REGILIENCE Open Seminar : How to empower citizens through digital tools

On 27 March 2025, REGILIENCE launched the first session of its Open Seminar Series with a focus on “Online Platforms for Climate Adaptation.” Designed specifically for citizens, this inaugural seminar highlighted how digital platforms can empower individuals and communities to act on climate adaptation by accessing knowledge, connecting with others, and adopting practical solutions.

The session drew participants from across the world, reflecting growing public interest in understanding how digital tools can support local resilience efforts. With a concise, accessible format and interactive discussion, the event provided a practical entry point into climate adaptation for non-specialist audiences.

 

Why digital platforms matter for adaptation

As climate risks become more complex and widespread, online platforms are proving to be vital resources for those seeking to understand and address local vulnerabilities. From accessing real-time data to exploring practical tools and innovative solutions, these platforms allow citizens to take an active role in shaping climate-resilient futures.

During the seminar, three key platforms were presented:

  • weADAPT, a collaborative knowledge platform that connects users with adaptation case studies, tools, and communities across the globe.
  • Climate Innovation Window (CIW), which showcases technological and nature-based solutions ready for implementation, especially by local authorities and practitioners.
  • MIP4Adapt, the Mission Implementation Platform for Adaptation to Climate Change, which offers guidance, resources, and direct access to outcomes from EU-funded projects, including REGILIENCE itself.

Each presentation guided participants through the features of the platform, offering practical demonstrations on how to search for tools, explore relevant content, and connect with peers.

Key takeaways from the seminar

Throughout the 50-minute session, participants gained insight into how to:

  • Navigate online platforms to find reliable, user-friendly resources;
  • Identify tools and strategies that can be tailored to their local context;
  • Participate in wider climate adaptation networks and conversations;
  • Leverage online collaboration to share stories, challenges, and successes.

The Q&A session, moderated by a REGILIENCE representative, allowed citizens to ask direct questions and share their own experiences. Questions focused on how platforms could support neighbourhood-level actions, how to build local networks using available digital tools and where to search for reliable tools.

The discussion emphasised that a lot of climate adaptation tools are already available. There is no need to reinvent a new one as platforms offer valuable resources which might be easily adopted to the local context.

If you missed the session, full recording is available here. 

Looking Ahead

This first Open Seminar confirmed the value of opening up adaptation knowledge to the general public, not just experts or institutions. It also reinforced REGILIENCE’s commitment to making resilience more inclusive, tangible, and participatory.

The next REGILIENCE Open Seminar “Community Resilience: Adapting to Climate Change”, will explore how communities across Europe are strengthening their capacity to adapt, with a focus on local knowledge, social cohesion, and participatory practices.

 This session will take place on 24 April 2025 at 15:00 CET. As always, the session will be free and open to all, in accessible language, and will include opportunities for interaction and exchange.

Stay connected and join us for the upcoming seminar in April!

The MAGICA art of convening science and policy for meaningful climate action

The best climate research in the world is worth nothing if it does not reach the ears of those who can put it to work.

Climate science must be actionable, understandable in terms that non-specialists recognise and can access – and that is what MAGICA exists to do. It operates at the heart of JPI Climate’s strategic priority of accelerating the development and transfer of knowledge from science to policy and practice within the European Research Area (ERA).

MAGICA stands for ‘MAximising the synergy of European research Governance and Innovation for Climate Action’ and it is a four-year Coordination and Support Action funded by Horizon Europe. It is an exciting collaboration of 23 partners across 13 countries whose skills cover the breadth and depth of the complex climate adaptation research-to-meaningful-action chain.

MAGICA hosts a busy arena of dialogue between the scientific community, policy decision-makers and influencers, climate practitioners and science communicators, facilitated by a dynamic and complementary series of events targeted at a range of critical climate adaptation audiences, the largest of which is ECCA – the bi-annual European Climate Change Adaptation Conference. Its 7th edition takes place this summer, June 16-18, in Rimini, Italy, with the theme ‘Smarter, Faster and More Systemic Adaptation’.

True to the ethos of JPI Climate and MAGICA, ECCA2025 puts ground-level involvement of its audiences and stakeholders at the heart of the conference – starting with the programme and advisory committees and policy board.

This coming together face-to-face, in an atmosphere of willingness to exchange, hear, challenge and debate – with confidence in being heard – is key to MAGICA. The success of our events, including ECCA2023, lies in the informal spaces between programme or agenda items, as much as in the excellent quality and range of content. From youth voices to song and performance, ECCA is an inclusive platform, embracing the roles of social sciences and the arts in unlocking communications channels and engagement for behaviour change. All these pivots round the central point of Europe’s highest quality climate science.

