adaptation

New EEA resources provide valuable insights for climate resilience and adaptation across Europe

The European Environment Agency (EEA) has released a series of new resources aimed at supporting climate resilience and adaptation efforts across Europe, offering useful evidence and practical insights for regional and local authorities, policymakers and practitioners working on climate adaptation.

The new report, Climate resilience in Europe, 2025 – progress and challenges, provides a comprehensive assessment of national adaptation policies and actions across 32 EEA member countries. While all countries have now adopted national adaptation policies, the report highlights that progress remains uneven and points to persistent challenges in moving from planning to implementation. The assessment identifies gaps in monitoring and evaluation systems, differences in climate risk assessment approaches across countries, and the need for stronger coordination across sectors and governance levels. The report also notes that social vulnerability and equity considerations are not yet systematically integrated into national adaptation planning.

Alongside the report, the EEA has published the briefing Small but mighty – climate resilience in Europe’s small municipalities, which focuses on the challenges and opportunities facing Europe’s smaller local authorities. Home to more than 40% of the EU population, small municipalities often face climate risks despite having limited financial and human resources. The briefing highlights that only 16% of small municipalities have adaptation action plans, compared to 28% of larger municipalities, and identifies several enabling factors that can support adaptation action, including effective multilevel governance, access to adaptation networks and peer exchange, strong political and community leadership, and the integration of adaptation into existing plans, budgets and regulatory mechanisms.

The EEA has also launched the Climate impacts and preparedness in Europe platform, bringing together data, projections, indicators and adaptation examples related to heatwaves, floods, droughts and wildfires through interactive maps, charts and visualisations. By consolidating existing evidence into a single entry point, the platform aims to support resilience-building efforts at national, regional and local level.

Together, these resources provide valuable information for stakeholders working to strengthen climate resilience across Europe and contribute to ongoing discussions on adaptation governance, preparedness and implementation at different territorial levels.

Find more information here.