Covenant signatories share the vision that, by 2050, European citizens will be living in decarbonised and resilient cities with access to affordable, secure, and sustainable energy. To achieve this, signatories commit to increase resilience and prepare for the adverse impacts of climate change, in addition to reducing emissions and tackling energy poverty.
The Covenant initiative supports signatories in their efforts to plan, implement and monitor adaptation actions – by providing methodological guidance, capacity building activities, knowledge resources and opportunities for collaboration.
Discover the Policy Support Facility
The European Commission launched the Policy Support Facility to assist local and regional authorities pass from planning to action in climate adaptation under the Covenant of Mayors - Europe. The Facility runs as a two-year pilot programme from 2022-2023 and the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change of the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme may contribute to scaling up the Facility.
The Facility strengthens the support provided by the Covenant of Mayors on adaptation, with dedicated peer to peer learnings and resources, public seminars, and podcasts. In addition, 12 Member States are targeted for hosting national workshops and access technical assistance opportunities: Bulgaria, Croatia Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain.
- Module 1: Learn from experts
- Module 2: Exchange with Peers
- Module 3: Implement with support of experts
- Module 4: Showcase Lessons learned
More information
Read the Policy Support Facility Final Report.
Webinar Series on Adaptation
- Fostering a local just resilience – part 1 – Navigating the EU policy and financial landscape
- Fostering a local just resilience - part 2 – Reducing the risk of disasters
Fostering a local just resilience - part 3 – Integrating the social dimension into planning adaptation
Get inspired
Listen to our podcast series on Adaptation!
- Episode 1 - João Dinis on cities and states adapting to climate change, December 2022, English
- Episode 2 - Alexandra Popartan on just resilience, February 2023, English
- Episode 3 - Ion Sola Torralba on Assessing adaptation, March 2023, English
- Episode 4 - Stella Psaropoulou on Thessaloniki adapts, June 2023 English
- Episode 5 - Saša Heath-Drugovič on Celje on Making change a reality, September 2023, English
- Episode 6 - Mélanie Pedeutour & Cristina Costa on Teaming up to adapt, October 2023, English
- Episode 7 - Dorottya Hornik Horváth, Zuzana Hudekova & Erika Jacsmenik on Barrelling forward in Debrecen, November 2023, English
- Episode 8 - EefJe Henrdiks & Juan Capeáns Amenedo on Mining for inspiration, January, 2024, English
- Episode 9 - Luca Arbau, Max Beijneveld & Alison De Luise on Grand Finale, March 2024, English
Related news
- Policy Support Facility National Adaptation Workshops meet Municipalities where they are at, October to December 2022
Use our tools
| The Urban Adaptation Support Tool is the main adaptation resource for the Covenant community. It provides guidance through the main steps to develop an adaptation action plan and implement adaptation actions. For each step, the tool refers to further valuable knowledge materials, case studies and tools. The tool has been developed jointly by the Covenant of Mayors - Europe Office and the European Environment Agency and tested by Covenant signatories.
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| The Urban Adaptation Map Viewer provides an overview of a range of climate hazards and the vulnerability of cities to these hazards and their adaptive capacity. The tool collates information on the observed and projected spatial distribution and intensity of high temperatures, flooding, water scarcity, wildfires and vector-borne diseases. It also gives insights on what causes vulnerability and exposure to these hazards and on adaptation planning and actions. The tool has been developed by the European Environment Agency. |
Learn from communities across Europe
Governance
- Kispest, Budapest, Hungary: development of adaptation strategy with citizen survey, 2020
- Wrocław, Poland: involving citizens to catch rain, 2020
- Dresden, Germany: citizen living lab to build a heat resilient city, 2019
Nature-based solutions
- Cascais, Portugal: river restoration to reduce flooding risk, 2021
- Riba-roja de Túria, Spain: green barriers using recycled water to prevent forest fire, 2020
- Brno, Czech Republic: rainwater management in Pod Plachtami Park, 2020
- Lille, France: eco-district along the banks of the Haute Deûle waterway, 2018
- Bonn, Germany: tax incentives for green roofs, 2018
- Antwerp, Belgium: tool to measure the environmental benefits of green areas, 2017
Just transition
- Murcia, Spain: measuring social vulnerability and sectoral adaptive capacity, 2020
Disaster risk reduction
- Mannheim, Germany: mapping urban heat for targeted measures, 2021
- Barcelona, Spain: using insurance data to map risk exposure to climate change, 2020
Built environment
- Métropole Nice Côte d’Azur, France: automated pavement irrigation to counter urban heat, 2020
- Thessaloniki, Greece: bioclimatic upgrade of public spaces, 2017
Explore other resources
Publications
- Adapting to climate change in European cities: Towards smarter, swifter & more systemic action, December 2021, English
- Multi-Level Governance in (Climate) Action – Co-creating policy solutions to tackle climate change, October 2018, English
- How to prepare for floods, heatwaves and other climate change impacts, October 2018, English