Which #EURESFO24 thematic stream catches your eye?
The Roadmap from Humanitarian Response to Post-conflict Resilience and Recovery
26. June 2024
Opening Plenary Day 1
EURESFO24 opening: Transforming Europe together: mayors for integrated climate action
EURESFO's opening plenary will reflect on the opportunity of this year's Forum, as part of the Valencia Cities Climate Week, to steer discussions on the work of local and regional administrations in addressing resilience in a complex environment where climate neutrality and energy actions are also needed. It will bring together political representatives from cities and regions to understand the opportunities and barriers to comprehensive climate action.
Valencia Cities Climate Week - Panel Discussions
Valencia Cities Climate Week: Unlocking Climate Finance for Urban Transformation
This session will be focused on how the Climate Cities Missions are addressing one of the biggest challenges – financing the climate transition in cities and diving into the concept and operationalisation of the City Mission Capital Hub. The Cities Mission Capital hub aims to bring private and public capital together in a neutral platform to ensure the maximum amount of projects get finalised.
Valencia Cities Climate Week: Leveraging multi-level governance for climate action: national, regional and local cooperation
In this panel, representatives from local, regional, national and supranational institutions will discuss the importance of cooperation and coordination in building a climate-neutral and resilient future. This will be the first and most political discussion on the topic and will be followed by 2 breakout sessions in the afternoon that will build on the knowledge shared here and provide a more technical perspective.
Parallel Sessions day 1 (part 1)
Our common Mission: collaboration for a resilient and climate-neutral future
In a crucial moment for the EU Missions, when cities and regions are actively engaging with projects and activities and set their expectations, this session aims to reflect on the opportunities to maximise cross-Missions collaboration through analysing tools integration.
Adaptation Finance: Bridging the Gap Between Financiers and Cities
In the session we recognize that addressing climate adaptation challenges requires a multifaceted approach involving both government and investor participation. While there are existing maturity assessment models for measuring public authorities capabilities in technical aspects of adaptation, there is a need for models that focus on funding and finance capabilities for adaptation. Furthermore, this session delves into the opportunities and barriers to financing climate adaptation actions in cities. It will feature financing experts that will present successful business cases which have attracted financial institutions' interest, and also city practitioners sharing their experiences in maturing projects to bankability level while ensuring resilience co-benefits.
All hands on deck: how do national platforms help cities go climate neutral?
Explore effective multi-level collaboration for climate-neutral cities, focusing on successful national platforms. Discuss key challenges, needs, and criteria for impactful national platforms. Foster understanding of how national platforms support cities in achieving climate neutrality targets and engaging stakeholders. Share case studies on innovative governance approaches.
This session is organised by Cities Mission Conference 2024, and all participants are welcome to join the session.
Decarbonisation of Heating and Cooling
From the Mission’s first Climate City Contract and Investment Plans, the decarbonisation of heating and cooling is one of the main challenges faced by Mission’s cities. This session will show how your city can learn from other cities that have been frontrunners in this initiative. You will also learn about the regulatory framework required for decarbonisation.
This session is organised by Energy Cities Annual Forum, and all participants are welcome to join the session.
Waste Management and Circularity
This session has been crafted to showcase exemplary practices in waste management strategies, aimed at equipping your city with practical insights from pioneering urban centers. The session will frame waste management through the concept of circularity, highlighting the interconnectedness of resources and emphasizing the importance of fostering a closed-loop system that reduces environmental impact and enhances resource efficiency.
This session is organised by Energy Cities Annual Forum, and all participants are welcome to join the session.
Parallel Sessions day 1 (part 2)
Multi-level governance: coordinating for climate adaptation
This session follows a high-level panel on multi-level governance and a breakout session looking at the collaboration between national and local levels in the framework of the EU Mission for Smart and Climate Neutral Cities. It aims at analysing multi-level governance for climate adaptation, focusing on vertical cooperation and strategies for replication. Emphasis is on the regional level's pivotal role in financing, policy, participation, and coordination between national and local levels.
Navigating Forward: Policies for a Water-Resilient Europe
This session will explore strategies for building a water-resilient future in Europe. It will do so by bringing together stakeholders from EU institutions, regional and local public authorities and private stakeholders to discuss a possible way forward.
Engaging Stakeholders: Innovations for Climate Action
Dive into innovative approaches to stakeholder and citizen engagement in climate action and the implementation of Climate City Contracts. Discuss barriers, network power, and role of systemic engagement. Explore building distributed networks, inclusivity, prototyping culture, and dialogue.
