27.7.2023
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
C 264/9
National, regional and local administrators could get involved, for example, through workshops and field trips to encourage fact-based engagement in climate action.
Communities should get involved through public consultations, informationsharing, and through interactive and informal ways like exhibitions, contests, online games, etc.
Civil Society Organisations and NGOs are important partners as well, serving as a bridge between stakeholders and climate communication, through their existing experience on climate adaptation on the territory and communities concerned and awareness-raising on the impacts of climate change and the need for climate adaptation.
To ensure this communication effectively reaches communities, it needs to be backed up by proper resources, through funding and capacity building.
National or regional web portals or platforms that gather tailored information on climate change and climate change adaptation are an excellent channel for disseminating relevant information.
These platforms should be connected with existing portals on sectoral policies (e.g., disaster risk reduction, water, health, biodiversity etc.) to promote climate mainstreaming.
The EU Climate-ADAPT website plays a central role by helping people to access and share data and information on matters related to climate change and climate adaptation.
National web portals on climate adaptation have been developed in most European countries as well, which create the opportunity to learn from good practice examples from other countries or regions.
These might help to inspire action on climate adaptation.
However, web portals and platforms should be complemented by other communication activities to avoid the widening of the digital gap between EU Member States and regions and to ensure access to information for everyone.
For more information on setting up the institutional framework and ensuring stakeholder buy-in, see also the Adaptation support tool section on Preparing the ground for adaptation.
Step 2:
Conducting climate change risk and vulnerability assessments
Step 2 of the guidelines will help to: — establish the core elements of climate change risk and vulnerability assessment; — assess social impacts of climate change; — assess cross-border and cascading risks; — decide the criteria for ‘acceptable’ risks and prioritising adaptation needs.
After the groundwork has been laid to support a climate adaptation plan or strategy, the second step is a climate change impact and vulnerability assessment.
The purpose of this assessment is to establish what the potential climate change impacts will be in a certain area, what risks are associated with these impacts in a certain area or sector, and to prioritise which risks require more immediate responses.
To ensure proper effectiveness of climate adaptation strategies or plans, it is considered good practice to regularly update the assessment – at least in parallel with every update of the strategy/plan.
The benefits of doing so include: — tracking relevant changes in existing risks and vulnerabilities including physical risks of infrastructure and socioeconomic and health impacts on communities; — identifying new, emerging risks and vulnerabilities that have the potential for having big economic, social and/or environmental impacts in the future; — identifying new opportunities that arise due to climate change.
In general, the assessment should be based on the latest climate science to identify populations, essential infrastructures and sectors particularly vulnerable to climate change, set the overall strategic direction of adaptation policy and continuously inform decision-making.