News Archive

The temperature is rising, putting the world’s growing urban population at risk. Identifying hotspots and making use of all available data sources is key. The EU-funded CityCLIM project developed a tool specifically to support city administrations to find the best options for urban heat mitigation and adaptation.

In the political guidelines 2024-2029 for the European Commission, President Ursula von der Leyen announced the European Climate Adaptation Plan (ECAP) to support Member States on preparedness and resilience planning. Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra has taken the lead in the work on ECAP. The policy package will be presented during the 2nd half of 2026. Climate resilience and preparedness have already been flagged for particular attention in several key EU policy documents.

The Commission and High Representative launched the Preparedness Union Strategy to support Member States and enhance Europe's capability to prevent and respond to emerging threats. The Strategy includes 30 key actions and a detailed Action Plan to advance the Preparedness Union's objectives, as well as developing a ‘preparedness by design culture' across all EU policies. Among others, it confirms once again the European Climate Adaptation Plan and the Water Resilience Initiative as key upcoming actions.

Climate risk assessments (CRAs) guide national adaptation strategies but often lack integrated analyses. This study reviews national CRAs, highlighting Germany’s latest approach. While progress has been made, a common framework is missing. The findings show that integrated analyses enhance decision-making by revealing risk dynamics and spatial patterns—key for effective adaptation policies.

Until now, federal spending on climate adaptation in Germany was not systematically assessed. A study by the German Environment Agency developed a methodology to analyze the expenditures. Applied to the 2022 federal budget, it identified €2.1–€3.4 billion in adaptation-related spending across 255 budget titles. This approach enables regular reporting, as required by the Climate Adaptation Act and EU regulations. The findings highlight existing adaptation efforts and the need to integrate adaptation measures more effectively into existing funding programs, such as urban development grants. The report is in German with an extensive 10-page summary in English.

According to a European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing, rising temperatures due to climate change are increasing the risk of human exposure to mycotoxins. Those are naturally occurring toxins produced by fungi found in certain foods, feed and crops and can cause harm to human health. Preventing the rise of contamination requires joined-up action on European and national levels, on research, policies and practice to effectively reduce risks.

If you're seeking support to develop your region’s climate resilience strategy or need guidance on innovative finance mechanisms for adaptation, this is your opportunity to get involved. By completing the Expression of Interest survey under the EU-funded Pathways2Resilience project, you’ll receive information on the 2025 call for applicants and have a say in shaping the tailored support program. Local or regional public authorities are invited to complete the survey until 18 April 2025, 18:00 CET.

The LIFE Calls for Proposals 2025 are expected to be published on 24 April 2025. In 2021-2027, the sub-programme Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation co-finances projects in the areas of urban adaptation and land-use planning, resilience of infrastructure, sustainable management of water in drought-prone areas, flood and coastal management, resilience of the agricultural, forestry and tourism sectors, and/or support to the EU's outermost regions: preparedness for extreme weather events, notably in coastal areas.

Even historically water-secure regions like the Paris Metropolitan area are increasingly vulnerable to drought. The new OECD report 'Adapting the Paris Metropolitan Area to a Water-Scarce Future' proposes an innovative approach to evaluate the costs of climate-induced droughts in the region and offers policy recommendations for strengthening urban drought resilience. It builds on international examples that can inspire regions globally.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) published a report highlighting the need to develop joint data- and information sharing processes. Those are fundamental to foster adaptation and efficient cooperation, enhanced resilience and emergency preparedness.

As the world fastest warming continent, Europe is unprepared for the impacts of Earth tipping points being crossed. A Joint Research Centre (JRC) policy brief outlines the need for anticipatory governance to prepare for widespread, cross-boundary, systemic risks resulting from the crossing of Earth system tipping points.

New reports published by the European Commission on the state of water in the EU call for more action across Europe to expand the countries' planning and administrative capacity and adequately invest in flood prevention. The reports will play a crucial role in shaping the upcoming Water Resilience Strategy, which aims to address the most pressing water-related challenges in Europe.

