National workshops unite local authorities in addressing climate adaptation measures

Successful climate change adaptation measures need to be appropriately adapted to their local context. Through the Covenant of Mayor’s Policy Support Facility(PSF), national workshops devoted to climate change adaptation across Europe are bringing together local municipalities, regional authorities and practitioners to exchange on the main climate change threats in their communities, the barriers they face in implementing adaptation measures, and best practices for how to move forward.

These series of national workshops are part of the PSF’s strategy to build local resilience to climate change, with the most recent ones taking place in Croatia, Czech Republic, Romania, Bulgaria, and Slovakia. Specific threats discussed in these sessions ranged from drought, flooding, heatwaves, and extreme weather patterns and while the context in each of these countries are unique, a common takeaway is that local governments are the first line of defence against climate change and thus need to be properly equipped to tackle them. Increasing capacity, developing financing schemes, incorporating expert experience, and utilising nature-based solutions are key tools for local authorities to achieve this goal.

In ICLEI Member Zagreb (Croatia), discussions centred around developing Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAP) and how to best incorporate adaptation measures into this strategy. For Nikola Dobroslavić, prefect of Dubrovnik-Neretva County and Ambassador of CoM for Croatia, successfully implementing adaptation measures lies in the collaboration across local and regional governments. “We want the Green Deal to succeed, and to achieve that we must rely on millions of regional politicians. Local and regional authorities in the Committee of the Regions are fully committed to a green transition after COVID. We call for cooperation with other mayors, businesses, representatives of regions and seek innovative solutions. To mitigate climate change – we need to commit to change,” he contributes.

The Policy Support Facility, of which ICLEI is a coordinating partner under the Covenant of Mayors - Europe, was launched by the European Commission following the publication of the EU Strategy of Adaptation to Climate Change in 2021, to assist local and regional authorities implement adaptation strategies. Alongside these national workshops, technical assistance

For more information on the Policy Support Facility read here.

For more information on the Covenant of Mayors, read here.