This session is organised by Cities Mission Conference 2024, and all participants are welcome to join the session.
Building National Climate Strategies with a Bottom-Up Approach
In their efforts to contribute to a more sustainable future, cities often face the hurdle of having insufficient information to appropriately assess their respective pathways towards climate neutrality. In this session, EUCityCalc partners will present project findings and recommendations to improve dialogue between government levels for climate policies. They’ll introduce a free training program to help cities optimize tool usage and facilitate stakeholder workshops.
This session is organised by Energy Cities Annual Forum, and all participants are welcome to join the session.
Cities and Energy Communities: Working Together for a Fairer Energy Transition
This session is organised by Energy Cities Annual Forum, and all participants are welcome to join the session.
Closing Plenary Day 1
Valencia Cities Climate Week: Closing Pleanary
Drawing on the discussions from this busy day of the Valencia Cities Climate Week, this plenary session aims to bring to the audience reflections on the main issues discussed and in particular, on collaboration as a key tool for cities and regions to advance in climate neutrality and resilience towards ambitious goals.
27. June 2024
Parallel Workshops & Parallel Session (Part 1)
Addressing the challenges of local governance and the lack of coordinated vision to plan and implement post-war recovery and sustainable development initiatives across regional and international partners in conflict fragile settings, these sessions are aimed at applying a deep dive exercise to help improving cities and key stakeholders understanding of the intersection between conflict risks and climate impacts and solutions, and adopting a cohesive approach for transfer from Humanitarian response into sustainable post-war recovery under three key thematic areas: Energy Efficiency, Sustainable Reconstruction, Socio-economic Recovery. Adopting the EU Local Green Deal (LGD) as an integrated sustainable urban development and transformation strategy for Ukrainian cities, these workshops will build on the learnings that took place at EURESFO22 in Athens, Greece and EURESFRO23 in Cascais, Portugal, as well as key discussions with regional and international organisations and regional networks to help bridging the gap between Ukrainian and European cities.
Just Resilience across Europe – Building our collective capacities on the ''what, why and how''
As increasing attention is placed on building Europe's resilience to climate change, there is growing recognition that particular groups of people face disproportionate risks that must be addressed if we are to ensure adaptation actions ''leave nobody behind''. Join our thought-provoking panel where speakers will delve into the ''what, why, and how'' of Just Resilience across Europe. Featuring presentations that move from theory to practice at local, regional and national levels, the session will subsequently engage with the session’s audience so as to inspire future justice-oriented actions.
SPIN4EIC Pitch session
The solution pitching session is aimed at matching the resilience and adaptation needs of public authorities with innovative solutions from leading European Innovation Council (EIC) beneficiaries. The pitching sessions will be structured around the specific resilience and adaptation-related challenges identified by representative cities and/or regions.
Parallel Workshops & Parallel Session (Part 2)
Co-creating inclusive climate adaptation solutions: an interactive workshop on citizen engagement
This session will provide a space for exchange on challenges and good practices to promote citizen engagement in the co-creation of adaptation solutions at the local level. Building on the insights of projects such as Adaptation AGORA, participants will be invited to engage in an interactive exercise, exploring several real-world case studies, facilitated by local stakeholders.
Climate services towards better informed policies and decisions for climate-resilient development
Dive into the intersection of climate services and resilience as we explore strategies for water and heat resilience. In this session, experts will unravel the power of leveraging climate services to enhance our capacity to adapt and respond to challenges posed by changing environmental conditions. Discover innovative approaches, case studies, and collaborative efforts that harness climate information to fortify communities against the impacts of flooding and heat stress.
Bridging the Gap: Mobilizing Local Resources for Climate Resilience Through Public-Private Partnerships
As communities grapple with climate change, investing in resilience is paramount. However, funding remains a significant hurdle. While public investment has been pivotal, engaging the private sector is crucial to fill the financing gap. This workshop aims to address barriers hindering governmental and project-level funding, striving to render adaptation projects more attractive for private investment. The session seeks to explore strategies enabling local governments to maximize available resources, thereby enhancing the appeal of adaptation projects for private sector participation.
