Regions4Climate

Project Information

R4C

Grant agreement ID: 101093873

DOI

10.3030/101093873

EC signature date 23 November 2022

Start date 1 January 2023

End date 31 December 2027

Funded under

• Climate, Energy and Mobility

Total cost

€ 26 602 703,13

EU contribution

€ 24 522 103,00

Coordinated by

TEKNOLOGIAN TUTKIMUSKESKUS VTT OY
Finland

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - R4C (Regions4Climate)

Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2025-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Climate change is expected to worsen the frequency and impact of extreme weather events. The R4C project aims to collaboratively develop and demonstrate a socially-just transition to climate resilience. The R4C project will create and implement innovations combining sociocultural, technological, digital, business, governance, and environmental solutions to reduce the vulnerability of European regions to the impacts of climate change. The R4C project will develop and test innovative tools and collaborative practices to support European regions and communities in developing and implementing their own resilience plans that not only explicitly address social, environmental, and economic innovations but also inherently consider social equity and social justice concerns associated with resilience building. The project will use SD modelling to understand relationships between different potential resilience innovations. This will support European regions in their efforts to build resilience to climate change impacts.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

TASKS STARTED DURING RP2
M13-M18: T4.4 / M19-M24: T4.5 T6.4 / M25-M30: None

MAIN ACHIEVEMENTS (WP1 and WP7 are excluded, as they serve as support WPs)
WP2: Both SD Modelling workshops and Just Transition Roadmap workshops conducted in ALL regions. Technical Summary of the Just Transition Framework published on R4C website. Several scientific outputs produced. WP3: Vulnerability and Risk Assessment conducted for ALL regions. Climate Resilience Portal developed in line with ICT and middleware requirements. WP4: "Climate Resilience Maturity Assessment for Regions” developed as a web-based self-assessment digital tool. Governance Framework and Analysis completed along with recommendations. Deeper understanding of interconnections with other WPs and tasks. WP5: Roadmap for the implementation of the Innovation Actions developed per region. Implementation of 43 Innovation Packages with 158 discrete innovation actions. Initial selection of monitoring and evaluation KPIs per region. Establishment of suitable decision-making structures and competent organizations per region for the implementation of the IPs. WP6: 12 Regional Innovation Roadmaps. Portfolio of 9 Assumptions of Action. 28 Exploitable Results identified. D6.4 (Draft version) produced. LIST Tool Developed (D6.3). LIST Ex-Ante Analysis completed.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

(WP1 and WP7 are excluded, as they serve as support WPs)
WP2: Regional SD Models provide a holistic, dynamic, and multi-faceted framework that captures the complex inter-dependencies between energy systems, economic structures, environmental constraints, and social dynamics at the regional scale. Regional workshops for SD model development offer an innovative participatory framework that actively bridges systemic modelling with inclusive dialogue and co-creation processes. Regional Just Transition Roadmaps and related participatory workshops: Establish justice considerations within regional adaptation agendas. WP3: Vulnerability & Risk Assessment > For its development, Climate Risk Assessment is considered, tracing the evolution of core concepts and recent developments. Definition of the Monitoring and Evaluation Plan in the regions > The cross cutting of the selected KPIs with the risk components and the societal challenges can provide new solutions in the following stages of the project. WP4: Governance Recommendations help to understand the structure of existing governance institutions within the R4C regions, identify potential governance challenges, and determine the policy instruments available to guide the regions towards climate resilience. Policy Recommendations > The cross-sectoral policy and steering instrument analysis have identified gaps related to innovative and resilient regional development. WP5: Roadmap for the implementation of the Innovation Actions per region. Innovation Packages: Each region implemented different IP which had an innovative element. Regional selection of monitoring and evaluation KPIs. WP6: Regional Innovation Roadmaps provide a comprehensive guide that translates the overarching Common Innovation Framework into accessible and actionable paths for fostering innovation, during and beyond the R4C timeline. Exploitation planning > 28 Exploitable Results have been currently identified and related leaders and contributors have been updated. Innovation screening offers a structured and region-specific approach to tracking and evaluating innovations within climate resilience strategies. Unlike generic frameworks, LIST supports regions in identifying the innovation pathways that emerge during the implementation of climate adaptation solutions.

Conceptual diagram illustrating the R4C reference ICT architecture

Køge Bay, CS2: A prototype of the AR solution

Geographic distribution of Regions4Climate consortium

Image summarising priority impact chains of each R4C demo region

Basque Country, CS1: Instrumentation and survey of the estuary for baseline study

Pert diagram illustrating workflows in the Regions4Climate project

Example of the selected JTIs for CS1

Simple risk severity matrix

Work Package structure in the Regions4Climate project

Roadmap landing page

Basque Country, CS1: Restoration of the San Lorenzo lagoon

Schematic map of R4C regions