ECCA is an integral part of the Equinox Process, an initiative by JPI Climate and supported by MAGICA to accelerate mechanisms to enhance the transfer of climate knowledge from research to policy and action, addressing gaps in accessibility and utilization of climate science outcomes through high-level, invitation-only Equinox Summits. The high-level sessions have already convened ministers and senior officials from across Europe, IPCC working group co-chairs, leading researchers and key users of climate knowledge, discussing accelerating the transfer of climate knowledge to policy. 

Whereas ECCA has become established as the forum for dialogue on climate adaptation, Equinox also regularly convenes science policy actors on climate mitigation and a new event, the Climate Neutrality Forum, has provided a meeting and knowledge-sharing platform for leaders in policy, science and industry who are steering Europe towards climate neutrality convened in Brussels. The programme was a carefully curated balance of science-led and policy-led panels, presentations and open discussions. When each session closed the conversations carried on, with policy decision-makers able to drill down into how research can support them in implementing impactful change to protect society, the economy and the environment from the effects of climate change. In turn they were able to set before scientists the practical policy needs they have to meet when championing and implementing climate adaptation measures.

The insights from these robust discussions were taken to COP29 in Azerbaijan by MAGICA and JPI Climate to inform the global climate adaptation agenda, as were the outcomes of the 1st Assessment Report on Sea Level Rise, a collaboration between JPI Oceans and JPI Climate. This report is the result of the Sea Level Rise Knowledge Hub (KH-SLR), a joint initiative of JPI Climate and JPI Oceans and key component of the Equinox Process. The report was published in 2024 with an online launch as well as being highlighted at a series of externally-organised events which shared the same target audiences. By now you will be getting the hang of the way MAGICA operates and you will not be surprised to learn that, again, stakeholders were at the heart of this report which was very well received across the policy and scientific communities.

It synthesizes current scientific knowledge on sea level rise and its impacts across local, national and European basin scales, to support evidence-based policy and decision making, primarily targeting coastal areas. The preparation took an interdisciplinary approach in assessing state-of-the-art information, not only consolidating existing knowledge but, crucially, identifying gaps in available knowledge. It was a collaboration of nine countries, and around 60 scientific and non-scientific European experts from a variety of backgrounds.

If, like me, you are an experienced actor in the climate adaptation research-to-meaningful-action chain you will recognise that MAGICA is working to break down many of the barriers that have long frustrated us. We aim to create a reliable and trusted pathway to steer scientific research into effective climate action. But don’t just take my word for it, join us at ECCA2025 – I look forward to seeing you in Rimini in June!

Registration is open for ECCA2025 with early bird prices available until April 18. Book your place here.

Hear about MAGICA events, news and updates, follow us on LinkedIn.

You can download the full article here.

Sixth Open Training Session on Heat and Health

Screenshot 2025-03-28 at 10.23.49

On February 20, REGILIENCE hosted its sixth online Open Training Session, titled “Heat and Health: Building Resilience for a Hotter Future.” This session gathered experts and stakeholders to discuss the escalating challenges posed by increasing temperatures and heatwaves, and to share innovative solutions for protecting public health and urban infrastructure.

Several key environmental factors impact our body’s ability to regulate temperature, including air temperature and sunlight. The Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT)—a composite index that factors in air temperature, humidity, wind speed, and sunlight—helps assess heat stress. Notably, challenges begin when temperatures exceed 25°C, with each additional 2°C necessitating longer rest periods and reducing mobility. Once temperatures hit 32°C, outdoor activities should be suspended, a threshold that is particularly critical for Mediterranean regions.

 

Case Studies and Proactive Interventions

Urban and Regional Strategies:

  • In Barcelona’s coastal areas, the IMPETUS project has developed a QMRA model to predict the risk of pathogen contamination in seawater resulting from combined sewer overflow (CSO) events. Climate change is expected to intensify heatwaves and heavy rainfall, which can overwhelm sewage systems and lead to such events.

  • In Germany, cities are actively implementing heat-health measures:

    • Würzburg has established a dedicated working group to develop 48 specific heat-health interventions.

    • Hannover distributes first aid packages to homeless individuals during heatwaves.

    • Cologne leverages art and music to raise awareness, particularly targeting residents over 65.

    • Freiburg has created interactive city maps that pinpoint cooling areas during extreme heat episodes.

Innovative Urban Planning:

  • The ARSINOE project in Athens has set up a long-term risk assessment system for urban planning, integrating and visualizing risk parameters. This system highlights the benefits of interventions such as cool roofs, green roofs, urban trees, tiny forests, and other urban greening initiatives.

