Adapting to climate change : challenges and opportunities for the EU local and regional authorities

Despite commitments by most countries under the Paris Agreement to strengthen climate action and limit global temperature rise to 'well below 2oC', the impacts of climate change are already being felt throughout the globe. The frequency and intensity of these impacts will only increase, and thus a sound approach to climate risk means that adapting to these impacts is as necessary as limiting emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG). The impacts of climate change are diverse, varying according to local geographical conditions, socio-economic characteristics and adaptive capacity. Local and regional authorities (LRAs) are critical to successfully responding to these impacts. This report presents a review of key issues and challenges in adapting to the impacts of climate change for local and regional authorities in the EU. It first provides a summary, based on recent literature, of the likely physical impacts of climate change and the effects they can have on socio-economic systems within EU Member States, based on a review of recent literature. Then a review of adaptation measures available to LRAs is provided, noting the potential opportunities for synergies and risks of trade-offs between adaptation and other policy areas. The report notes here the growing recognition of the impacts of climate change on health and social systems, and particularly existing socioeconomic disparities. The challenges LRAs face in addressing these multi-layered issues are today compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic; but there may also be opportunities to mitigate the social impacts of the current crisis and build our preparedness for future pandemics through measures that also support adaptation goals. A mapping of sources of financing for adaptation action at the local and regional levels is provided, followed by an assessment of the key challenges faced by LRAs in climate change adaptation is provided, based on a review of literature and a survey of stakeholders within regional and municipal authorities. The key challenges identified can categorised into the following four groups: Lack of political leadership and commitment to adaptation; Insufficient administrative capacity; Insufficient financial resources; and Knowledge gaps. A lack of commitment to adapting to climate change as a political priority across all levels of government was identified as the key challenge by LRAs responding to the survey. Finally, the report concludes by providing a set of recommendations that can be pursued at the EU-level to overcome these challenges.