Adapting to climate change in European cities: Towards smarter, swifter & more systemic action

This document has been developed by the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy following the release of the new EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change in February 2021. In this context, this publication is designed for decision-makers and technical staff working on climate change adaptation and resilience in local and regional governments, aiming to:

1. Update readers on the current EU policy context for climate adaptation, outlining broadly what the new EU Adaptation Strategy means for local and regional authorities in EU member states, and highlighting the relevance for local action of other key initiatives;
2. Highlight financing and funding schemes available for adaptation in cities;
3. Briefly describe the role of open data (including insurance data) in adaptation and resilience planning;
4. Outline key co-benefits of adaptation, with a special focus on its relation with climate mitigation, biodiversity protection, and disaster risk reduction;
5. Briefly highlight the importance of monitoring and evaluation for urban adaptation;
6. Briefly illustrate how adaptation measures have been implemented in practice;
7. Highlight other existing guidance and decision-support tools, including outputs of EU-funded projects on adaptation for further reading, and relevant standards in existence or under development.