National Strategies and Collaborative Efforts:

  • France, for example, has been a pioneer in health prevention plans. With the oldest system in the region established in 2023, the plan evolved in 2024 into a fully governmental strategy involving 10 ministries—a milestone that was achieved over 20 years. This success was driven by informal relationships and proactive individuals who united diverse stakeholders.

 

Sharing Best Practices for a Resilient Future

The session stressed the importance of sharing information on the effectiveness of different measures. Monitoring impacts and learning from the experiences of various cities and projects across Europe is essential. By identifying which interventions work best, stakeholders can exchange best practices and foster a collaborative approach to combating heat-health challenges.

How we address these issues today will shape the world for future generations. The session offered participants actionable insights and underscored that only through continuous dialogue and shared learning can societies build the resilience necessary to face a hotter future.

If you missed the session, recordings and presentation slides are available. You can also explore previous sessions and contribute your ideas for future topics by visiting the REGILIENCE page. This series remains a cornerstone of REGILIENCE’s mission to empower regional actors in building a more resilient future. 

 

And download the following presentations:

On this page, you can see the Open Training Sessions (OTS) available for all interested parties, that will take place between March 2023 and 2025. The sessions are organised in a series of ten online events divided into two cycles.

Empowering Communities: REGILIENCE Open Seminars on Climate Adaptation

Climate change is transforming our world, impacting not just the environment but our communities, economies, and daily lives. At REGILIENCE, we believe that informed citizens are the first step towards a resilient future. That is why we are launching a series of four online Open Seminars designed specifically for you.

Why These Seminars Matter

These sessions are crafted to help you understand the major changes climate change brings and how communities can adapt. Our goal is simple: to equip you with the tools and knowledge you need to develop your own adaptation and mitigation strategies.

What to expect

  • Clear, accessible learning: Forget the technical jargon. Our seminars break down adaptation strategies into simple, easy-to-understand language so everyone can join the conversation.
  • Interactive engagement: Each session is not just a lecture—it’s a conversation. You will have the opportunity to ask questions in real time during interactive Q&A sessions with field experts.
  • Real-world insights: Hear about innovative tools, practical examples, and success stories that show how communities around the world are successfully adapting to climate challenges.
  • Flexible access: We understand life is busy. That’s why all sessions will be recorded and available online, so you can learn at your own pace and on your own schedule.

Be part of the climate awareness

These seminars are more than just educational sessions—they are a call to action. By participating, you will join a growing community of citizens and experts dedicated to building stronger, more resilient regions. Together, we can drive the social, economic, and environmental changes needed to thrive in a changing world.

Stay tuned for seminar dates and registration details. Join us on this journey and be empowered to take action in your community!

Climate Resilience for the Built Environment: are we prepared and what challenges ahead?

Resilience to natural hazards has become an imperative for our society: indeed, building resilience in this context is not just a necessity, it’s our duty, it must be our common objective, our shared vision towards a sustainable and liveable future. Not only in the past few years, but more and more nowadays, daily situations and events occur to remind us of this pressing need, representing a call for action to act now, timely, efficiently, effectively.

In fact, on a purely economic side, the costs associated to the recovery from disruptions caused by natural hazards are huge, are increasing, are not sustainable not only by the public side, the communities and the citizens by even from the private sector, including the banking and insurance market. Numbers, and costs, are likely to increase if projected in the future, exacerbated by climate change impacts. Thus, the adoption of a resilient approach is mandatory to minimize the damages and consequences, including the economic ones, to our infrastructures, cities, communities and society.

But what is this about?

Resilience sits in an intricate interplay among individuals, communities, institutions and infrastructures. Moreover, it is well known that Resilience depends on many factors such as technological (e.g. tools), human (e.g. capability of intervention and exploitation of information from citizens and users) and user’s acceptance (e.g. understanding the added value provided by innovations for the improvement of capabilities, in both ordinary and extraordinary conditions). Indeed, Resilience heavily depends on the degree to which individuals, communities and organizations can organize themselves to learn from past events (e.g. hazards, shocks, stresses) and act accordingly to minimize the risks and impacts of future ones.

