The Challenge

Climate change affects – and will continue to affect – Europe's natural environment and nearly all sectors of society and the economy. Adaptation action has become an unavoidable and indispensable component of mitigation action.

Accurate and reliable data is critical for planning and decision-making in regards to urban adaptation. However, not every local politician has sufficient in-depth knowledge of what adaptation means to the city and its’ citizens, or the specific actions that can be proposed. Political support is often missing, and this poses a significant barrier to the implementation of Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans.

A closer look at one of the political trainings on climate adaptation in Genova

In response to the challenge outlined above, the Urban Agenda Partnership on Climate Adaptation developed Action K3, 'Political training on climate adaptation', organised under the Better Knowledge priority of the UAEU. This Action lead to the coordination of six political training academies on adaptation, with the aim of educating local politicians on the vulnerabilities of urban areas and assisting them in their decision-making processes on issues related to climate adaptation, thus providing them the necessary knowledge and tools to further urban adaptation at the local level and rally the necessary political support.

The second local academy training took place in Genova (Italy) on November 26, 2019, and counted with the participation of around 40 local politicians and other stakeholders.

The training, led by Sergio Castellari and supported by the Project Coordinator Stefania Manca (Municipality of Genova) and Eva Baños de Guisasola (CEMR), consisted of presentations, interactive Q&A sessions with the audience, and an open discussion. It also combined material on how Climate change impacts in cities in Europe and Italy, gave examples of different strategic approaches to tackling climate change in different contexts, as well as different ways to finance these.

All the resources identified in the training, a summary article and relevant contact details are listed below in the hopes that the products of the training academy can be disseminated and replicated to other local settings.

More information

About the Local academy held in Genova

About Action K3 and the Political Training on Adaptation

About the Partnership on Climate Adaptation

About the Partnership’s Action Plan