#EURESFO26 Pitches
Guidance on Climate Resilient Landscapes in Europe
Landscape approach to climate resilience recognizes the territory as a socio-ecological systems where soils, water systems, forests, farms, human settlements, and infrastructure are interconnected; management in one area impacts risks elsewhere. This co-created, voluntary, and practice-oriented guidance helps regional and local actors operationalize a landscape approach, moving beyond isolated measures, single sectors, or administrative boundaries.
The guidance supports users in designing and implementing measures and integrated projects across various land-use types and functional areas, such as coastal zones, catchments, and fire-prone landscapes. It emphasizes nature-based solutions—including agroecology, ecosystem restoration, sponge measures, and closer-to-nature forestry—to reduce climate risks while enhancing biodiversity, water quality, livelihoods, and climate neutrality (mitigation). Primarly aimed at local authorities, spatial planners, and practitioners, the document follows a resilience planning cycle. It includes foundational chapters on risk assessment, stakeholder engagement, funding, monitoring, and spatial planning, alongside tailored land-use guidance for agriculture, forests, freshwater, coasts, infrastructure, natural areas, and rural settlements. Serving as both a compendium and wayfinder, it aggregates practical tools, recommendations, and best-practice examples from across Europe.
How can cities or regions benefit from it? Why is it relevant for cities?
Cities and regions benefit from the Guidance by gaining a practical framework to plan, design and implement climate resilience across whole territories, not only within administrative or sectoral boundaries. For regions, it supports coordinated decision-making among spatial planners, water managers, coastal authorities, disaster preparedness bodies, land managers and other actors responsible for climate resilience on the ground.
It is also relevant for cities because urban resilience depends on the condition and management of surrounding rural landscapes. Upstream land use, soil health, forests, rivers, wetlands, coasts and agricultural systems all influence risks such as flooding, drought, heat, wildfire, erosion and water scarcity. By helping actors coordinate measures across catchments and functional landscapes, the Guidance supports more effective risk reduction, better use of public and private resources, and stronger links between urban, regional and rural resilience.
Speakers
Efren Feliu, Climate Change Adaptation Coordinator / Senior Researcher (TECNALIA Research & Innovation)
Contact details
Dr Lindsey Hendricks Franco Ecologic Institute at [email protected]
Further information
Guidance on Climate Resilient Landscapes | Ecologic Institute
The Circular City Centre - C3
The circular economy can help cities strengthen resilience, improve resource efficiency, cut pollution, support climate neutrality, unlock new economic opportunities and build long-term urban prosperity. For many cities, it is also a practical route to tackle pressing challenges around housing, construction, mobility, water, food, public services and local industry.
To support EU cities in this transition, the European Investment Bank (EIB) created the Circular City Centre (C3), a competence and resource centre delivered in cooperation with the European Commission and co-funded by the EU within the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI). C3 supports cities through advice, learning, events, and networking.
At its core, C3 offers two advisory programmes:
- The Circular City Advisory (CCA) programme: Supports cities at all stages of the circular transition through a series of four workshops. Cities can develop either a circular strategy, a project pipeline or a specific circular project towards financing and implementation.
- The Circular Project Advisory (CPA) programme: Offers tailored advisory support for public promoters to develop relatively mature projects (>20 million) towards financing and implementation.
For municipalities and public sector actors, participation in the programmes is free of charge.
How can cities or regions benefit from it? Why is it relevant for cities?
Cities account for a large share of resource use and emissions, yet local capacity for circular work is often limited and spread thinly across departments. C3 meets cities where they are: whether just starting out or already advanced, they receive free, expert-led support tailored to their stage.
Through the CCA programmes, a city can move from a first circular strategy, to a concrete project pipeline, to investment-ready projects, building internal capacity and stakeholder alignment along the way.
The CPA helps unblock a specific project that is struggling to reach financing. Beyond direct advisory, cities tap into a growing pool of guidance, tools, case studies and peer learning, and connect with others facing similar challenges.
Benefits include a clearer pathway to cut material and carbon footprints, stronger resilience and liveability, and crucially, better access to the funding needed to turn circular ambitions into projects on the ground.
Speaker
Nestor Gisasola-Maiztegi; Expert, Circular Economy (ICLEI Europe)
Contact details
Further information
https://advisory.eib.org/about/circular-city-centre.htm
https://advisory.eib.org/about/circular-city-centre.htm
Spacegraph: Discovery Platform for Space-Enabled Solutions
Spacegraph AI Compass is a multilingual conversational interface that lets city stakeholders describe their challenges and requirements in plain language and find verified solutions to fit their needs. A climate officer can ask about reducing urban heat islands, mapping flood risk, or monitoring building retrofits, and receive tailored, policy-relevant guidance: recommended solutions matched to their needs, technology overviews translated from technical jargon into operational language, funding opportunities, data gap analyses, and ready-to-use documents such as project briefs, feasibility assessments, and procurement specifications.
