Financing climate adaptation: the Climate City Capital Hub offer to cities and regions

On 18 September, ERRIN and Climate KIC organised an information session on the Climate City Capital Hub’s expanded support for climate adaptation. The session explored how the Hub can help cities and regions prepare adaptation projects for investment and access financing for their implementation, bringing together opportunities under the EU Cities Mission and the Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change.

Developed under NetZeroCities, the Capital Hub initially focused on climate mitigation in cities. Its expanded offer supports adaptation projects by helping local and regional authorities develop investment cases, structure financing and connect with potential financing partners. The Hub acts as an advisory and facilitation platform, rather than providing funding directly.

Available support

Adaptation projects can be challenging to finance, as their benefits often take the form of avoided damage and wider social and environmental improvements rather than direct revenues. The Capital Hub helps authorities identify and demonstrate these benefits and explore financing approaches combining public funding, grants and private capital.

Support covers three main areas:

Technical assistance: developing project concepts, reviewing feasibility studies, identifying gaps and risks, and connecting authorities with technical assistance providers.
Financial structuring: developing business cases, financial models and financing structures tailored to each project.
Capital facilitation: identifying potential financing sources, preparing investor materials and facilitating introductions to investors and financing partners.

Relevant projects can include nature-based solutions, green and blue infrastructure, flood protection, sustainable drainage, heat reduction and climate-resilient buildings and transport. The discussion also highlighted the potential to combine adaptation and mitigation measures and aggregate smaller projects to make them more attractive to investors.

Projects do not need to be ready for investment to receive support. However, they should involve concrete interventions that can be developed towards implementation. This distinguishes the Hub’s offer from support for preparing broader adaptation strategies and action plans.

Opportunities for regional projects

The offer also extends to eligible regions. During the Q&A, the Capital Hub team explained that regional projects could be considered beyond the boundaries of a Mission City, with project ownership being an important factor. For example, an intervention led by a regional authority or regional development agency could be discussed with the Hub. This does not automatically extend eligibility to projects owned by other municipalities within the same region.

Access to support is linked to participation in both the Cities Mission and the Adaptation Mission. Regions must be Adaptation Mission Charter signatories and include a Mission City within their territory. Interested cities and regions are encouraged to contact the Hub to confirm their eligibility and discuss their specific project.

The offer complements other support available through the Adaptation Mission. Where a project is eligible for both MIP4Adapt and Capital Hub assistance, support should be sequenced, as the same project cannot receive both simultaneously.

No fixed application deadline was announced during the session. Interested authorities are encouraged to start a discussion with the Hub to assess their needs and agree on the scope of possible support, which is then formalised through a Letter of Intent.

Cities and regions can reach the Capital Hub directly at capitalhub@netzerocities.eu.

The presentation from the information session published on the event page provides further details on the support available and the relevant contacts.