European cities urged to adopt stronger climate adaptation as risks grow
Adaptation is required across all sectors and at all governance levels, says the EEA, as heatwaves and flooding risks escalate
Europe’s cities are key to increasing the region’s resilience to the impact of climate change, according to research by the European Environment Agency (EEA). A new report from the agency issued an “urgent” call on policymakers at both EU and national level to introduce climate adaptation policies and adopt stronger adaptation targets to better prepare Europe’s cities and their citizens for increasing climate risk.
Urban Adaptation in Europe says Europe’s cities, home to the majority of Europeans, are increasingly experiencing heatwaves and floods, with even more severe climate risks on the horizon.
“There is a clear case for investing in urban societal resilience,” the EEA says. “Cities have an essential role in the implementation of adaptation actions, which need to take into account local conditions and specific vulnerabilities.”
It calls for political commitment and long-term funding to underpin successful climate adaptation across Europe’s cities.
Some of Europe’s urban areas have incorporated climate change in urban planning and building codes, as well as exploring economic incentives, insurance, risk mapping and early-warning systems. But the EEA identifies several emerging areas of opportunity for further adaptation measures, including urban agriculture, creating more liveable public spaces and protecting cultural heritage.
It also says nature-based solutions, which feature in 91% of local adaptation plans analysed in the report, are working but the scale of climate change means they cannot be enough in isolation.
“Nature-based solutions are effective for cooling and water retention in cities, and they also provide many other benefits, such as space for recreation and reducing pollution. However, due to the magnitude of expected climate impacts, it may still be necessary to combine nature-based approaches with other types of actions, including physical infrastructure,” the EEA report explains.
“Adaptation is required across all sectors and at all governance levels,” the report says, adding that action will need to address current climate impacts but also be ready to protect against greater risks further down the line.
The report follows the EEA’s first climate risk assessment for Europe in March, which raised concerns Europe’s current policies and adaptation work is not keeping pace with growing climate risks, with more densely populated areas at greater risk of heatwaves and flooding.
“Average temperatures across Europe are rising faster than the global average, and Europe’s cities are feeling the impacts of climate change more regularly and more severely,” the report says, with summer 2023 setting breaking temperatures. As well as heatwaves and flooding, urban areas are more at risk from water scarcity and reductions in water quality, the spread of infectious disease-carrying vectors, storms, wildfires and landslides, the EEA says.
“With three quarters of Europe’s population estimated to live in urban areas, cities have the responsibility, but also the capacity, to be true drivers of change,” the EEA says.
“Good practices are being tested and shared, although they are not being scaled up quickly enough to keep pace with climate change,” the report warns.