How can cities or regions benefit from it? Why is it relevant for cities?
Space-enabled solutions are a vital but underused resource in this transition. These solutions provide capabilities that directly support urban climate action: thermal imaging to map heat islands, radar to monitor ground subsidence and structural risk, optical imagery to track land use change, and multispectral sensing to assess water quality and vegetation health. Combined with satellite positioning and connectivity, these technologies enable cities to monitorprogress, prioritise interventions, and build evidence-based cases for investment.
Yet most cities are not benefiting. The market is fragmented across hundreds of specialised providers with overlapping claims, inconsistent terminology, and no standardised way to compare offerings. Business cases stall, procurement cycles are delayed, and the potential of space data for urban climate action remains largely untapped.
Spacegraph and the AI Compass helps cities & regions find the right solutions for their urban green transition by making the market accessible and understandable, lowering the barrier to using space-enabled solutions.
Speaker
Patrick Pils, CEO & Co-Founder (LETO SPACE)
Contact details
Further information
Mission Adaptation Flagship Initiatives
The pitch will briefly describe what the projects AdaptationHubs, REGILIENCE+ and P2R implement. AdaptationHubs focuses on multi-level adaptation governance, strengthening national platforms as active exchange hubs. REGILIENCE+ harvests 150 adaptation solutions from research and innovation projects and packages their content into adequate formats for online platforms, training and sharing
How can cities or regions benefit from it? Why is it relevant for cities?
- Cities and regions should be part of the national hubs
- Cities and regions should express to REGILIENCE+ which (technical or governance) solutions they need to progress, so the project provides them with the right information in the right format. We will be on site gathering the needs
- Cities and regions can share their relevant adaptation solutions, and the lessons learned. Our team is listening and looking around
Speakers
Miljenko Sedlar, Director (REGEA), Adaptation Hubs
Guido Schmidt, Managing Driector / Senior Consultant (Fresh Thoughts Consulting), REGELIENCE+
Thomas Koetz Programme Manager (Climate-KIC), Pathways2Resilience
Contact details
Further information
Resilience of Local Energy Systems
Municipalities have a unique opportunity to strengthen local resilience by taking greater control of their energy future. By harnessing local renewable resources and reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels, cities and regions can build energy systems that are more secure, affordable, and resilient to geopolitical and market disruptions.
The “Homegrown Energy” engagement action, led by the Covenant of Mayors Europe, supports cities and regions in developing and showcasing locally-driven approaches to renewable energy production, ownership, and management. It highlights how local authorities can unlock their potential by using local resources to build community-based energy systems that enhance energy independence and strengthen local economic and social benefits.
Community energy is a powerful example of this approach, enabling local authorities, citizens, and local businesses to jointly produce, own, and manage renewable energy systems.
Follow us at #HomegrownEnergy and #UnlockYourPower
How can cities or regions benefit from it? Why is it relevant for cities?
Cities and regions of all sizes and levels of experience can benefit from the “Homegrown Energy” engagement action by joining a European movement that showcases and connects local energy initiatives. Participating cities can share their experiences to inspire peers and be featured on the CoM-munity Stories map, as well as across Covenant of Mayors communication channels.
They can also access the Homegrown Energy webinar series, which provides step-by-step guidance on how to develop and support energy communities, enriched by insights from partner projects and practitioners across Europe.
The initiative encourages municipalities to highlight concrete actions that enable locally produced, owned, and managed energy, strengthening knowledge exchange and collaboration between cities.
Selected examples will be developed into case studies, promoted through EU-wide platforms, and showcased in dedicated maps and communication campaigns.
In addition, cities can contribute as speakers in workshops, events, and webinars, helping to scale up good practices and accelerate the local energy transition across Europe.
Speaker
Carsten Rothballer, Head of Sustainable Energy Systems (ICLEI Europe)
Contact details
Further information
eu-mayors.ec.europa.eu/en/Homegrown_Energy
LIFE Programme 2026 Call for Proposals
The pitch will inform participants regarding the funding opportunities through the European Union’s unique environment and climate programme, the LIFE Programme. The call for proposals was opened in April 2026 with proposal submission deadlines in September 2026.
How can cities or regions benefit from it? Why is it relevant for cities?
Under the topic ‘Climate Change Adaptation’, the LIFE Call for proposals includes a priority on implementing nature-based solutions in urban and peri-urban areas. Particularly local authorities are invited to respond to this call.
