Citizens at the centre of climate adaptation: Lessons from REGILIENCE 4th Open Seminar

Climate change is no longer a distant concern – its impacts are already visible in our daily lives, from floods and heatwaves to food insecurity. Yet, when communities come together, they can find smart and simple ways to prepare and stay safe.

This was the core message of our last Open Seminar“Tools for Citizens for Active Participation in Climate Adaptation”, which took place online on September 4, 2025. The session gathered citizens, practitioners, and experts to explore how local action can make a real difference in building resilience.

The event highlighted how individual actions, when combined, play a crucial role in both mitigating the effects of climate change and adapting to changes already underway. Participants discovered practical examples of citizen-led and citizen-engaged initiatives developed within several European projects, including IMPETUS, ARSINOE, TransformAR, and MIP4Adapt.

The full recording of the session is available here.

Key insights from the seminar

The session showed the diverse ways in which citizens can contribute to climate resilience:

  • Participating in local climate planning and decision-making

  • Strengthening community ties to act effectively in times of crisis

  • Using digital tools and citizen science to co-create solutions

  • Adapting tested methods and strategies developed by EU-funded projects

Highlights from the presentations

  • ARSINOE – MINKA tool: Sonia Liñán Moyano introduced this platform designed to facilitate stakeholder engagement and climate adaptation planning.

  • TransformAR – Citizen Engagement App (CAP): Inger Katharina Gregersen showcased how the app empowers citizens to take part in adaptation strategies.

  • MIP4ADAPT – DIY Manual: Marianne Wehbe presented guidelines for effectively engaging stakeholders and citizens in climate adaptation processes.

  • IMPETUS – Local strategies: Hannah Arpke shared experiences on how communities can co-develop and implement local climate adaptation strategies.

A participatory and inspiring session

Interactive Slido polls and an open Q&A gave participants the chance to reflect on their own role in tackling climate change. The discussions emphasised the importance of ownership and collective responsibility, showing that resilient communities are built from the ground up.

By sharing concrete, citizen-driven examples, the seminar offered both inspiration and practical guidance for anyone interested in taking an active role in climate adaptation.

You can find the recording of the session here.

REGILIENCE at F6S Webinar: Scaling climate-smart solutions for resilient regions and landscapes

On 8 July 2025, REGILIENCE took part in the F6S-hosted webinar “Innovative practices for a sustainable European agrisector”, which brought together a diverse range of EU-funded projects working at the intersection of agriculture, climate resilience and green innovation.

Organised under the Innovation Greentech umbrella, the event aimed to foster collaboration between projects addressing today’s pressing climate and environmental challenges, offering a platform for shared learning and cross-sector synergies.

On 8 July 2025, REGILIENCE joined the F6S webinar “Innovative practices for a sustainable European agrisector”, alongside other EU-funded projects working on climate resilience and sustainable land use.

Organised under the Innovation Greentech umbrella, the session aimed to open up conversations between projects tackling environmental challenges through new tools, methods and technologies.

Zoom on REGILIENCE: making adaptation easier for local actors
Anne-Florence Harpon, Communications Manager for REGILIENCE, gave a presentation of the project, focusing on the tools developed by REGILIENCE to help local and regional authorities take action on climate adaptation. These include simple self-assessment tools, inspiring examples from other regions, and ready-to-use formats to engage local communities.

She explained how these resources are built to respond to real needs on the ground, especially for smaller municipalities who don’t always have the time, staff or technical support to move from strategy to action. Land use and agriculture were highlighted as key themes, especially in regions facing extreme weather or water stress.

 

Bridging innovation and practice

The event showcased other pioneering projects, each offering complementary solutions:

  • PaluWise: Promoting paludiculture to restore peatlands and reduce emissions.

  • INNO4CFIs: Advancing reforestation and biodiversity, while supporting green SMEs.

  • NOSTRADAMUS: Providing real-time, open-source data tools to optimise farming.

  • AgRimate: Deploying robotics and AI to modernise pruning and other key agricultural practices.

By taking part in this session, REGILIENCE showed how practical tools and good communication can help make climate adaptation more concrete and more accessible, especially for the territories that need it most.

