Climate resilience through regional approaches

The EU Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) stated that the year 2023 is on track to be the hottest year ever. On this background and in view of the global impact of climate change, whether through the direct effects of heat waves, heavy rainfall or the consequences of disasters, the need for urgent measures to mitigate and adapt to climate change is obvious.

Tackling this dual challenge requires an integrated, structured, and targeted approach to curb global warming in a timely manner and at the same time protect municipalities and its citizens from the effects of climate change.

Communities and regions play a central role in providing essential services and protecting citizens and local economies from harm. There is thus a growing emphasis on developing local and regional strategies to mitigate the impact of extreme weather events. Implementing effective resilience measures is not a stand-alone activity but requires participatory and process-orientated development that integrates seamlessly with wider climate change initiatives. This approach ensures that risks are accurately identified, continuously minimised and maladaptation is avoided.

For this reason, the European Climate Adaptation Award (ECA) was launched in Germany – a pioneering quality management and certification programme for municipalities to proactively adapt to climate change. With its three components – instrument, stakeholders, and process – the eca programme offers local authorities a comprehensive catalogue of measures for the most important fields of action, which is based on the German Adaptation Strategy. Steps such as climate impact analysis, policy programme development, project implementation and a systematic review support the efforts of participating municipalities to strengthen resilience.

But it is becoming increasingly clear that beside targeted actions on municipal level, regional cooperation is essential to assure resilience in a consistent and holistic way. Challenges must be tackled beyond municipal boundaries to ensure sustainable protection and comprehensive resilience. This is why a pilot project was started by the German eca office to extend the programme to districts. The central task here is to work out the different options for action and responsibilities and to provide a specific catalogue of measures for districts. The synergies between the municipal and regional level expand the scope of action and lead to a more comprehensive picture.

The central target is to embed adaptation activities firmly into municipal and regional processes, promote continuous development and save resources to ultimately pave the way for sustainable resilience.

This editorial is extracted from our publication ‘Sustainable Regions in Action‘. Discover more here!