European cities are failing to adapt to climate change

2025/05/14 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Klima
• Berdintasuna

The BC3 research centre on climate change has confirmed that European cities are lagging behind in climate change adaptation measures. In fact, joint research with other international centers has shown that almost 70% of climate adaptation plans are unfunded. According to the researchers, this significantly limits their effectiveness in addressing the risks posed by climate change. In addition, they fail in social equity by ignoring vulnerable communities.

The study was published in the journal Nature Climate Change. In fact, it is part of the studies that have been carried out since 2010 in 885 European cities in 28 European countries. Marta Olazabal Salgado of BC3 is one of the authors of the study and explains that Europe is warming twice as fast as the other regions of the world. As a result, people are increasingly exposed to the effects of climate change, such as floods or fires. In order to respond to this, it is essential to establish adaptation plans with concrete actions, integrative, data-based approaches and clear monitoring mechanisms, so that the most vulnerable are not left unprotected. However, research has shown that there is a significant "adaptation gap".

Indeed, an analysis of 167 adaptation plans shows that more than half of the plans have aligned environmental risks with the corresponding actions, but only 1% took into account vulnerable communities such as the elderly, low-income people and ethnic minorities. According to the authors of the study, this indicates that those responsible have failed to integrate social equity into climate strategies. According to them, planning must be coherent, robust and inclusive; otherwise, there is a risk of leaving the most vulnerable communities behind.

According to BC3, the study sets a new benchmark for assessing climate plans and provides practical tools to close the adaptation gap.