Building regional resilience: insights from the Post-Forum peer exchange

REGILIENCE partners participated in both the European Climate Change Adaptation (ECCA) Conference and the Mediterranean Forum for the Mission on Adaptation during the week of the 16th– 20th of June 2025. To close the week with more targeted exchanges between local and regional actors and in the scope of their activities with pilot regions, they co-organised a post-forum workshop in collaboration with the Emilia Romagna Region.

The workshop was designed as a peer exchange between Italian and Greek regional representatives, including participants from the REGILIENCE pilot region of Central Macedonia. More specifically, participants addressed two key approaches to build resilience at the regional and local level: Climate Proofing and Nature-Based Solutions (NbS). Below, you can find some key insights shared during the workshop.

According to the experts, mainstreaming climate proofing of infrastructures could contribute to more systemic approaches and enhance governance processes. Its main advantage is the relatively high benefits, including social, environmental and economic co-benefits, compared to the costs of inaction or later-stage actions, and reducing the risk of stranded assets. Several tools are available to support local authorities, including guidance from the European Commission. The most challenging stage of the climate proofing process is the procurement of technical documentation and especially the development of a climate risk assessment tailored to the local context . To overcome it, local authorities can anticipate the need for climate data, awareness and willingness for cooperation. In Zagreb, climate proofing was introduced as a standard for all infrastructure projects and introduced through the “New Green Deal Guidance for buildings construction and reconstruction” as a mandatory step. Zagreb’s experience offers a strong reference model that could be replicated in other cities and regions across Europe.

On NbS, participants were introduced to four key projects implemented in Emilia Romagna, gaining insights into their different approaches. The common aspect of all projects was the transformational approach and the setting of living labs across different regions. For example, the ARCADIA project works on a sustainable forest management in the Apennines using a multicriteria analysis. They assess the effects of NbS on different ecosystem services taking into account three forest management scenarios and considering current and future climate conditions. The TRANSCEND project developed a modelling suite and a monitoring toolbox which is used in the Reno River Basin to revise the water abstraction and allocation rules for the upcoming regional Water protection plan. The CARDIMED project tested 34 different types of NbS across 10 European Regions. In the San Marco wastewater treatment plant (Alghero, Italy), the project addressed water treatment, off-grid solar panels, crop rotation and free surface wetland. Finally, LAND4CLIMATE promotes implementation of multifunctional NBS on private lands in 6 European countries. In the Emilia Romagna region in particular, the team is working in the Eastern Po Valley and Po Delta, testing the plantation of salicornia to reduce saltwater intrusion and the construction of sand dunes to mitigate storm surges and coastal erosion.

Lively exchanges with the participants followed the expert inputs. On climate proofing, audience raised interest on multi-level governance aspects, meaning at which governance level these regulations should be set, on the applicability on heritage, and the leadership gaps in bringing this priority forward on a political level. After the NBS presentation, participants raised interested on financing and maintenance of NBSs.

Once again, REGILIENCE would like to extend our warmest thanks to our experts for sharing their knowledge and for their active participation, but also to Patrizia Bianconi from the Emilia Romagna region for co-organising the workshop. We hope it will foster future exchanges and collaborations among participants and beyond.

Miljenko Sedlar, REGEA & Guido Schmidt, Fresh Thoughts for the climate proofing.

Arianna Cecchi, ARCADIA, Silvana Di Sabatino, LAND4Climate, Cinzia Alessandrini, TRANSCEND and Giuseppe Mancuso, CARDIMED for the NbS.

Advancing Local Climate Resilience: REGILIENCE Workshop & Highlights from EURESFO 2025

From 25 to 27 June 2025, the 12th edition of the European Urban Resilience Forum (EURESFO), co-organised by REGILIENCE, ICLEI Europe, the European Environment Agency (EEA), the City of Rotterdam and a wide network of partners, brought together city and regional leaders, practitioners, and institutions to exchange on how to accelerate local climate action and resilience across Europe. This year’s forum placed particular emphasis on accelerating resilience action, community-driven approaches, polycrises, and multilevel cooperation: themes that resonate deeply with REGILIENCE’s mission. 