The EU Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) Peer Review Programme for Disaster Risk Management produced a report focused on Italy’s wildfire governance, preparedness, and emergency response systems, with a particular focus on the synergies and coordination between national and regional level.

Slovenia is launching a seven-year, EUR 27 million project to boost its resilience in the face of climate change. The EU-funded project dubbed Life4Adapt will see the Environment Agency set up a national centre for climate analysis and forecast providing detailed guidelines for adapting to climate change.

Environment minister Serge Wilmes has announced 131 measures to prepare Luxembourg for climate change. As stated in the draft strategy plan presented on 7 February 2025, it is important to take preventive adaptation measures, given that certain studies suggest that the cost of climate inaction is likely to exceed the cost of increasing adaptation to the effects of climate change. Therefore, the adaptation plan has become more ambitious than the previous version.

A new report by the German environmental office describes the development of a methodology for recording direct and indirect federal expenditures on climate adaptation. This developed methodology was applied to the 2022 federal budget on a pilot basis, analysing the adaptation expenditures within that year. The German report includes an English summary.

According to Queen's University, almost 90 per cent of stadiums hosting the 2026 World Cup could face potentially dangerous levels of heat. With climate change and extreme heat becoming a growing problem for sport, some governing bodies for football recommend delaying or postponing games if a metric of heat stress termed “wet bulb globe temperatures” reaches above 28°C to protect its players and spectators.

The Managing Authority of Interreg Greece-Italy Programme is launching the 3rd Call for Operations of Strategic Importance SO2.4. Under the theme “Promoting climate change adaptation and disaster risk prevention and resilience, taking into account eco-system-based approaches”, the call seeks to fund a cross-border project, in which relevant institutions cooperate to make border regions more resilient to common challenges, find shared solutions in the field of climate change adaptation, disaster risk prevention and resilience and to exploit the untapped growth potential in border areas, while enhancing the cooperation process for the purposes of the overall harmonious development of the Union.

With Europe being the fastest-warming continent in the world, the likelihood of extreme weather events rises rapidly. Extreme droughts and floods hit Italy, Greece and Spain more than most other countries across the globe in the past 30 years, causing many deaths and high economical losses, according to the Climate Risk Index (CRI) published by NGO Germanwatch.

Data reviewed by the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) confirms that the climate in the Nordic region is warming considerably faster than the rest of the world. Temperatures in Finland were on average 3.4 degrees warmer in 2024 than in the pre-industrial era.

The conference "Challenges of Adaptation to Climate Change in South-East Europe," hosted by Slovenia’s Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Energy, brought together environment ministers, heads of hydrometeorological services of South-East Europe and representatives of international and youth organisations in order to exchange good practices and strengthen regional cooperation. Parties acknowledged that climate adaptation in South-East Europe will require better international cooperation, including the exchange of data, knowledge, and experience.

Despite steady progress in key areas, the European Union is only partially on track to achieve the EU’s 2030 climate, environment and sustainability objectives under the 8th Environment Action Programme, according to the latest monitoring report published by the European Environment Agency (EEA). More decisive measures are needed to boost a circular economy, reverse the declining trend in biodiversity and in reducing the EU’s consumption footprint.

The LIFE CITYAdaP3 project used public-private partnership (PPP) financing with local businesses to test 8 radically different ways to boost urban resilience – from porous concrete pavements with wooden shades to renovating traditional ‘cave houses’ – with 4 municipalities in Spain and Italy participating in the pilot actions.

This handbook is a strategic resource developed to support Nordic policymakers in their efforts to meet climate and environment commitments through sustainable use of natural resources and ecosystem services, as well as the protection and restoration of ecosystems. Recognizing the diverse climatic zones, ecosystems, and populations across the Nordic countries, this project compiles actionable insights, national case studies, and best practices that can be adapted to various local contexts.