Deadline: 15-Oct-2024
CLIMAAX is offering grants to support European regions and communities in better understanding, preparing for, and managing climate risks by following the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) strategy for risk management planning and supporting the design of Climate Adaptation Strategies.
CLIMAAX is dedicated to significantly contributing to the European Commission Climate Change Adaptation Mission’s first objective (MO1).
Open Calls are addressed to single applicants from regional/local authorities and communities executing their activities in areas with high vulnerability to climate change impacts and interested in implementing the CLIMAAX methodological framework and the supporting Toolbox to carry out regional and local climate change multi-risk assessments.
Through the 2nd Open Call, CLIMAAX will support regional/local authorities and communities in regions/areas with high vulnerability to climate change impacts requiring the implementation of Climate Change Adaptation strategies and/or updated Risk Management Plans.
Phases
- Phase 1: application of the CLIMAAX common methodology
- The first phase of the work to be done is the application of the CLIMAAX methodological approach using the CLIMAAX supporting Toolbox, containing data and guidelines for regional applications, to the applicant’s region or community.
- The purpose is that all regional assessments funded within the CLIMAAX project have a common setup for calculating the expected change of impacts and risk using the same common methodological approach. This allows an inter-comparison of the assessment results at a regional/local European scale. It also provides a benchmark for the regional climate risk assessments from the second phase, which will be enriched by the utilization of local data and concepts.
- This first phase will be performed using common European databases for past climate and climate projections. Also, common methodologies for calculating changes in frequencies of relevant climate indicators characterising the multiple hazards and their impacts are used, including multi-risk estimates based on reference exposure and vulnerability characteristics which have been implemented in the CLIMAAX Toolbox.
- Phase 2: refined regional/local high-resolution analysis and risk assessment
- The second phase of the work is the improvement/refinement of the risk assessment carried out in Phase 1. The proposal needs to be oriented to conduct the best possible climate change multi-risk assessment at a regional/local scale for the location/community of the applicant, with the aim of assessing the change in risks due to climate change, and providing support to design adaptation strategies and to improve local Risk Management Plans to increase regional resilience.
- To that end, the applicants will include in their analysis local data (higher resolution, complementary data, representative detail, alternative methodologies) improving the local representativity of the results obtained by the common approach in Phase 1.
- The degree of detail will depend on the location and the availability of previous studies and data. Therefore, the results of this second phase will probably not be comparable among the participating regions but will provide a much more textured and tailored assessment.
- The local data may include information from downscaled regional climate scenarios or historical records, high resolution maps of the variables needed for the estimation of the impacts, locally developed methodologies, and better adapted definitions and estimates of exposure and vulnerability terms in the risk equation.
- Applicants are strongly encouraged to use the best available data or produce downscaled products in the multi-risk assessment project. CLIMAAX will support implementations by offering guidelines and helpdesk assistance to choose the most appropriate implementation techniques adapted to the local conditions of the applicants.
- Phase 3: Exploration of local adaptation strategies and improved risk management plans
- The third phase of the work to be done is to explore and discuss the use of the multi-risk analysis carried out in Phases 1 and 2 to potential adaptation options and relevant actions at the local scale to address the risk and vulnerabilities. This can be seen as a first step to move from the locally adapted risk and vulnerabilities assessments done in Phase 2 towards the identification of suited adaptation options and strategies following the logic of the 6 steps of the adaptation support tool proposed by the Mission Climate Change Adaptation.
- It should include a description of the risk governance and present risk assessment procedures and risk management strategies in the location/region/community of the applicant and the identification of needs for adapting present risk management plans.
- Using the results obtained in Phases 1 and 2, the applicant will propose an analysis of how to support the identification of actions for climate adaptation, build adaptive capacity, and improve the present regional/local risk management plans and strategies in the location/region of the applicant.
- The CLIMAAX Toolbox will include links to a series of examples of adaptation measures, resulting from CLIMAAX pilot projects and connections to the European Communities of Practice.
What do they offer?
- The selected beneficiaries of the CLIMAAX 2nd Open Call will participate as sub-projects in the CLIMAAX project and will have up to 22 months to carry out their projects. The selected beneficiaries will receive:
- Up to EUR 300 000 lump sum funding through the CLIMAAX 2nd Open Call to implement the methodological framework and use the supporting Toolbox to conduct multi-risk climate assessments.
- Access and support to use the multi-risk assessment Toolbox, including data and risk assessment procedures, enabling regions and communities to assess the effects of climate change on a diversity of risks and impacts at the regional scale across Europe. This support will include:
- Methodological guidance on the tools and on the technical details of the multi-risk assessment methodologies, and their implementation at the location of interest;
- Technical advice and support through the CLIMAAX helpdesk to resolve issues related to the use of the Toolbox, including how to use local data and approaches.
- Access to the outreach and engagement events organised by CLIMAAX intended to promote shared learning and mutual exchange through the project Community of Practice.
Eligibility Criteria
- In the CLIMAAX 2nd Open Call, they are looking for single applicants:
- Public bodies (including regional and local authorities, municipalities, as well as public agencies) with a mandate or responsibility to develop climate-related multi-risk assessments and risk management plans in a given region or community.
- Non-profit legal entities, registered prior to the signature of the Subgrant Agreement, representing a local/regional community, of people with social ties, shared values or interests, engaged in joint action developing their activities in areas with vulnerability to climate change impacts and challenged by climate change adaptation.
- A mandate to conduct climate-related multi-risk assessments and risk management plans means that the applicant public body or non-profit legal entity has the authority to do so by formal order from a superior court or official government act. This authority must be demonstrated through official/legal documents, such as a bill or regulation, a Service Charter, statutes, decrees or similar, either publicly available or attached to the application.
- Municipalities, as the local authorities responsible for risk assessments and risk management plans, are exempt from demonstrating this mandate if they are the applicant.
- The entities have to be established in any:
- EU Member States and its Overseas Countries and Territories or;
- Horizon Europe Associated Countries.
- Applicants cannot be affected by any EU restrictive measures.
- CLIMAAX partners, their affiliates or employees cannot submit an application to the CLIMAAX 2nd Open Call and are not eligible to act as subcontracted external service providers.
For more information, visit CLIMAAX.