Setting the stage: REGILIENCE pre-EURESFO workshop 

In the lead-up to the main Forum, REGILIENCE hosted a hands-on workshop designed to help local and regional actors deepen their understanding of climate hazards and innovative adaptation funding strategies. The workshop was structured in two parts and moderated by Nadège Seguel and Federico Aili (REGILIENCE). 

The first session “Addressing main hazards” brought together diverse experiences on how local authorities are managing key climate risks. Jasper van Lieshout (IMPETUS) opened with a presentation on flood adaptation. This was followed by a joint contribution from Tereza Hnátková (CZU Prague) and Sanna Varis (City of Lappeenranta, TransformAr), who presented nature-based approaches to managing stormwater risks in Finland. Pauline Guérécheau-Desvignes (ADEME Guadeloupe, TransformAr) concluded the session with insights into drought adaptation in Guadeloupe, highlighting the Local Adaptation Fund (FLAG) as a replicable funding mechanism for resilience in outermost regions. 

 The presentations were followed by small group discussions organized per topic. Each expert led a table, supported by a facilitator from the Regilience team, to guide the discussions. There were two rotation rounds, allowing participants to join two out of the three topic tables—droughts, storms, and floods.   

Key highlights from the discussions included: 

  • The crucial role of technology in providing actionable data to support better decision-making. 
  • Multi-level coordination and funding were identified as persistent challenges. 
  • The agriculture sector was highlighted as particularly vulnerable, often deemed unbankable under current financial standards. 
  • Across all topics (droughts, floods, and storms) a lack of awareness was seen as a barrier, pointing to the need for better connection between knowledge and implementation. 

 

The second part focused on innovative financing for adaptation and particularly on unlocking public-private cooperation for climate resilience. Conrad Landis presented financial tools and models developed in ARSINOE and IMPETUS projects. Afterwards, Fani Gelagoti (Grid Engineers) delivered a presentation on the role of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in building climate-resilient infrastructure. The presentation was followed by a group exercise on risks allocation mechanisms between the public and the private party.   

Highlights:  

  • Climate considerations should be embedded in all phases of the PPP process (selection, appraisal, structuring and tender). Climate resilience KPIs are critical to establish measurable performance standards and achieve climate adaptation objectives. 
  • The allocation of risks (including risk-transfer mechanisms for climate risk) between the public and the private sector should be based on risk typologies and follow principles such as control and influence, ability to predict/mitigate risk, and cost efficiency.  
  • PPPs are a promising entry point to mobilisze private finance in adaptation but include complex agreements and negotiations which make it difficult for local authorities. Profitability (stable revenues and financial returns) remains critical for the participation of the private sector. 

 

Heads up to EURESFO 2025 

REGILIENCE also featured prominently in the high-level session “Outermost Regions Driving Climate Resilience in the EU”, moderated by Erika Palmieri (ICLEI Europe). After the key policy messages from the EU Outermost Regions presented by Nadège Seguel (FEDARENE), the panel brought together Pauline Guérécheau-Desvignes (ADEME Guadeloupe), Patricia del Mar Caro Ruiz (University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria), Prisca Haemers (DG RTD, European Commission), and Chiara Savina (Ecorys). Together, they explored how outermost regions are designing and implementing place-based, systemic strategies for resilience — despite their unique geographic, economic and climate-related challenges. The session reinforced the importance of context-specific approaches and the need for inclusive governance mechanisms that empower local communities. 

 

Moving forward 

EURESFO 2025 confirmed that building climate resilience requires more than technical expertise: it demands cooperation across governance levels, knowledge transfer, and inclusive approaches that empower local actors. REGILIENCE remains committed to supporting this ecosystem by developing accessible tools, promoting peer learning, and bridging innovation with implementation. 

 

OTS 10 – Accelerating regional climate resilience: innovation, tools & pathways for action I July 8th, 11:00-1PM CEST

Register here

As part of its capacity-building programme to strengthen European adaptation capacities, the REGILIENCE project invites regional and local stakeholders to its final Open Training Session (OTS) focused on accelerating regional climate resilience: innovation, tools & pathways for action. This closing session will explore diverse adaptation approaches—from strategic planning and innovative solutions to practical tools—that support climate resilience across regions. Participants will learn from real-world case studies and methodologies that enhance adaptation capacities, foster innovation uptake, and enable replication to address climate risks at local and regional levels. 

