10 Climate Adaptation Case Studies in Europe

The European Climate Adaptation Platform has published a report highlighting 10 case studies of how Europe is adapting to climate change.

This collection of ten European case studies shows strategies for building resilience against extreme weather, gradually developing events such as sea-level rise and rising temperatures, and improving adaptation to climate change.

This report’s case studies on climate adaptation result from the continuous development and implementation of European climate change adaptation policies. The purpose of these case studies is to encourage decision-makers as they address climate change by implementing actual climate actions.

Some of the climate adaptation case studies in the report include:

• New locks in the Albert Canal in Flanders, Belgium, allowed water to be pumped back to the canal during low water flow. The installation of screw pumps serves two functions: allowing water to be pumped back into the canal, ensuring navigability for commercial ships, and generating hydroelectricity.
  
• Planting trees in Barcelona to counteract increasing temperatures due to climate change and the effects of the urban heat island (UHI). Barcelona’s Green Infrastructure and Biodiversity Plan 2020 (BGIBP) seeks to connect various areas of the city with green infrastructure.
  
• The Timmendorfer Strand coastal defence strategy in Germany is built to address the risks of storm surge and future sea-level rise. Timmendorfer Strand stands on the Baltic Sea, and large parts of the area sit just 3 meters above sea level. Future projections of sea-level rise and its potential damage to infrastructure and the tourism industry have led the community and the local authority to build improved coastal flood defences.

To read the entire case study report, click on the link below:

The European Climate Adaptation Platform (Climate-ADAPT) is a partnership between the European Commission (DG CLIMA) and the European Environment Agency. Climate-ADAPT aims to support Europe in adapting to climate change.