EU Mission : Adaptation to Climate Change

NATALIE is a proud contributor to the EU Mission Adaptation to Climate Change, one of the 5 missions launched by the European Commission to address major societal challenges and provide concrete solutions.
What is the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change?
The Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change focuses on supporting EU regions, cities and local authorities in their efforts to build resilience against the impacts of climate change.
The Mission contributes to putting the EU's adaptation strategy in practice by helping the regions to:
- Better understand the climate risks they are and will be confronted with in the future
- Develop their pathways to be better prepared and cope with the changing climate
- Test and deploy on the ground innovative solutions needed to build resilience
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The Mission’s objective is to support at least 150 European regions and communities towards climate resilience by 2030. |
Why is the EU Mission important?
As dangerous climate change looms, with global temperatures already rising over one degree since the industrial revolution, urgent action is needed to mitigate its impacts. Even with reductions in carbon emissions outlined in the Paris Agreement, we're on track for over a two-degree rise by the end of the century, exacerbating extreme weather events and impacting various sectors.
Implementing climate adaptation measures at regional and local levels is imperative to enhance resilience, emphasising the interconnectedness of mitigation and adaptation efforts to ensure effective response to climate change.
What is the Mission Implementation Platform MIP4Adapt?
The Mission Implementation Platform (MIP4Adapt) supports European regional and local authorities to prepare and plan their adaptation pathways to climate resilience.
For Charter Signatories, MIP4Adapt is facilitating a Community of Practice and delivering technical assistance to enable regions and local authorities to:
- Use their existing climate vulnerability and risk assessments to develop climate adaptation plans and fund and implement climate adaptation solutions
- Identify appropriate climate adaptation demonstration projects and identify and access financial support for their implementation
- Stimulate engagement and mobilisation of citizens and stakeholders in inclusive approaches to climate adaptation.
How NATALIE is contributing to the EU Mission objectives?
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NATALIE, funded in support of the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change and supported by 43 partners, is leading the way in accelerating climate resilience across Europe. By championing the adoption of nature-based solutions (NBS), NATALIE demonstrates the effectiveness of NBS as robust adaptation measures. Through 8 demonstration sites and 4 follower regions, NATALIE empowers local communities to build resilience and meets the EU Mission’s goals by 2030. |
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NATALIE participation at the 4th Forum for the Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change (MACC)
Held on 19-20 May 2025 in Wrocław, Poland, under the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, we are glad to have participate at this annual event to support the EU missions.
The MACC supports EU regions, cities, and local authorities in enhancing their resilience to climate change impacts. Its annual Forum serves as a pivotal governance component of the Mission, bringing together national, regional, and local authorities, European institutions, Charter Signatories, and Friends of the Mission. The event provides a platform for in-depth discussions, facilitating the identification of successes and challenges while shaping the MACC’s future trajectory.
Several partners including OiEau, ICA, ZPR and CIEGC actively participated in this event, both at the pre-forum on May 19th, and at the forum itself on May 20. This was a valuable opportunity for three out of the eight demonstration sites - Zemgale (DS#3), Canary Islands (DS#4) and Nouvelle-Aquitaine (DS#6) , to showcase their regional adaptation efforts, as part of the NATALIE project.
The 4th MACC Forum also provided a rich networking environment, allowing NATALIE partners to connect with other Mission regions and engage with six sister projects within the cluster NB4EU.
Lessons from EU Adaptation Monitoring under the EU Mission on Adaptation
Under the Working Group on Monitoring and Evaluation of the Mission Implementation Platform for Adaptation to Climate Change (MIP4Adapt), four Euoprean projects ARSINOE_EU, IMPETUS, TransformAR, and NATALIE have joined forces and have co-authored a concise “Challenges & Lessons Learned” report to guide future monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of climate resilience initiatives across Europe.
Each project mapped its indicators against global frameworks (Paris, Sendai, SDGs) and tested mixed methods, quantitative baselines, proxy metrics, structured interviews and living labs,to capture both ecosystem outcomes and socio-economic impacts.
Lessons Learned & Best Practices
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Co-develop indicators with end-users to boost ownership and relevance.
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Conduct early data-gap analyses and build flexible proxy approaches.
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Establish cross-sector “Transformation Labs” for iterative co-design of M&E tools.
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Embed participatory governance from day one to surface hidden risks and maintain momentum.
NATALIE contribution to EU Mission Briefing Note on Citizen and Stakeholder Engagement
NATALIE project has contributed to the new Briefing Note on Improving Collaboration and Experience Sharing in Citizen and Stakeholder Engagement, developed by the Thematic Working Group on Citizen and Stakeholder Engagement, part of the EU Mission on Climate Adaptation Community of Practice. This document brings together key reflections, good practices, and lessons learned from a wide range of EU Mission projects and regions, with the goal of supporting local and regional authorities across Europe in placing communities at the heart of climate adaptation strategies.
This Briefing Note aims to:
- Share experiences on citizen and stakeholder engagement in Climate Adaptation from the Mission Task Working Group projects;
- Support and encourage the use of online platforms to share knowledge, improve efficiency in learning from others, and reduce duplication of efforts.
- Introduce the Agora Community Hub as a platform for discussions around sharing knowledge and experiences across the mission's network, helping Projects, Regional and Local Authorities, and citizen groups to contribute to a Europeanwide “Catalogue of tools and platforms”.
NATALIE’s contribution to this publication highlights its Transformation Labs (TLs) and Case Studies, where Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) are being co-developed in close collaboration with local stakeholders. These field experiences reflect NATALIE’s strong commitment to inclusive governance, community empowerment, and shared ownership of adaptation strategies.