Agenda : 

  • Welcome and Introduction | Jen Heeman (IEECP)

  • Segment 1 – Planning ahead: adaptation pathways for resilient futures  | IMPETUS

  • Segment 2: Innovation in action – scaling climate solutions by financially fueling innovators I ARSINOE

  • Segment 3 – Adaptation in Practice: Climate-Proofing the Built Environment  | MULTICLIMACT

  • Segment 4 – From one to many: supporting replication with the TransformAr Tool  I TransformAr

  • Panel discussion  I Moderated by Guido Schmidt (Fresh Thoughts) 
  • Wrap-up and closing I Jen Heeman

 

Register here

Save the date for EURESFO 2025

We are excited to announce that from 25 to 27 June 2025, the 12th edition of the European Urban Resilience Forum (EURESFO) will take place in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, co-organised by REGILIENCE, ICLEI Europe, the European Environment Agency (EEA), the City of Rotterdam, and a wide range of partners dedicated to building stronger urban resilience across Europe.

Since 2013, EURESFO has served as a pivotal European initiative in the field of resilience. Organised by ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability and the EEA, the Forum provides a unique platform for exchange between city representatives, experts, and stakeholders from local and regional institutions. It fosters discussion around climate change adaptation, disaster risk management, and the cultivation of urban resilience through practical solutions and collaborative approaches.

Building on the success of the 2024 anniversary edition, which welcomed over 450 participants from 35 countries, EURESFO25 will focus on accelerating resilience action across six key themes:

  • Justice, inclusion and societal resilience

  • New extremes and polycrises: from heatwaves to water resilience

  • Exploring nature-based solutions: from policy to action

  • Finance and investment strategies for resilience-building

  • Resilience governance in a polarised political landscape

  • Data, information and evidence-based resilience action

This year’s Forum will feature engaging plenaries, interactive sessions, mobile workshops, and site visits designed to encourage open dialogue, peer learning, and practical exchanges.

More information at https://urbanresilienceforum.eu/

Watch the EURESFO 2024 recap video to see all the best moments of last year’s event:

Regional training sessions in Madeira

Session 1 

Date: 7 May 2025

This first session of the REGILIENCE Regional Training Programme in Madeira focused on the impacts of climate change on human health, with particular attention to extreme heat and vector-borne diseases. The session provided a combination of expert insights and European case studies, allowing participants to deepen their understanding of health-related climate risks and explore practical tools for local adaptation. You can find the full recording of the session here.

Speakers and presentations:

Session 2

Date: 12 June 2025

The second session of the REGILIENCE Regional Training Programme in Madeira took place on 12 June 2025, bringing together local and regional stakeholders to explore the role of ecological restoration in building climate resilience. You can find the full recording of the session here.

The session opened with a presentation by Alice Nunes (Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon), who introduced the Concept of ecological restoration and its relevance in the context of environmental recovery and adaptation.

Participants then heard from two European case studies:

A guided discussion followed, allowing participants to reflect on how these approaches could be adapted to the Madeiran context, identify barriers to implementation, and explore opportunities for collaboration.

This was the second of three sessions planned as part of REGILIENCE’s Regional Training Programme in Madeira. The final session will take place on 3 July 2025.

Session 3

Date: 3 July 2025

The third and final session of the REGILIENCE Regional Training Programme in Madeira took place on 3 July 2025. It focused on the increasing risks posed by extreme weather events, particularly storms, and explored strategies to improve local preparedness and resilience. You can find the full recording of the session here.

The session opened with an expert presentation by Carlos da Camara (Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon), who discussed the impacts of extreme weather events and how regions can anticipate and respond to climate-related catastrophes.

Participants then heard two complementary case studies from Belgium:

  • Jan Cools (University of Antwerp) presented findings on citizen engagement in stormwater management.

  • Niels Souverijns (VITO) introduced a detailed thermal mapping approach developed in Antwerp to adapt urban areas to heat stress.

The session concluded with a presentation by AREAM on the Microcli-MAC project, which focuses on smart technologies and tools to support climate adaptation in Madeira and the wider Macaronesian region. A final interactive discussion allowed participants to exchange ideas and reflect on the relevance of these strategies in their own context.

