The Mission

The Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change focuses on supporting EU regions, cities and local authorities in their efforts to build resilience against the impacts of climate change. The Mission’s objective is to accompany at least 150 European regions and communities towards climate resilience by 2030.

The Mission contributes to delivery of the EU Adaptation Strategy by helping the regions and local authorities to:

Better understand the climate risks that they are and will be confronted with in the future
Develop their pathways to be better prepared and cope with the changing climate
Test and deploy on the ground innovative solutions needed to build resilience to climate change.

Why is this Mission important?

Dangerous climate change is almost upon us. We have already experienced more than a one degree rise in global temperatures since the industrial revolution. Even if the World’s countries succeed in delivering the reductions in carbon emissions detailed in their Nationally Determined Contributions to the Paris Agreement, we remain on course for more than a two degree rise in global temperatures by the end of this century.

Concurrently, the magnitude, frequency and synchrony of extreme weather events is increasing. These changes are already leading to direct and indirect impacts across all aspects of our economy, society, and environment. They may also lead to transnational spill-over effects on international trade, resource competition, regional conflict, migration, and the spread of diseases and invasive species.

Climate adaptation actions that can enhance our resilience to climate change will take many decades to implement. This is not only due to their scope and scale but also because they may take as long as it takes a tree to grow and deliver benefits. So, it is vital that regional and local authorities and communities act now with real urgency to prepare for the inevitable effects of climate change.

Climate mitigation and climate adaptation are two sides of the same coin. There is no point in reducing emissions in ways that are maladapted or lead to wider maladaptation and it is important that adaptation actions are implemented in ways that minimise carbon emissions.

What are the EU Missions?

The European Commission has launched five Missions:

1. Adaptation to Climate Change

2. Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities

3. Restore our Ocean and Waters

4. Soil Health and Food

5. Beating Cancer

These Missions aim to deliver concrete solutions to big societal challenges by putting research and innovation in combination with new forms of governance and collaboration, and stakeholder and citizen engagement.

The Missions address issues that really matter for citizens. They are grounded on the idea that complex societal challenges require coordinated and interdisciplinary efforts across Europe. They have a clear goal and a well-defined timeframe to help deliver concrete results with broad impact.

Who is developing this Mission Portal?

Disclaimer
The contents and links to third-party items on this Mission webpage are developed by the MIP4Adapt team led by Ricardo, under contract CINEA/2022/OP/0013/SI2.884597 funded by the European Union and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union, CINEA, or those of the European Environment Agency (EEA) as host of the Climate-ADAPT Platform. Neither the European Union nor CINEA nor the EEA accepts responsibility or liability arising out of or in connection with the information on these pages.

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The Mission

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