Communities and regions are hard at work building climate resilience and adaptation. In fact, according to the European Committee of the Regions, 90 percent of climate change adaptation measures are led at the local and regional level. How can we make sure that these cities and regions have the capacity to adapt at this scale?

ICLEI Europe is part of a new project through which 100 regions and communities will receive support in their climate adaptation journeys. Regions and communities can now respond to the Pathways2Resilience project’s call for Expressions of Interest to access support mapping out resilience pathways.

Ultimately, Pathways2Resilience will allocate €21 million to supporting 100 regions and communities over two cycles of calls. This will not only help cities, regions and communities to be more climate resilient, but will also contribute to achieving the goals of the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change.

The Expression of Interest for this opportunity was launched on 16 May; the first call for participating regions and communities is expected to open in late 2023 or early 2024. Successful applicant regions and communities will receive up to €300,000 in sub-grants to support their resilience transitions. They will build their portfolios of adaptation activities, develop resilience pathways, and enhance local capacity, all with the input of local stakeholders. They will also be supported as they examine finance mechanisms, and gain access to training modules and a toolbox with methods, tools, and guidelines.

Respondents to the Expression of Interest questionnaire will help Pathways2Resilience partners to gauge their adaptation challenges, barriers, and support needs. In turn, this will ensure that the support offered by Pathways2Resilience partners is well-matched to what regions and communities need to meaningfully boost their resilience. Further, those who fill out the questionnaire will also be eligible to receive support from Pathways2Resilience partners in strengthening their call applications through matchmaking activities and facilitated discussions. It is not, however, mandatory for those who respond to the call to have also completed the Expression of Interest.

The Expression of Interest is open until 15 September 2023 at 18:00 CEST for local or regional public authorities from EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries.

Interested regions and communities can learn more during an information session on the Expression of Interest on 9 June from 10:00–11:00 CEST. Register here.

Learn more about Pathwas2Resilience at: https://www.pathways2resilience.eu/.