Speakers and presentations:

OTS9 & OS3 – Nature at work: Driving NbS for a cooler, water-smart and more resilient Europe

On 12 June 2025, REGILIENCE hosted a joint Open Training Session (OTS) and Citizen Seminar entitled “Nature at Work: Driving NbS for a cooler, water-smart and more resilient Europe.”

As climate impacts intensify across Europe, regions and cities are increasingly looking to Nature-based Solutions (NbS) to strengthen their resilience, manage water resources more effectively, and promote long-term sustainability. This session brought together experts and local actors to showcase practical insights and real-world examples of NbS implementation across various European contexts.

Participants explored how NbS can address urgent climate-related challenges such as urban heat, coastal erosion, and water management, while also supporting ecological health and community well-being. The session also encouraged dialogue between researchers, practitioners, and citizens.

The event concluded with a panel discussion moderated by Joanna Makocka, highlighting the importance of cross-sector collaboration and knowledge sharing in scaling up NbS across Europe.

Presentations included:

The full recording of the session is available here.

The 4th Mission Forum on Adaptation to Climate Change: Driving for resilience

On May 19-20, the Fourth Annual Forum of the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change concluded in Wrocław, gathering a wide array of European leaders and organizations dedicated to climate resilience. REGILIENCE, through our key partner FEDARENE, was pleased to be present at the event, supporting the shared commitment to advancing climate adaptation efforts across the continent.

 

The EU Mission: fostering local climate action

The EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change stands as a crucial strategic initiative, empowering European regions, cities, and local authorities to enhance their preparedness for climate change impacts. The annual Forum, co-organized by the European Commission and the Polish Presidency, is a pivotal event. It is designed to showcase concrete adaptation measures from regions and cities, facilitate in-depth discussions, and share innovative tools and solutions emerging from various Mission-aligned projects. This year, the spotlight was firmly on practical, inspiring examples of how communities are addressing specific climate challenges. The Mission Forum’s rich and insightful agenda, including hands-on site visits in Wrocław and a specialized Pre-Forum Workshop for the Community of Practice, provided invaluable opportunities for practical learning and exchange.

FEDARENE’s presence at the Forum offered a valuable opportunity to informally share insights about REGILIENCE during networking discussions, highlighting its approach to supporting adaptation at local and regional levels.

While not part of the formal programme, our presence at the Forum allowed us to:

  • Introduce the REGILIENCE mission: During informal exchanges, we took the opportunity to briefly convey the project’s overall goals and strategic approach to helping communities strengthen their climate resilience. These conversations offered a clear snapshot of our contribution to the broader adaptation effort and helped situate our tools and activities within the Mission’s objectives.
  • Present our new Quick Guide” on Natural Hazards: As part of the Forum’s poster exhibition, we had the opportunity to showcase our newly launched series of Quick Guides, developed in collaboration with our sister projects ARSINOE, IMPETUS, TransformAr, and Pathways2Resilience. These practical, accessible guides offer local and regional authorities clear, actionable insights on how to prepare for, respond to, and build resilience against increasing threats from natural hazards like floods, heatwaves, storms, and wildfires. Designed with infographics, checklists, and case studies, they serve as tangible tools for action, directly supporting the Forum’s emphasis on practical solutions.

Shaping the future: Key learnings and sustained commitment

Discussions throughout the event consistently underlined several critical themes: the absolute necessity of multi-stakeholder collaboration, the urgency of viewing adaptation as a top priority, the importance of learning from best practices to avoid maladaptation, the strategic value of investing in prevention, the ongoing need for adequate financing, the imperative of multilevel governance coupled with strong citizen engagement, and the inherent interconnection between adaptation and mitigation.

REGILIENCE’s ongoing commitment to supporting Europe’s climate adaptation goals drives us to continuously refine our tools, strengthen support to regions, and contribute to building a more resilient and connected climate adaptation community across the continent. Alongside our project partner FEDARENE, we engaged in networking and discussions that provided important insights to help advance these efforts.

