Communities and individuals play a key role in designing and implementing sustainable development and climate adaptation initiatives. Indeed, transforming cities, regions, and communities through technological, behavioural, and social changes is a complex challenge that requires input and engagement from diverse stakeholders. It is especially important to include communities most affected by the increasing frequency and severity of climate change-related weather events in adaptation discussions.

This approach not only strengthens democracies by ensuring these groups' needs and wishes are considered and empowering them to have a voice in their future, but also leads to better decision-making by integrating local knowledge and skills to create adaptation solutions tailored to specific local contexts.

So how can local governments design and implement citizen engagement in climate resilience/adaptation planning and implementation, especially so as to involve the most vulnerable groups in society? And how can they do so in a meaningful and effective way, beyond just “ticking the box of participation”, considering substantial resource constraints imposed on local governments?

ICLEI Members Malmö (Sweden), Dresden (Germany), Rome (Italy) and Utrecht (The Netherlands) as well as Messinia (Greece) are exploring these questions by serving in case studies across several EU funded projects. Main takeaways from these case studies to address these questions have resulted in key findings, including the need to:

• Recognise and understand the multidimensional, intersectional character of vulnerability
• Work with intermediaries and cultural mediators to engage most vulnerable communities
• Collect and use data in creative ways: go where the people are
• Reframe from “vulnerable” to “valuable” people
• Building and keeping trust is imperative
• Build municipal capacity for meaningful & long-term citizen engagement across silos
• Design participatory processes with inclusivity & reciprocity at the core

These lessons were part of a recent workshop organised by ICLEI Europe at the recent European Urban Resilience Forum 2024 in Valencia (Spain), “Co-creating Inclusive Climate Adaptation Solutions''. The interactive session was co-organised and facilitated by representatives of the Adaptation AGORA, Urban ReLeaf and ACCTING projects, where ICLEI is working on innovative strategies that prioritise inclusivity, equity, and environmental justice in climate adaptation.

To learn more about the workshop, or to stay in touch with the projects, check out the full report.