In this context, our common goal should be to support the society (citizens, communities, institutions, etc.) in preventing, promptly detecting, timely responding to and cost effectively recovering from disruptions, such as those caused by natural hazards by increasing the resilience of the systems they use and/or operate, across their life cycle. This would be possible if we start streamlining the resilience “concept” for what it is, we stop attributing to it “capacities” or “dimensions” it should not have but we consider it for what benefit and value creation it can provide.
For instance, if we think about the built environment and an urban ecosystem, one can certainly considers three main levels of Resilience:

  • Level 1 – Resilience of infrastructure assets: This is the simplest to be achieved, but also the foundation of the whole resilience approach. Assets, such as roads, power lines, water lines, etc., must withstand stressor and shocks, induced by natural hazards within a sort of a design and built principle of resilience as a core capacity they can exploit. Here, the benefit of more resilient infrastructure assets is a reduction in the life-cycle cost of assets.
  • Resilience of infrastructure services: Infrastructure systems are interconnected networks, and the resilience of individual assets might be a poor proxy for the resilience of services provided at the network level. This is why a systemic approach to resilience services is preferable. At this level, the benefit of more resilient infrastructure is the provision of more reliable services.
  • Resilience of infrastructure users: In the end what matters is the resilience of users. Infrastructure disruptions can be catastrophic or not, depending on whether users—including people and supply chains—can cope with them. At this level, the benefit of more resilient infrastructure is a reduction in the total impact of natural hazards on people and economies.

How Research and Innovation comes into play?

There are many examples of research and innovation developments that support building resilience in the built environment, and many initiatives are undergoing. Among the others, the MULTICLIMACT project, being an innovative action, whose aim is to support cities and municipal authorities in understanding first, raising awareness and building capacity afterwards, and finally measuring the resilience of the system/s they do manage/operate. In doing so MULTICLIMACT ambition is proactively and efficiently tackles, some of the risks that might have a stronger impact on the years to come (e.g. in 10 years), such as, according to the Word Economic Forum Risk Report¹, “Extreme weather events”.

Pragmatically, how MULTICLIMACT is working to ensure the built environment is prepared and resilient to natural hazards?

MULTICLIMACT proposes a paradigm shift from classical steady-state, time and space independent risk-based approach to a time-and space depended Resilience² -based approach that integrates the Resilience Capabilities (Plan/Prepare, Detect, Absorb, Recover, Adapt) into the Disaster Management Cycle (Prevention, Preparedness, Response, Recovery), considering both actual system (e.g. a building, a district, a city, etc.) state (AS-IS condition) and future system state³ ⁴ ⁵ ⁶, during the life cycle (Plan/Evaluate, Design, Construct, Operate & Maintain)⁷ of the system in scope. In doing this MULTICLIMACT ambition is to pave the way to a de-facto standard in Resilience-based approaches that consider:

  1. The Context/ecosystem in which the system (e.g. a building, a district, a city, etc.) in scope insist on;
  2. The Hazard/s and their combination;
  3.  System Vulnerabilities;
  4. System Levels of exposure;
  5. System and systemic Risks;
  6. System Levels of criticality;
  7. Impacts at system and whole context/ecosystem level.

This would mean moving from the classical risk management approach to a resilience management approach considering both “pre-hazards” and “post-hazard” phases in a recursive and iterative cycle of “system states” where the “hazard” (i.e. the event) is seen as the triggering point.

The proposed approach is made operation by means of the MULTICLIMACT Climate REsilience Maturity Assessment (CREMA) tool that support decision-makers in the evaluation, through a rating system, of the maturity of the various assets they manage or operate (including buildings, infrastructures and urban areas) in terms of “AS IS” (current resilience situation) and “TO BE” (future resilience situations). The goal is to quantify how, in a rating scale, any mitigation or adaptation measure can enhance the resilience of the system in scope thus providing evidence-based results that might support the implementation of resilience strategies and investments.

You can download the full article here.


Reference list:

  • ¹ https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-risks-report-2025/

  • ² Defined as “The ability of the system to withstand a disruptive event by reducing the initial negative impacts (absorptive capability), by adapting itself to them (adaptive capability) and by recovering from them (restorative capability)” according to FIKSEL, 2003

  • ³ Fuggini, C., Solari, C., De Stefano, R. et al. Assessing resilience at different scales: from single assets to complex systems. Environ Syst Decis 43, 693–707 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10669-023-09935-w

  • ⁴ C. Fuggini, M. Kontogeorgos, S. Osmani, F. Bolletta, Resilience of Infrastructures and Systems to multiple hazardous events: application cases and future perspectives, in Critical Infrastructure – Modern Approach and New Developments” edited by Dr. Antonio Di Pietro, IntechOpen, November 2022, DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.108548

  • ⁵ C. Fuggini, F. Bolletta (2020) ‘Identification of indicators, metrics and level of service for the resilience of transport critical infrastructure’, Int. J. Sustainable Materials and Structural Systems, Vol. 4, Nos. 2/3/4, pp.330–346, https://doi.org/10.1504/IJSMSS.2020.109081