The science-society interface: a key to a regional adaptation framework

Small islands are “sentinels” of climate change impacts. This is particularly true for Réunion Island, a French overseas and European Union Outermost Region in the South West Indian Ocean.
It is home to a rich diversity of terrestrial and marine ecosystems and characterized by a pronounced topography and significant climatic contrasts. The island’s economy relies mainly on vulnerable and exposed sectors (agriculture, tourism, transport, energy supply). Combined with its insularity and geographical isolation, limited local resources, and dependence on external trade, it makes it particularly sensitive. At last, frequent exposure to climate-driven natural hazards, like tropical cyclones, heavy rainfall, flash floods, landslides, droughts and heatwaves, combined with a fragile socio-economic system, amplify this vulnerability.

Navigating the complex challenges of climate change adaptation requires strategies tailored to this local context. A dynamic and functional science-society interface is central to ensure that scientific knowledge feeds policy and planning, and that societal needs and local realities shape research initiatives and outputs. However, building this interface on Réunion Island faces several interconnected challenges.

At the regional scale, Réunion Island’s regional council holds keys responsibilities spanning regional planning, economic development, research and innovation (supported by the European Fund for Regional Development – ERDF), and environmental policy, positioning it as a central actor for amplifying territorial adaptation. However, translating this strategic position into effective climate action requires overcoming significant difficulties inherent to the island’s unique context. Comprehensive expertise is needed not only on past, present, and future climate but also on their cascading effects across vital sectors – including natural hazards, ecosystems, health, resources, economic development, and land planning. To achieve this, key local challenges have to be tackled.

Key local challenges for adaptation

Réunion Island’s unique geography—remote, narrow (75km wide), and highly mountainous (up to 3000m)—poses significant challenges for climate modelling. Standard global climate models operate at coarse resolutions (50-150km), inadequate for capturing the island’s complex terrain and distinct microclimates. Its geographical remoteness also excludes it from keys European climate and climate-impact modelling projects. Consequently, the island is often “invisible” or poorly represented in large-scale studies, leading to critical gaps in data for effective territorial adaptation planning. This scarcity extends beyond climate data themselves, encompassing insufficient observational data for certain parameters (like long-term wave patterns for coastal erosion studies) and a critical lack of readily usable data detailing specific vulnerabilities and potential impacts across the island’s socio-ecosystems.

Paradoxically, strong local scientific research capacity does exist. CNRS and University of La Réunion host the internationally recognized Observatory of Atmospheric Physics (OPAR) as a WMO global station which is part of European research infrastructures ACTRIS, ICOS and IRISCC. Météo-France (MF) Réunion serves a large weather observation network to monitor tropical cyclones and issues warning as the WMO-designated Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC) for the South-West Indian Ocean. MF also coordinated the first high-resolution (3km) regional climate projections based on CMIP6 (through the BRIO project). Furthermore, numerous research institutions (University of La Réunion, CNRS, CIRAD, BRGM, IRD) conduct vital local research across diverse fields.

While enhancing scientific knowledge remains essential, data limitations should not be perceived as the only barrier to adaptation. With or without climate change, effectively addressing vulnerabilities often encounters significant hurdles related to coordination, knowledge sharing, and collaboration among local actors.

  • Strengthening the science-society interface to produce actionable insights and bridge the science-policy gap

The existing base of local expertise often remains fragmented. Research has frequently developed within disciplinary silos, lacking the interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary integration needed to generate holistic insights and readily usable outputs tailored for territorial decision-making. Several factors contribute to this gap between academic research and policy recommendations or action programs. Findings are often presented in highly technical or specialized language, making them difficult for non-expert decision-makers and other stakeholders to interpret and utilize. So far, studies have mostly focused on climate hazards themselves, with fewer studies dedicated to assessing their concrete, localized impacts across Réunion’s socio-ecosystems. Finally, the inherent uncertainties within climate projections often contrast sharply with the practical need for precise, actionable data required for critical local decisions, such as the dimensioning of infrastructure projects.

A compounding effect of the challenge of fragmented knowledge is a disconnect at the science-society interface. Even when relevant fundamental or applied research is conducted, its findings are often not effectively translated or communicated in formats directly applicable to strategic planning and public policy. This results in valuable scientific insights being underutilized, hindering the development of robust, evidence-based adaptation strategies.

