According to an interesting discussion at the ECCA2023 conference chaired by Paul Watkiss (Paul Watkiss Associates) on Tuesday 20th June during the opening ceremony, Kirsten Dunlop (Climate KIC) and Lorenzo Pezzati (Council of Europe Development Bank), mentioned that by providing financial resources and enabling innovation, climate finance ensures that adaptation efforts are accessible and equitable, particularly for European countries that are more vulnerable and exposed to climate change impacts. Climate finance plays a pivotal role in bridging the financing gap and mobilizing resources at the scale required to tackle climate challenges for both, mitigation and adaptation actions.

Furthermore, climate finance catalyzes collaboration and knowledge-sharing among nations, fostering international cooperation and solidarity in the face of a global crisis. It promotes technology transfer, facilitates adaptation planning, and supports the implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. On Wednesday 21st June, the session on ‘Climate Finance’ chaired by Marta Reguilón, EuroVértice Consultores, discussed different approaches to facilitate and promote climate change adaptation: the design of public strategies to finance climate disaster risk; solutions to spur adaptation actions in the financial sector; examples and experiences that demonstrate the potential of banks to promote the climate resilience of companies and individuals; and a public-private partnership model between local companies and municipalities to finance urban climate change adaptation actions.

To effectively address urgent adaptation needs, policymakers and international institutions must prioritise and scale-up climate finance commitments. By doing so, they can empower communities, protect vulnerable regions and lay the foundation for a more climate-resilient future. Another session that day, ‘Making the mission possible: Informing and Charting Transformative Pathways for Europe’s regions’ was chaired by Jaroslav Mysiak (CMCC), Kit England (Paul Watkiss Associates), Fernando Diaz Lopes, Thomas Koetz, Stefka Domuzova, and Thanh-Tâm Lê  (EIT Climate-KIC), also agreed that achieving Europe’s adaptation mission requires fundamentally rethinking how regions adapt, from the process they follow, to planning governance and financing. In turn this requires new methods and approaches and tools which support regions to build from incremental approaches to transformational adaptation.

Author: Monserrat Budding-Polo Ballinas