Speaker
Bernd Decker, Head of Sector (CINEA)
Contact details
Further information
cinea.ec.europa.eu/life-calls-proposals-2026_en
LIFEBauhausingEurope: From NEB Principles to Local Rules: Testing Resilience Governance Through Public Spaces Transformation
The New European Bauhaus offers a strong vision for sustainable, inclusive and beautiful places, but cities need practical ways to translate these values into local rules, criteria and implementation processes. This pitch presents LIFE Bauhausing Europe as a governance testbed, using public building transformation to explore how community priorities, technical requirements and institutional procedures can be connected in practice. The focus is on how local needs become design, sustainability and procurement criteria, and how pilot lessons can strengthen municipal governance, support replication and make resilience more actionable at city level.
How can cities or regions benefit from it? Why is it relevant for cities?
Cities can benefit by learning how to turn broad concepts such as sustainability, inclusion, beauty and resilience into practical governance tools. LIFEBauhausingEurope shows how a concrete transformation process can connect stakeholder engagement, local diagnosis, design criteria, procurement and implementation, helping municipalities make resilience more actionable, locally grounded and replicable in future projects.
Speaker
Franciska Erdelj, CEO (Green Building Council Croatia)
Contact details
Further information
LIFE ASAP: Accelerating Sub-national Climate Action through the One Planet City Challenge
Cities are at the forefront of climate change. The LIFE ASAP project empowers European cities to achieve climate targets through WWF’s One Planet City Challenge (OPCC). It combines technical support to improve the quality, credibility, and implementation of climate plans with youth engagement in local governance. Using science-based indicators, the project assesses alignment with EU climate policy and the Paris Agreement goals, while enhancing reporting via platforms like MyCovenant and CDP-ICLEI. Pilot experiences in Almada, Braga, and Cascais show that structured support can translate ambitions into transparent, measurable, and actionable local climate solutions.
How can cities or regions benefit from it? Why is it relevant for cities?
Cities receive expert feedback to align local actions with EU Climate Policy and international reporting standards. One Planet City Challenge identifies implementation challenges while highlighting ambitious climate leadership. Participation also fosters stronger community engagement through a youth engagement program and public campaigns like "WeLoveCities". Ultimately, regions gain the tools and network needed to transform abstract resilience goals into credible, science-based municipal reality.
Speaker
Bianca Mattos, Project Manager (WWF Portugal)
Contact details
Further information
wwf.panda.org/projects/one_planet_cities/what_we_do/eulifeasap/
LIFE FLOPRES: Flash Floods Prediction, Protection and Impact Prevention
Flopres is a cross-border initiative between Slovakia and Poland funded by the EU's LIFE program. It is a sensor-based early warning system designed to protect vulnerable municipalities and their citizens from sudden flash floods caused by extreme weather and climate change. It is consists of two modules: warning module and expert system.
It combines warning system for real-time alerts and Expert system for long-term planning.
Focus on small sites: Targets areas not covered in sufficient detail by national flood monitoring systems.
Integrated approach: Combines current sensor data, forecasts and historical records with advanced modelling of floods and measures to propose the most effective solutions for specific sites.
How can cities or regions benefit from it? Why is it relevant for cities?
By gaining the tools needed to protect lives, safeguard infrastructure, and reduce the heavy financial burdens caused by flash floods. Because flash floods occur rapidly in small catchments, traditional regional forecasting often misses them. Flopres provides localized, actionable intelligence. The system is designated MAINLY for cities and regions.
Enhanced Public Safety & Crisis Management
- More Lead Time
- Targeted Dispatch
- Automated Warning
- Infrastructure & Property Protection
- Asset Defense
- Reduced Damages
Smarter Urban Planning & Climate Adaptation
- Hydrological Simulations
- Nature-Based Solutions
- Shared Transborder Data
Speaker
Rastislav Puchala, Managing Director (Esprit s.r.o)
Contact details
+421 902 912 006
Further information
LIFE SeedNEB: Beautifying Cities with Nature through Co-Creation and the New European Bauhaus
Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) are increasingly recognised as key tools for urban climate adaptation and resilience. However, green infrastructure alone is often insufficient to generate lasting transformation.
LIFE SeedNEB combines Nature-Based Solutions with the principles of the New European Bauhaus, placing beauty, sustainability and inclusion at the centre of urban regeneration.
The project involves partners from Italy, Spain and Hungary, including municipalities, universities, NBS and participation experts, and biodiversity specialists. Through pilot interventions at building, public space and neighbourhood scales, LIFE SeedNEB is developing a scalable model for urban resilience.
A distinctive feature of the project is its participatory approach. Citizens, students, teachers and families are actively engaged in co-design processes supported by NEB Facilitators, Seeders Groups and the Bauhaus Citizen School.
