Smart Control of the Climate Resilience in European Coastal Cities (SCORE)

The intensification of extreme weather events, coastal erosion and sea-level rise are major challenges to be urgently addressed by European coastal cities. The science behind these disruptive phenomena is complex, and advancing climate resilience requires progress in data acquisition, forecasting, and understanding of the potential risks and impacts for real-scenario interventions. The Ecosystem-Based Approach (EBA) supported by smart technologies has potential to increase climate resilience of European coastal cities; however, it is not yet adequately understood and coordinated at the European level.

SCORE outlines a co-creation strategy, developed via a network of 10 coastal city ‘living labs’ (CCLLs), to rapidly, equitably and sustainably enhance coastal city climate resilience through EBAs and sophisticated digital technologies. SCORE aims to establish an integrated coastal zone management framework for strengthening EBA and smart coastal city policies, creating European leadership in coastal city climate change adaptation in line with The Paris Agreement.

SCORE involves citizen science in providing prototype coastal city early-warning systems and enables smart, instant monitoring and control of climate resilience in European coastal cities through open, accessible spatial ‘digital twin’ tools. SCORE provides innovative platforms to empower stakeholders’ deployment of EBAs to increase climate resilience, business opportunities and financial sustainability of coastal cities.

In Dicember 2022, in a joint policy brief, the EU-funded H2020 projects PROTECT, CoCliCo and SCORE projects identified actions that are urgently needed to limit losses and damages, as coastal adaptation is an ongoing process that involves short-term actions, long-term planning and strategic thinking. The project in November 2023  partnered with PROTECT, CoCliCo and Rest Coast projects as part of Adapt4Coast Cluster—a collaboration of four EU-funded projects dedicated to bolstering climate resilience in European coastal areas and cities. The Adapt4Coast cluster was supported by the Horizon Results Booster, an initiative of the European Commission.