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Preparing the ground for adaptation Assessing risks and vulnerabilities to climate change Identifying adaptation options Assessing adaptation options Implementation Monitoring and evaluation

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Preparing the ground for adaptation

1.8 Finding additional support

Throughout the adaptation process, difficult questions may arise on specific issues embedded in the local situation. Therefore, additional, more in-depth or more personalised support could be helpful. Currently cities have various options for obtaining additional support in the form of helpdesks, forums, workshops, seminars and webinars organised by a wide range of organisations on various governance levels as well as by EU funded projects (see the Climate-ADAPT news section).

The Covenant of Mayors Office regularly organizes capacity-building activities for the signatory  cities such as workshops, webinars or trainings (see the Covenant of Mayors events calendar). Check out the overview of all adaptation webinars to date, containing webinar recordings, presentations made and useful information. A  dedicated space for exchange between signatory cities, coordinators and supporters on the MyCovenant platform offers the possibility to exchange with others through forums and a peer-to-peer learning tool. In addition, the Library on the Covenant of Mayors webpage features a wealth of case studies and other knowledge resources.  

In addition to the Covenant of Mayors initiative, European and international city associations, such as Climate AllianceCouncil of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, EurocitiesICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability and others include adaptation to climate change among their focus areas and provide related capacity building and support activities. 

Many international organisations target their work in areas closely related to adaptation, such as disaster risk reduction, mitigation of climate change or sustainable urban development. They provide capacity building events and resources relevant for adaptation in urban areas. For example, UNDRR’ s Making Cities Resilient campaign offers webinars and capacity building events on disaster risk reduction (DRR). UN HABITAT’s Urban Resilience Hub supports adaptation-relevant knowledge building and exchange.

Furthermore, support and capacity building activities are organised by EU transnational regions that have developed regional adaptation strategies, often in the national languages of participating countries. For the most part their activities do not specifically target urban areas. The adaptation activities of transnational regions are detailed in the regions' pages.

European and national level organisations providing adaptation-related funding offer capacity building activities for the successful uptake of the funding. For more on funding opportunities and related organisations see Step 1.5. Also EU funded research projects focused on adaptation include workshops and knowledge exchange activities (see resources below).

On a national level capacity building and support activities are organised as part of the implementation of national adaptation strategies. They can be either urban-specific or more general in their coverage. It is advisable to contact the national level agencies implementing adaptation policies to inquire about the available support for urban adaptation. This can include e.g. provision of climate data, funding for the development of adaptation plans or concrete measures, further guidance in the national language, specific training sessions etc.) The contacts and further information can be found in the Climate-ADAPT country pages. Similar support may be available from sub-national (province, region or state) authorities. A number of regions or provinces provide help as coordinating organisations within the framework of the Covenant of Mayors. You can have a look at the overview of Covenant of Mayors Coordinators  to see if your region, province or state is already involved, and find more information about their activities and how to get in touch.

 

Case studies

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