Heat stress events are increasing due to climate change, particularly in urban areas. Factors like population densities and the urban heat island effect contribute to intensified heat exposure. This session shares European research experiences, case studies, and methodologies to understand heat stress risks and develop mitigation strategies, with audience interaction and collaborative problem-solving.

Presentations:

• Addressing inequities in exposures and vulnerability (CICERO) 
• Climate service to better understand past and future heatwave phenomena at regional and local scales in Europe (TECNALIA) 
• Combining meteorological, social, and environmental indicators to identify and prioritize project locations for mitigating heat stress in urban areas (AUAS)
• Review of heat resilient measures (ADEME) 

Achieving Europe’s adaptation mission requires fundamentally rethinking how regions adapt, from the process they follow, to planning governance, financing. In turn this requires new methods and approaches and tools which support regions to build from incremental approaches to transformational adaptation; reimagining and transforming our places so they flourish in a future climate. In turn this requires new tools and approaches to make it a reality.

 This session explores how this is being done through two deep dive sessions, where participants will showcase their work and outline how it is contributing towards the creation of 150 climate resilient regions in Europe by 2030.

This session features a variety of presentations centered on Ireland:

• Delivering the right solutions at the right time: strengthening the research to policy interface by ERINN Innovation Ltd
• Climate Change Beliefs and Attitudes in Ireland by Desmond O’Mahony, EPA
• An Irish National Framework for Climate Services – Translating Science into Action by Dr Claire Scannell, Met Éireann 
• Progressing Adaptation and Resilience in Ireland, development, governance, and Climate Ireland, Ireland’s National Adaptation Platform by Conor Quinlan, EPA
• Flood Risk Management by P Hall, Office of Public Works

The session highlights lesser-known aspects of the energy transition that may help overcome both the challenges of implementing renewable energy sources and the social concerns of their adoption.

Addressing industry and policy makers, it will begin by combining the perspective of agrivoltaics and energy storage projects involving local stakeholders in various climate conditions, from Ireland to Australia. Later on, an exchange will commence between the audience and the round table.

By leveraging knowledge from the whole value chain, these initiatives raise awareness on overlooked novel solutions and approaches for industrial and residential requirements.

Climate resilient cities toolbox – Deltares – Sarah Wright

HIPS Hotspot Identification and Prioritization Service – IMPETUS project - EURECAT – Josep Pijuan Parra

Flood Adapt Tool – Deltares - Gundula Winter

ARCH resilience pathway visualization tool – Tecnalia – Saioa Zorita Castresana

Pluvial Flood Tool - CMCC - Jeremy Pal

Thermal Heat Assessment tool – Tecnalia - Nieves Pena

Climate Stories – Climate Adaptation Services - Timo Kelder

Maladaptation self assessment tool – Fresh Thoughts – Guido Schmidt

Transformar Playbook webtool – ACTERRA – Stephane Simonet

Impactful climate services must be codeveloped with the diverse actors, voices, perspectives and knowledges that constitute the immediate decision contexts. Despite goodwill on all sides, integrating other actors alongside climate scientists to reflect this new participatory turn in climate service development remains slow.

Climateurope2 works to develop standardisation procedures and recommendations for climate services, while supporting the European climate services community. The project strives to enhance the uptake of quality-assured climate services to support adaptation and mitigation to climate change and variability.

This session generates an open discussion on the role of standards as a means for climate service governance supporting climate adaptation. The session focuses on the following questions:

• Are climate service providers adhering to any standards and are users of climate services demanding these same standards?
• To what extent can standards enable the growth of the climate service market?
• To what extent can standards enable the uptake of climate services and support climate adaptation?

Let me tell 9 Stories about the Adriatic Sea:

The Adriatic Sea is at a climate change crossroads, requiring advanced tools and simple language to engage audiences. Visual storytelling is a powerful tool for conveying climate adaptation knowledge and mobilizing collective action. Collaboration and crosspollination are key to showcasing best practices and coordinating efforts in the region.

The Climate Change Table Quiz:

This table quiz is a fun, interactive, and (just a bit!) competitive way to get people thinking about Climate Change, and what qualifies as Climate Action. The Quiz questions are projected on a screen and the audience participates by using their phones.

This session features two presentations:

• Reformulating children's school feeding towards a healthy, inclusive, and sustainable horizon: facing the challenges of acceptance in the educational community 

This initiative aims to promote healthy eating habits among pre-schoolers in Madrid's public nursery schools. It challenges the assumption that children won't accept healthy food due to lack of attractiveness or taste. The intervention involves modifying menus, raising awareness, and emphasizing the cultural and environmental aspects of food.

• ‘Learning to live with Fog Monsters’: a new primary book to support children in living through periods of global social crisis like climate change

Climate adaptation education for children is crucial but often focuses on visible risks like flooding, neglecting hidden risks like drought. The book "Learning to Live with Fog Monsters" addresses this and was created based on research with children.  The speaker will also talk about the hidden risk of drought in the UK, highlighting "DRY: the Diary of a Water Superhero", another book created to challenge drought myths, and promote adaptive strategies.

with Julia Beier, IIASA, Susanne Hanger-Kopp, IIASA, Conor Murphy, Maynooth University, Ireland, Kristin Aunan, CICERO, Norway, Keith Lambkin, Met Éireann, Ireland, Austria, Sissi Knispel de Acosta, Executive Secretary of ECRA

This side event will bring valuable experiences and insights from climate adaptation practitioners from around the world to European actors, to inform and drive ambition for a climate-resilient Europe.

Using an interactive format, participants will: be invited to identify challenges and barriers to adaptation in their regions and communities, learn about the key messages from the 17th International Conference on Community-Based Adaptation to Climate Change (CBA17), and reflect on and discuss the implications of these insights to their regions and communities.

By bringing adaptation solutions and insights from CBA17 to European stakeholders, this event aims to inform the implementation of the EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change and the respective Mission, and, ultimately, contribute to a climate-resilient Europe.