The Roadmap from Humanitarian Response to Post-conflict Resilience and Recovery - Focus on Ukraine
The Panel discussion will help pave the way towards understanding the gaps in ongoing initiatives taking place on the ground in repose to short-term humanitarian needs and develop a mechanism for local and regional stakeholders’ engagement to help shift the current siloed investments and ad-hoc humanitarian led actions towards strategically and demand led climate neutral and locally driven approach. The outcomes of this process will be shared with potential investors and donor organizations to foster business models, improve access to capital and advance public-private partnership economic behaviour, while maintaining the value, management and utility of municipal services and resources for sustainable post war.
Parallel Workshops & Parallel Session (Part 3)
What kind of tools and practices do city and regional administrations need to make urban resilience a reality?
In this highly-interactive workshop, we will tackle the specific challenges of small and mid-sized cities & regions in setting-up climate action plans. The focus lies on how to better integrate mitigation and adaptation measures, and how to ensure a collaborative environment in local administrations. Together with participants and invited city representatives, we will share experiences and test a support tool in-the-making: the Localised Climate Action Strategiser. Your feedback is explicitly wanted and will help to make this tool as useful as possible for cities & regions!
Rising to the Challenge: Nature-Based Solutions for Water Resilience in Europe
In light of the increasing pressure on water resources in Europe, this session aims to showcase how nature based solutions for sustainable water management can enchance water resilience in the cities and regions. This session will explore concrete adaptation solutions to droughts and floods, discuss policy enhancements, and accelerate the transition for resilient water management in Europe and the Mediterranean.
Unlocking Finance for Smart Resilient Cities
As cities increasingly face challenges posed by climate change, urbanisation and technological advancements, this interactive session aims to empower city leaders and stakeholders with the knoweldge and tools necessary to effectively finance smart and resilient initiatives within their communities. This workshop will explore the financial landscape of climate action initiatives, delve into innovative strategies for enhancing the bankability and reducing the risk of smart city projects, and provide practical insights for securing funding for sustainable urban development.
Communities as Active Partners to Enable Urban Climate Resilience
As climate change intensifies, the imperative for urban areas to adapt and mitigate its effects has never been more critical. This panel bridges UP2030 and the Urban Climate Resilience Program (UCRP) and ACCTING, spotlighting the synergies between achieving climate neutrality and enhancing community resilience against climate hazards. We bring together esteemed city leaders, community representatives and experts in a dynamic dialogue on harnessing participatory research, urban planning through co-production and resilient co-design to forge adaptive, inclusive, and sustainable urban futures.
Parallel Sessions day 2
Digitalization for Climate Action: Co-Creation, Collaboration, and Just Transitions
Technology has significant potential for accelerating change and placing cities at the forefront of addressing the climate emergency and meeting commitments such as the New Green Deal. This session explores digitalization's role in enhancing governance, enabling just transitions and empowering communities to participate in decision-making processes and co-create solutions. Drawing on the RethinkAction project, panellists will discuss co-creation strategies for cross-sector collaboration and how the outcome-driven application of technology can be tailored to local needs and global impact.
Does Culture Count for Resilience? Opportunities and Challenges for More Resilient Cultural Landscapes
How can we ensure that culture is a meaningful part of inclusive and just resilience strategies? This dynamic session features panelists and case studies from across Europe that highlight how cultural landscapes can be supported in adapting to a changing climate.
Advancing coastal and water resilience in the EU: encouraging the implementation of multi-level Decision-making frameworks
In this panel discussion, we will have an exchange focusing on the development of solutions and the use of digital tools at the local and regional level to address adaptation challenges. We will explore the role of multi-level approaches in fostering robust and more coordinated decision-making frameworks, aiming to enhance coastal and water resilience. We will discuss the convergence of governance and policy frameworks (multi-level decision-making), technological advancements (enhanced digital tools), and nature-based approaches (Nature-Based Solutions) to foster resilience in coastal and water management.
AI and innovation for resilience
The session will explore how cities leverage AI and data for urban resilience. We will showcase practical applications, case studies and illustrate real-world impact. Learn how tools like Google Environmental Insights Explorer drive collaboration and help cities develop their climate strategies. Discussions to gain insights into the challenges and opportunities faced by city governments aligning with global sustainability goals.
closing plenary
Closing plenary of EURESFO24
EURESFO will close its 11th edition with a comprehensive reflection by ICLEI members and long-time active Forum participants on the achievements of this year's Forum and the logical next steps needed to make Europe a more resilient and secure environment.
28. June 2024
Study visits
#EURESFO24 will offer all participants the opportunity to choose between 2 study visits!
Where will you explore? Check out the opportunities here.