Reading guide for the EU, international, national and regional level

 EU, international, national and regional level

Why do cities matter in adapting my country and Europe to climate change? 

This report:

• Chapter 2, Climate and urban Europe — changes ahead, sets out Key observed and projected climate change impacts for the main regions in Europe (figure 2.2) and explains how important cities are for European climate resilience. The example of Dortmund illustrates this for the logistics sector (Box 2.1 Possible knock-on effects of climate change impacts: an example from Dortmund, Germany).

Further resources:

The EEA map book, Urban vulnerability to climate change, provides a set of interactive maps for exploring urban vulnerabilities in relation to climate change impacts.

How can regional, national and European policies support the transformation of cities into climate-resilient communities?

This report:

• Chapter 4, Urban adaptation action to date, provides an overview and includes examples of good practice in the support provided at regional, national and European level with a view to enhancing local adaptation capacities and promoting urban adaptation.
•  Section 5.1 of chapter 5, Governance for urban adaptation, addresses the interplay between different governance levels, highlighting how urban adaptation has been integrated into national adaptation plans, and illustrating specific initiatives from European, national and sub-national governments. 

Further resources:

Chapter 4 of the EEA report, Urban Adaptation to Climate Change in Europe (EEA Report 2/2012), is dedicated to the relationship between different governance levels.

The EEA report, National Adaptation Policy Processes in European Countries (EEA Report 4/2014), highlights the need for horizontal and vertical coordination.

The Mayors Adapt website summarises the main funding sources in Europe.

Furthermore, Step 0.5 of the Urban Adaptation Support Tool on the Climate-ADAPT platform provides a brief overview of European support sources.

 What are the adaptation challenges for cities? 

• Section 5.1 of chapter 5, Governance for urban adaptation, points to the necessity of institutional support in the context of a multilevel governance framework. Section 5.2, Building the adaptation knowledge base and awareness, highlights the importance of an increase in knowledge and capacity, while section 5.4, Economics of urban adaptation, includes a part on financing urban adaptation, further to an overview of Opportunities for financing climate change adaptation in municipalities (Figure 5.9) and Examples of national activities to provide financial support for urban adaptation (Box 5.32).
• In Chapter 4, Urban adaptation action to date, the part on Integration of adaptation and mitigation and other areas provides an overview of the integration between adaptation strategies and other ongoing EU, national and regional urban policies and policy agendas.
• Chapter 5 provides inspiring examples for existing innovative and effective governance frameworks and approaches. For example, it indicates a tool for the self-assessment of institutions— The PACT framework for analysing organisational capacities (Box 5.1) — which presents an analytical framework for the analysis of adaptive capacity, and A regional and transnational approach to address flooding in Dresden, Germany (Box 5.23).

Further resources:

Chapter 2 of the EEA report, Urban Adaptation to Climate Change in Europe (EEA Report 2/2012), describes the key challenges to a multi-governance framework to support urban adaptation (Sections 2.1.1, 2.2.1, 2.3.1).

Where to find inspiration for the design of regional, national and EU action?

This Report:

• Section 5.1 of Chapter 5, Governance for urban adaptation, provides case studies on sharing responsibility for the development of adaptation options between national and local authorities (Cyprus, Box, 5.1). It also includes case studies on the support Norwegian authorities provide for mainstreaming urban adaptation (Box 5.3), and the interplay between national frameworks and local adaptation in Denmark, France and the United Kingdom (Box 5.4).

Further resources:

The Local Action part of the country pages in the Climate-ADAPT platform provides an overview of the way relations between different governance levels are designed in EEA Member States. Choose a country and look up Local Action.