European Climate Adaptation Newsletter

Issue October 1, 2026

Editorial

This summer was another reminder that climate resilience is a growing concern for people, communities, businesses, and policymakers across Europe. Extreme heat, drought and wildfires affected large parts of the continent. In France, major wildfires in July forced thousands of people to evacuate, while July became the country’s hottest month on record. These events once again demonstrated how climate impacts can rapidly affect people, ecosystems, infrastructure and economic activity — and why preparedness and adaptation need to accompany efforts to reduce emissions.

The growing urgency of adaptation was reflected in European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s 2026 State of the Union (SOTEU) address, where climate resilience featured among the priorities for the year ahead. Alongside reaffirming Europe’s climate ambitions, the President announced a new European climate resilience framework, as well as a European Heatwave Plan, a Climate Insurance Alliance and a European Water Initiative. These initiatives signal a growing emphasis on strengthening Europe’s preparedness and embedding resilience more systematically across policies and investments.

Recent EEA evidence points to the need to accelerate action. The Climate resilience in Europe, 2025 — progress and challenges report shows that, while all EEA member countries have adaptation policies in place, progress remains uneven, with gaps in risk assessment, implementation, financing, monitoring and cross-border cooperation. At the local level, the EEA briefing Small but mighty — climate resilience in Europe’s small municipalities highlights how smaller municipalities are already demonstrating leadership and innovation, while often facing significant constraints in terms of staff, finance, expertise and access to climate information.

The experiences of this summer also underline the importance of making reliable climate information available when and where it is needed. During periods of severe wildfires, Climate-ADAPT saw a significant increase in visitors from affected countries. On 25 July alone, more than 14,400 page views were recorded — over 2.5 times the daily average — with visitors from France accounting for 50% of the total. This highlights that when climate risks become immediate, people turn to trusted sources to better understand the risks they face and the responses available to them.

Climate-ADAPT brings together European knowledge on climate risks, adaptation policies, practical solutions and implementation experience. In response to the growing health risks associated with extreme heat in Europe, the platform has expanded its practical knowledge on implementing established adaptation solutions such as Climate proofing buildings against excessive heat and cold and urban green and blue infrastructure. A new case study package illustrates how these solutions can be tailored to prevent and manage extreme heat across different types of built environments. In addition, recently updated Climate-ADAPT case studies provide further insights into the conditions under which Nature-based Solutions for heat prevention remain effective in practice.

The message from summer 2026 and the State of the Union is clear: understanding Europe’s climate risks is essential, but building resilience ultimately depends on translating that knowledge into action at all levels of governance.

The Climate-ADAPT Team at the European Environment Agency

and the European Commission

European Climate Adaptation Newsletter

Editorial

EU policies and EEA activities

Mid-term assessment: EU Mission on Adaptation surpassed its 2030 targets already

Realising the potential of the EU’s outermost regions, including on climate resilience

EEA products package: Extreme weather and uneven climate change adaptation challenge Europe's resilience

JRC report Drought in Europe July 2026

EEA web portal "Climate impacts and preparedness in Europe" launched with new data

Insights from actions at transnational, national, and local levels

Climate Action Plan for the Mediterranean launched

Lithuanian Parliament adopts Climate Change Adaptation Law

Nature-Based Solutions: Slovakia implements EU LIFE-Funded Adaptation Project

Turning climate data into action: lessons from the Flemish Climate Portal

On 10th anniversary, ‘Blue Compass’ Award honours outstanding climate change adaptation projects in Germany

New report on social dimensions of climate change impacts in Germany

Climate ADAPT: new and updated features

Climate-ADAPT solutions package for adaptation practitioners and policy makers to prevent heat in different built environments

Climate-ADAPT case studies updates help learning on NbS effectiveness on the ground

New Climate-ADAPT section showcasing knowledge support to EU Mission on adaptation

New research and assessments

UN Environment Programme spotlight on Navigating exceedance of 1.5°C and pathways towards return

United Nations Global Risk Report: climate change inaction is single most important risk

Confronting extreme heat, drought and wildfires: How EU-funded research is helping Europe to respond and adapt

Copernicus: Daily global sea surface temperature breaks 2024 record

EU Interreg WaterAdapt project: Best Practices for Water-Related Risks Management

Timiș becomes Replicating Region for Nature-based Solutions under EU funded LAND4CLIMATE

REGILIENCE+ launched Open Training Session series to support regional and local knowledge exchange on climate resilience

Events