  • ⁶ F. V. De Maio, R. Valsecchi, S. Osmani, C. Solari & P. Basso, Multi-risk analysis methodology for evaluating climate change impacts at different scales, Life-Cycle of Structures and Infrastructure Systems – Biondini & Frangopol (Eds) 2023, https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003323020 ISBN 978-1-003-32302-0, Open Access: www.taylorfrancis.com, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license

  • ⁷ https://www.oecd.org/gov/infrastructure-governance/performance/

Climate resilience through social innovation: the relevance of stakeholder engagement

The events associated with climate change are increasing year by year. If we can watch newscasts on TV or read digital newspapers, we can realize the dramatic consequences of climate change. If we have a look at the primary sector, these events have important impacts on agriculture, fisheries or forestry in the form of floods, fires or droughts. For instance, about 90 per cent of those disasters are weather-water-related, and they affect society, environment and regional economies; they cause injuries, displacements or deaths, but also influence the regional economy and the natural environment, e.g., the recent floods in Valencia or India.

These scenarios associated with climate change raise new challenges for societies (IPCC, 2022), and they require new perspectives to deal with new circumstances, in many cases, never seen before. Thus, climate change adaptation policies should go hand in hand with sustainable development practices in the productive industries associated with land and water seeking to create climate-resilient territories. It demands a multiple-viewpoint approach through the involvement of stakeholders to achieve an integral focus on the problem, and to develop smart socio-economic models able to adapt to new circumstances while maintaining the natural environment (Beretic et al., 2024). The interdisciplinarity of novel solutions is a must to adapt societies to new climate circumstances (Wamsler et al., 2021).

However, this approach is easy to plan, but difficult to apply as it needs adopting a top-down and bottom-up collaborative approach (Dzebo et al., 2019), where both policymakers and users can share their views and problems and find common spaces for co-creation processes through case studies or small-scale pilots. It is an exercise of social innovation, that should create solutions to face new realities, through an evidence-based policy generation toward environmental adaptation (Müller et al., 2021). Here is where the Mission: Adaptation to Climate Change tries to make its contribution, supporting at least 150 European regions and communities to become climate resilient by 2030.

It is an ambitious challenge, but basic for people, profit and planet. In this context is where the Farclimate project intends to contribute; through an exercise of social innovation, following participatory approaches, applying Living Lab methodologies, to deploy nature-based solutions. This project is mainly based on developing climate-resilient regions in terms of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, which are basic from the environmental perspective, but also from the social and economic ones.

In this regard, attending to the huge challenges explained before is a preliminary step to adapting regions and production systems to new climatic realities. This should necessarily start through a value-based approach where the different stakeholders participating should feel comfortable and perceive their involvement as rewarding.

For this objective, it is recommended to follow the philosophical principles of social exchanges to deal with stakeholders, that is, to understand:

  • The ontology, or who is who in the region, either humans or organizations, e.g., from Society, Science, Innovation, Industry, and Market
  • The axiology, identifying and clarifying the interests (coincident or contrary) in the region, e.g., ecological, productive, leisure, cultural, societal, among others
  • The epistemology, or the understanding of the capabilities every stakeholder has or the expertise and knowledge they possess, e.g., environmental conditions, ecological characteristics, physical parameters, socio-economic perspectives…
  • The deixology, through the identification of risks and opportunities associated with the different worldviews the stakeholders have, e.g., fishermen and farmers, transformation industry, citizen, civil servants…
  • The praxeology, or the definition of actions to be taken in the medium and long-term from each participant, e.g., good and bad practices in the area or beyond

You can download the full article here.


Reference list:

  • Beretić, N., Bauer, A., Funaro, M., Spano, D., & Marras, S. (2024). A participatory framework to evaluate coherence between climate change adaptation and sustainable development policies. Environmental Policy and Governance, 34(3), 275–290. https://doi.org/10.1002/eet.2076
  • Dzebo, A., Janetschek, H., Brandi, C., & Iacobuta, G. (2019). Connections between the Paris agreement and the 2030 agenda the case for policy coherence. Working Paper. Stockholm Environment Institute https://cdn.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/connections-between-theparis-agreement-and-the-2030-agenda.pdf
  • IPCC (2022) Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem, B. Rama (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA, 3056 pp., https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009325844.
  • Müller, R., Ruess, A. K., Eisenberger, I., Buocz, T. D., Damjanovic, D., Hofer, A., & Sedef, A. (2021). Co-Creating European Futures innovation, democracy and Co-creation in Europe 2030. In Deliverable D8.2: Roadmap of the project SCALINGS. Scaling up Co-creation: Avenues and limit for integrating Society in Science and innovation. Technical University of Munich.
  • Wamsler, C., Osberg, G., Osika, W., Herndersson, H., & Mundaca, L. (2021). Linking internal and external transformation for sustainability and climate action: Towards a new research and policy agenda. Global Environmental Change, 71, 102373. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2021.102373