  • The need for a comprehensive risk impact framework

This underscores a further, critical challenge: the lack of comprehensive risk impact studies. Such studies are needed to systematically link climate-driven hazards with vulnerability and exposure across Réunion’s diverse socio-ecosystems, leveraging existing local data. While observation systems are in place, a key gap remains in the establishment of an integrated impact analysis system coupled with corresponding long-term adaptation measures and monitoring. There is a clear need for an analytical framework to structure and strengthen risk knowledge, effectively guiding the connection between national risk management strategies and specific local challenges.

A local response to create a long-term Science-Society interface on climate risks

Recognizing these challenges, Réunion island’s regional council and other public stakeholders have initiated concrete actions to develop the science-society interface on climate risks.

  • Creation of a Regional Panel on Climate Change (RPCC) for La Réunion

In 2023, the president of Réunion regional council announced the creation of a Regional Panel on Climate Change (RPCC or GREC in French) based on an idea suggested by the CNRS. Its aim is to foster collaboration between experts, decision-makers, and the public, and to help the public authority pursue its health, energy, and food sovereignty goals impacted by climate risks. The soon-to-be-launched “GREC-La Réunion” will provide territorial expertise on climate impact and adaptation, working explicitly to improve the science-society interface and enhance the coordination and funding of climate change adaptation.

  • A new Regional Land Development Plan to meet 2050 territorial challenges

The Regional Land Development Plan (SAR in French) is a crucial prescriptive planning document for French overseas territories, providing guidelines for local authorities in implementing their local development and planning strategies. The SAR of La Réunion is currently under revision and includes a dedicated “Climate” chapter, composed of a study of the territory’s vulnerability to climate change and the development of a regional adaptation strategy. This process explicitly plans to draw on scientific research results and the expertise of the newly formed GREC-Réunion, directly linking scientific knowledge to long-term territorial planning.

  • Participation in the European CLIMAAX project

The European CLIMAAX project is one of the two flagship projects of the “Adaptation to climate change” mission of Horizon Europe funding program. The CLIMAAX local implementation project, called Réunion Island’s Climate Risks Atlas (RISC-RA), started on October 1, 2024, and is led by the regional council team and supported by a scientific consortium (Météo-France, CNRS, BRGM). RISC-RA will produce a climate risk atlas by analysing future climate risks using observed and projected climate, vulnerability, and exposure data. Guided by the CLIMAAX methodology, adapted for La Réunion, the project aims to enhance local climate risk knowledge, provide standardized and spatialized risk indicators for public bodies and scientists, and better integrate bottom-up risk reduction needs into top-down policies.

  • Complementary Research and Initiatives

Two complementary CNRS-piloted projects further enhance this integrated territorial strategy. The project “Knowledge and Solutions for Climate Change Adaptation of Overseas Territories” (supported by the Ministry of Overseas Territories) is conducting a vital review of scientific literature on climate change impacts and adaptation options specific to French overseas territories. The project “Barriers, levers and constraints to Adaptation in Territorial Public Policy” (supported by Banque des Territoires) is examining the social and political dimensions of implementing adaptation measures.

These combined initiatives demonstrate a growing commitment in Réunion Island to bridging the gap between scientific understanding and societal action. Strengthening this science-society interface is fundamental to developing and implementing an effective regional adaptation framework capable of addressing the complex climate challenges facing the island.

This opinion article is based on the CLIMAAX project’s “Deliverable Phase 1 – Climate risk assessment, project RISC-RA, Réunion Island, France” written by Kevin Lamy, Nils Poncet and Elodie Marpinard.

Contributions:

  • Région Réunion:
    • Kévin Lamy – Natural Risks and Climate Project Manager
    • Elodie Marpinard – Research and Innovation Officer
  • CNRS:
    • Jean-Pierre Cammas – Research Director, CNRS, OSU-Réunion
    • Nils Poncet – Post-doctoral researcher on the RISC-RA project on CLIMAAX, OSU-Réunion
  • Météo-France:
    • Clotilde Dubois – Engineer in charge of climate studies, Météo-France, DIROI
    • Marie-Dominique Leroux – Head of southwest Indian ocean climate department, Météo-France, DIROI
  • BRGM:
    • Rémi Belon – Head of Coastal project, Direction régionale du BRGM à La Réunion

You can download the full article here.