supported tourism to raise awareness of opportunities and risks through improved information about the safety of touring skiers or improved predictions of the potential for artificial snowfall.
- DriDanube (Danube Region) and ADO (Alpine Area) projects where different drought indicators, adapted in the case of the Danube region to a more flat and agro-oriented area, and in the case of the Alps a rugged area with typical hydrology, were developed. The major contributions of both projects are the addition of existing drought monitoring with additional data sources (satellite observations, model calculations) and a database on the effects of drought providing a resource for a more comprehensive assessment of the impact of climate change on frequency and intensity of droughts in the future.