Fifth Open Training Session on Energy and Adaptation Planning

Open Training Session 5 featured image

On December 10, 2024, REGILIENCE organized its fifth online Open Training Session, titled “Time to adapt: embedding resilience in local and regional plans.“  in collaboration with PLAN4CET project. This session was the first one of the second cycle of REGILIENCE Open Training Sessions (OTS) which will focus on providing more concrete know-how and inspiration on specific sectors to provide practical knowledge and tools for public authorities to develop integrated approaches to build climate-resilient societies.The aim of this specific session was to better understand the connections between local planning for the can energy transition and for climate adaptation. As energy is a key sector in both mitigation and adaptation, we used it as starting point to reflect on synergies and integration of both, adaptation and clean energy planning. The event was a platform to share insights, exchange best practices, and explore ways to strengthen adaptation efforts at regional and national levels. 

The event included several expert presentations, each tackling different aspects of climate adaptation and energy planning. These presentations highlighted not only technical insights but also practical approaches that can be tailored to various regional contexts.  

Key Insights from the Session: 

  • Understanding Climate Risks: 
    Ine Vandecasteele from the European Environment Agency provided an overview of resources available at European level addressing both, energy and climate adaptation challenges. In particular, she highlighted the adaptation priorities stated in the European Climate Risk Assessments (EUCRA). 
  • Spatial Planning as a Tool for Resilience: 
    Tomislav Novosel (REGEA) highlighted the role of spatial planning in implementing adaptation strategies. He discussed how integrating resilience into territorial planning can help address vulnerabilities and create more robust regional responses. 
  • Climate Proofing  of infrastructure and services: 
    Miljenko Sedlar (REGEA) delved into the concept of climate proofing, offering practical methods to ensure that infrastructure and services are prepared for future climate challenges. He stressed the importance of proactive planning to minimize long-term risks. 
  • Balancing Mitigation and Adaptation: 
    Eleonora Leonardi (EURAC, Impetus Project) explored the delicate balance between mitigation and adaptation, using historic buildings as a case study. Her insights demonstrated how addressing both aspects is essential for sustainable development. 
  • Monitoring and Evaluating Progress: 
    Christian Kind (Adelphi) introduced the concept of maladaptation and the REGILIENCE self-assessment check list. He also emphasized the need for robust systems to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of adaptation measures. He underlined the key aspects to consider and shared inspiring best practices and useful resources.  

The session underscored the value of fostering dialogue and collaboration among stakeholders. By sharing knowledge and experiences, participants gained a deeper understanding of how to navigate the complex landscape of climate adaptation. 

If you missed the session, recordings and presentation slides are available. You can also explore previous sessions and contribute your ideas for future topics by visiting the REGILIENCE page. This series remains a cornerstone of REGILIENCE’s mission to empower regional actors in building a more resilient future. 

And download the following presentations:

On this page, you can see the Open Training Sessions (OTS) available for all interested parties, that will take place between March 2023 and 2025. The sessions are organised in a series of ten online events divided into two cycles.

How communities are taking charge of climate adaptation in Catalonia

Spain is on the front lines of climate change. The country is experiencing an uptick in floods, heatwaves, wildfires and droughts, underlining the urgency of resilient, community-focused solutions. The deadly floods in Valencia in October 2024 offered a sobering glimpse into what climate impacts can mean for people’s lives and homes. In response to such climate challenges and as part of the RESIST Project, Catalonia is pioneering multi-hazard early warning systems and progressing with plans that aim to keep communities safe and prepared.

 

Adaptation measures need to consider both local and global drivers of resilience to compounded risks and the cascading effects of climate change. Relevant climate information is a prerequisite for anticipating climate change, reducing uncertainty and assessing risks to biodiversity, people and infrastructure at regional and local scales, as well as for planning adaptation measures, piloting territorial transitions and evaluating the effectiveness of these measures.
However, climate information alone does not provide a full understanding of how climate risks are experienced locally, and what solutions and strategies need to be developed to manage these risks.

A New Model for Early Warnings in Catalonia

In Catalonia, the RESIST Project has turned its focus on the municipalities of Terrassa and Blanes — both chosen for their vulnerability to extreme weather and their contrasting urban and semi-urban landscapes. Here, teams are implementing an impact-based early warning system designed to tailor alerts to specific threats such as flood risks or wildfire dangers. Recognising Catalonia’s unique vulnerability to climate events, these multi-hazard systems are part of a larger push to equip communities with the knowledge and time they need to act effectively.