The project also promotes innovative governance mechanisms, including the establishment of Municipal Biodiversity Offices, ensuring that biodiversity becomes a permanent component of local decision-making.
LIFE SeedNEB demonstrates how climate resilience can be strengthened when green solutions are designed together with communities.
How can cities or regions benefit from it? Why is it relevant for cities?
LIFE SeedNEB provides cities and regions with a practical methodology for designing and implementing Nature-Based Solutions that are not only environmentally effective but also socially accepted and widely supported.
The project demonstrates how participatory processes can improve the quality, usability and long-term sustainability of urban resilience measures. By involving citizens from the earliest stages of planning, local authorities can strengthen trust, increase ownership of interventions and reduce implementation barriers.
The project's tools and governance mechanisms, including the Municipal Biodiversity Office and the Bauhaus Citizen School, can be replicated and adapted to different territorial contexts. LIFE SeedNEB therefore offers local governments an innovative framework for integrating climate adaptation, biodiversity enhancement and community engagement into a single resilience strategy.
Speaker
Angelino Mazza, Researcher, L.U.P.T. Research Centre (Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II)
Laura Stabile, L.U.P.T. Research Centre (Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II)
Contact details
L.U.P.T. - Research Centre (Urban and Regional Planning Laboratory) – University of Naples Federico II
Further information
Official Project Page:
webgate.ec.europa.eu/life/publicWebsite/project/LIFE23-ENV-ES-LIFE-SeedNEB-101148064
Project Information:
proyectosinnovadores.ayuntamientodelorqui.es/proyecto/life-seed-neb/
Project Social Media:
www.facebook.com/61565451638279/
Destination Earth: A Highly Accurate Digital Twin of the Earth
Destination Earth is a flagship initiative of the European Commission to develop a highly-accurate digital model of the Earth (a digital twin of the Earth) to model, monitor and simulate natural phenomena, hazards and the related human activities. These groundbreaking features assist users in designing accurate and actionable adaptation strategies and mitigation measures.
DestinE unlocks the potential of digital modelling of the Earth system at a level that represents a real breakthrough in terms of accuracy, local detail, access-to-information speed and interactivity. By pushing the limits of computing and climate sciences, DestinE is an essential pillar of the European Commission’s efforts towards the Green Deal and Digital Strategy.
How can cities or regions benefit from it? Why is it relevant for cities?
Destination Earth (DestinE) provides cities and regions with advanced climate and environmental intelligence to support evidence-based decision-making. By combining high-resolution simulations, predictive modelling and advanced digital services, it helps local authorities better understand the impacts of climate change and assess risks such as floods, heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and air pollution. Cities can use these insights to design more effective adaptation strategies, improve urban planning, strengthen disaster preparedness and optimize infrastructure investments. DestinE also enables the testing of different policy and development scenarios in a virtual environment before implementation, reducing uncertainty and costs. Its detailed local-scale information supports resilience planning, helps protect citizens and critical assets and contributes to achieving sustainability and climate-neutrality goals. As climate risks increasingly affect urban areas, DestinE offers a powerful portfolio of tools, services and applications to support informed, proactive and data-driven decision-making and governance.
Speaker
Marko Adamovic, Policy Officer (European Commission, DG CNECT)
Contact details
Further information
DestinE Platform – Your gateway to a sustainable future
Cross-border disaster risk reduction in the Western Balkans
This pitch presents the Resilience Western Balkans initiative, an AICS-funded project implemented by UNDRR, designed to institutionalize cross-border disaster risk reduction cooperation across the Western Balkans. Drawing on the Sendai Framework and the Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) methodology, the project works at both national and local government levels to embed resilience into policy frameworks and inter-governmental cooperation mechanisms. A concrete milestone: Serbia's first MCR2030 annual meeting, convening 27 cities in June 2026, demonstrates how donor investment can catalyze nationally-owned, city-level resilience governance. Several project cities from the Western Balkans are attending EURESFO 2026 to participate in the city-to-city exchanges, bringing firsthand experience of cross-border DRR governance to the broader European resilience community.
How can cities or regions benefit from it? Why is it relevant for cities?
Cities in Europe — particularly in candidate and neighbourhood countries — often lack structured mechanisms for cross-border DRR cooperation and peer learning. This project offers a replicable governance model showing how cities can move from isolated resilience efforts to coordinated, multi-level action anchored in national policy. Through MCR2030, participating cities gain a structured self-assessment tool and access to a global network. For EURESFO participants, the direct presence of three Western Balkans project cities in the city-to-city exchange programme creates a concrete opportunity to learn from — and contribute to — resilience-building in a region navigating both climate risk and EU accession simultaneously.
Speaker
Yigyeong Oh, DRR & Resilience Implementation Expert (UNDRR)
Contact details
Further information