Focusing on the People Most at Risk

What sets RESIST’s approach apart is its commitment to inclusive resilience. Building protective systems for all, especially those in society’s most vulnerable groups, lies at the heart of this initiative. This means creating risk communication strategies for older people, who may live alone, and for young migrant communities, who often reside in informal housing where extreme weather poses significant risks.
To ensure this, RESIST has introduced site-specific alert systems that recognise the particular needs of each area. Each warning is finely tuned to the location’s vulnerabilities, a system that aims to save time, reduce exposure and allow timely evacuations.

Laying the Foundations with Technology and Awareness

Progress in Catalonia’s early warning infrastructure is already visible. Terrassa and Blanes are equipped with the ARGOS system , which collects and shares real-time hazard data with city officials and emergency responders. Alongside this, RESIST has rolled out risk awareness surveys and community-focused initiatives to help residents understand and prepare for climate threats.
For those living in flood-prone areas, the measures go further. Civil Protection teams in Terrassa, for instance, have started building a comprehensive hazard impact database and are installing flood-detection sensors to better monitor risk in real time. These actions are part of a broader effort to prepare first responders, equipping them with the tools and training to act effectively during emergencies.

Creating a Blueprint for the Future

RESIST’s goals don’t end in Catalonia. The project envisions a future where adaptable early warning systems reach more communities throughout Europe. The lessons learned here—through rigorous testing, monitoring, and community collaboration—are intended to help shape adaptable models that other vulnerable municipalities can adopt, both in Catalonia and beyond.
As Catalonia adapts to an increasingly volatile climate, the region’s efforts to build resilience serve as a testament to what community-centred planning can accomplish. Here, the focus isn’t just on technology and alerts; it’s on people and their safety, forging a model for climate preparedness that other regions may one day follow.

You can download the opinion article here.

Is there a place for nature(-based solutions) in the hi-tech digital world?

Our era is characterized by the integration of digital technology into every aspect of our lives.

From communication and entertainment to engineering and healthcare, the influence of digital tools is omnipresent. We’re seeing advancements in Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, and Quantum Computing that are reshaping industries. Digital transformation is no longer just a trend. It is becoming part of our day-to-day activities. And it’s pretty exciting, isn’t it?

On the other end of the technology spectrum, there are nature-based solutions (NbS). Although not so loud, NbS are generating traction and becoming more and more recognized in their own right.

First things first – what are nature-based solutions? While several definitions exist, I will provide how the EU Commission defines them:

Solutions that are inspired and supported by nature, which are cost-effective, simultaneously provide environmental, social and economic benefits and help build resilience. Such solutions bring more, and more diverse, nature and natural features and processes into cities, landscapes and seascapes, through locally adapted, resource-efficient and systemic interventions.

On the ground, this high-level definition translates into green roofs and pocket parks in urban zones, interventions such as agroforestry and constructed wetlands in rural zones, or riparian buffer restoration and mangrove restoration in natural zones… Those are just a couple of examples; the list is not exhaustive.

Seeing how NbS are able to transform neighborhoods or landscapes through multiple benefits they provide, it is difficult not to get excited about what nature can do! I count myself as one of the NbS enthusiasts too. But some of my friends do not exactly agree with me. They say that technology is the real catalyst for progress. There is no doubt that we live in a high-tech digital world. Do we really have to choose one direction, though? Is this really an either/or situation?

I am borrowing the central statement of this piece from Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, whom I had an opportunity to hear during the New European Bauhaus festival this April.

Mr. Schellnhuber presented the evolution of technological development, characterizing them on a continuous scale from no-tech, through mid-tech to high-tech (Figure 1).

However, following such development the future we are heading for is not the future we want. As Mr. Schellnhuber put it, “If we want to reach climate resilience, no-tech needs to meet high-tech. Ingenuity needs to meet Evolution. The newest knowledge must be linked with no-tech and this is nature!” (Figure 2).

I believe that for successful implementation of NbS projects, such “no-tech meets high-tech” principle is crucial and that the rollout of NbS without cutting-edge digital tools is a highway to maladaptation.

As an example, say that a city is considering implementing a small park in combination with bioswales. This could reduce the heat-island effect and also reduce the risk of flash floods. But where should this small park be placed to actually provide those benefits? Satellite imagery can provide extensive up-to-date data on surface temperatures, land use, and vegetation health to identify the hotspots, and the newest hydrologic modeling can be used to simulate stormwater flows in the case of extreme rain events, thus determining the most impactful location for NbS implementation.

No-tech / high-tech synergy is exactly what we are trying to achieve through project CARDIMED. CARDIMED aims to enhance Climate Resilience in the Mediterranean by mainstreaming Nature-based Solutions in systemic transformation. The project, a part of the EU mission on Adaptation to Climate Change, will demonstrate 34 different types of NbS through 90 interventions across 10 regions and 20 locations. Leveraging advanced digital technologies is one of the core pillars of the project. Aiming at NbS designers and operators, CARDIMED is developing a harmonized NbS interventions management digital platform for accurate assessments and informed and targeted interventions.

Using advanced digital technologies is one of the core pillars of the project. Aiming at NbS designers and operators, CARDIMED is developing a Harmonised NbS interventions management digital platform for accurate assessments and informed and targeted interventions.

Going even a step further, we are leveraging latest tools to enhance communication with stakeholders! To highlight a few: we are developing an augmented reality smartphone app for immersive community engagement. Using their phones, citizens will be able to visualize how Nature-based Solutions would look in their environment. Similarly, we will use Digital storytelling to bring to life the benefits and services of nature by creating compelling narratives that resonate with diverse audiences.

In conclusion, Nature-based Solutions can greatly benefit from the latest digital advancement. The two are not opposing forces but rather complementary partners in creating sustainable and innovative solutions for the future.

You can download the opinion article here.

From strategy to action: REGILIENCE’s Management Board Meeting and Capacity Building in Poreč, Croatia

From October 22 to 24, 2024, REGILIENCE convened its fifth Management Board Meeting in Poreč, Croatia, at one of the project’s focus regions with the generous hosting support from REGEA. This event was set together with Poreč one-day workshop which brought together project partners to not only review strategic milestones but also participate in a practical capacity-building workshop tailored for the local and regional authorities. This dual focus provided both a reflection on the project’s progress and an in-depth opportunity to strengthen regional climate resilience efforts.

REGILIENCE partners in Poreč, Croatia, for the Management board Meeting

 

What is left in a year for REGILIENCE project?

As the project approaches its final year (concluding in October 2025), the REGILIENCE partners have developed a strategy to continue supporting the 7 focus regions and beyond, making full use of existing resources and upcoming project activities. Many local and regional authorities (LRAs) still lack general knowledge on resilience and adaptation, possibly due to limited awareness of available EU platforms and resources. The REGILIENCE partners agreed that the project’s final year should focus on bringing selected and relevant resources of EU platforms and initiatives to LRAs, supporting them in creating or enhancing their climate resilience pathways. This will cover information on extreme climate events, curated tools specifically designed to support LRAs, and details on EU support available to regions and communities. Such information will be disseminated through REGILIENCE channels, materials, and capacitybuilding activities, including workshops like the one organised in Poreč.

 

Empowering Istria to become climate resilient

The main goal of the workshop “Climate change and adaptation in Istria: From planning to local action” was to empower Istrian Cities, Municipalities, and Istrian County institutions to develop their climate resilience pathway. It combined presentations of experts from REGILIENCE and the region with lively discussions on how Istria can prepare for present and projected climate hazards. The event introduced the concepts of resilience and climate adaptation, showcased relevant examples and tools, and covered the European legislative framework and how the region can access EU support.

The workshop provided an opportunity for Istrian cities and stakeholders to discuss challenges and opportunities for planning and implementing climate adaptation measures. It set the scene to the climate risks and impacts in the Istrian region, while bringing innovative and tested tools that can be utilised to their advantage. The REGILIENCE team facilitated discussions encouraging the participants to spot climate risks in their own cities and technical opportunities that can support them in planning for climate adaptation actions. In return, the discussions contribute to our understanding on the climate hazards affecting the local population as well as the support and information needed to develop climate resilience pathways. This has given us a unique insight, one which we could not obtain through desktop research alone.

The participatory approach allowed the participants to connect to each other, exchange knowledge, and explore possibilities for climate resilience, gaining a new perspective on challenges and solutions which might not have been obvious before. Additionally, the three sets of discussions sparked their interests in assessing the opportunities and needs for better and more integrated planning, better access to direct funding and the implementation of new financing mechanisms, as well as methods for the engagement of the local community in climate adaptation.

The major success of this workshop was the increased awareness of regional and local authorities and initiatives about the importance of developing adaptation strategies for Istria and the ways to achieve this. It has reinforced the importance of the strategy developed by REGILIENCE partners during the Management Board meeting and provided useful insights for the work planned for the final year.