EU Framework to Local Delivery: Governing Resilience Across Levels
18. June 9:00 - 10:00
Plenary Area
Europe does not lack resilience strategies. What it often lacks is delivery. Flood risk maps exist, heat plans exist, and nature-based solutions have been tested for years, yet they still struggle to become standard practice in planning, permitting, budgeting and investment. This opening plenary tackles that implementation gap.
Co-organised with the European Commission, the session connects EURESFO’s governance stream with the EU’s way forward on resilience, including the forthcoming EU Climate Resilience and Risk Management Integrated Framework and the EU Mission on Adaptation. It starts with opening remarks from Sophie Berger (European Commission) on what the Mission is trying to change and what success would look like in the coming years.
Building on this diagnosis, a panel of city, regional, national and EU actors explores what genuinely accelerates implementation: governance and planning approaches that break silos, mandates and capabilities that make action routine, and partnerships that move solutions beyond pilots.
Panellists include Sophie Berger, Luísa Salgueiro (Mayor of Matosinhos), Harriët Tiemens (Arnhem-Nijmegen), Konstantina Karydi (Resilient Cities Catalyst / Climate Change Hub Greece), Thomas Koetz (Climate-KIC, Pathways2Resilience) and Elżbieta Janiszewska (Polish Ministry of Environment).
Speakers
Policy Officer - Adaptation Mission Secretariat, European Commission
Dr. Sophie Berger, Policy Officer - Adaptation Mission Secretariat, European Commission
Sophie Berger is a Policy Officer at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation. She is part of the Secretariat of the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change, a joint initiative of DG Climate Action and DG Research & Innovation that supports regions and local authorities in accelerating climate resilience and adaptation efforts across Europe.
Sophie holds a PhD in climate science and previously worked with Working Group I of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), contributing to scientific assessments of climate change. Her work focuses on bridging climate science, policy and implementation to support effective adaptation action at regional and local levels.
Councillor for Environment and Energy, City of Matosinhos
Manuela Álvares, Councillor for Environment and Energy, City of Matosinhos
Maria Manuela de Carvalho Álvares is a civil engineer with extensive experience in public administration, regulation, sustainability, and local government. She holds a degree in Civil Engineering from the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the School of Economics and Management at the University of Minho, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Regulation and Competition from the Center for Public Law Studies and Regulation. She is currently a PhD candidate in Bioethics at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto.
Throughout her career, Maria Manuela de Carvalho Álvares has held a number of leadership positions in both the public and municipal sectors. She serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Health Regulatory Entity and of Domus Social EM. She has also served as Councillor for Environment, Energy Transition, Public Space, Social Housing, and Municipal Works for the Municipality of Matosinhos.
Her governance experience includes serving as Chairman of the Board of Directors of MatosinhosHabit EM, Member of the Board of Directors of LIPOR – Intermunicipal Waste Management Service of Greater Porto, Vice-President of the Porto Energy Agency, and Member of the Executive Board of the Corredor do Leça Association. She is currently Chairman of the Board of ENNO – Energy Distribution, where she contributes to advancing sustainable energy solutions and infrastructure development.
Director, Green Metropolitan Region Arnhem–Nijmegen
Harriët Tiemens, Director, Green Metropolitan Region Arnhem–Nijmegen
Currently at the head of the Dutch city region and ICLEI member Groene Metropoolregio Arnhem-Nijmegen, Harriët Tiemens puts her extensive experience in the fields of climate adaptation, circularity and biodiversity to use, to develop the region as a prime national and international example in sustainable and green urban development.
In the past years Harriët Tiemens has built an excellent European track record. For example, by heading the campaign for the City of Nijmegen to become European Green Capital 2018 but also by being a recognized contributor to European and international conferences like COP, EURESFO, POLIS, Velo-city, the Austrian World Summit, GlobeEU, Ecoprocura and meetings with the European Parliament and European Commission, both through her current position with the ICLEI RexCom and other national and international networks.
Tiemens studied Environmental Science at Saxion University of Applied Sciences and Public Administration at Leiden University. She was Deputy Mayor for the City of Nijmegen from 2014 to 2021. During that time, she chaired the physical pillar of the G40 network of Dutch cities and was chair of the VNG (Association of Dutch Municipalities) committee for housing, mobility and spatial development.
Managing Director, Resilient Cities Catalyst (RCC)
Konstantina Karydi, Managing Director, Resilient Cities Catalyst (RCC)
Konstantina Karydi is currently Managing Director and co-founding member of Resilient Cities Catalyst (RCC). In this capacity she leads the organisation's EMEA strategic development and programmes and regularly contributes in global and European urban policy initiatives as an advisor. She is co-founder of Climate Change Hub (CCHuB) Greece and member of the leadership team of the Mediterranean Climate Action Partnership (MCAP), a national and a global partnership spearheaded by RCC. In the past 15 years she has held leadership positions at the global and national level, as Advisor for Resilience and Social Security to the Greek Minister of State, Special Advisor on Diplomacy and Public Administration Special Initiatives for the Mayor of Athens and Deputy Director and Head of Climate Transformation programs, EME for 100 Resilient Cities - Rockefeller Foundation. She is co-founder of the awarded NGO Balkans Beyond Borders. She lives in Athens, Greece and is a graduate of EPFL and UCL.
Senior Advisor Climate Resilient Regions, Climate KIC
Thomas Koetz, Senior Advisor Climate Resilient Regions, Climate KIC
Thomas Koetz is an expert in sustainability transitions, climate resilience, biodiversity, and science-policy interfaces, with two decades of experience across the European Commission, the UN system, and leading innovation organisations. He is Senior Advisor for Climate Resilient Regions at Climate-KIC, where he coordinates the €30 million Horizon Europe project Pathways2Resilience, helping 100 regions design adaptation pathways and investment plans. Previously, Thomas played a central role in shaping and implementing the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change at DG Research & Innovation, and earlier served in DG Environment on international biodiversity policy. Before returning to the Commission, he led the first IPBES work programme at UN Environment, overseeing landmark global assessments. Thomas holds a PhD in science-policy interfaces, a Master’s in ecological economics, and a Master’s in landscape ecology, complemented by extensive fieldwork in Latin America and Asia.
Chief Specialist, Polish Ministry of Climate and Environment
Ela Janiszewska, Chief Specialist, Polish Ministry of Climate and Environment
Ela supports cities across Poland in strengthening climate resilience and advancing towards more sustainable urban future through an advisory programme designed for local governments. With a background as an architect–urban designer and experience spanning both the private sector and municipal structures, she brings a spatial and implementation-oriented perspective to climate adaptation. This enables her to effectively bridge the gap between strategy and design, supporting cities in translating resilience goals into concrete interventions that address local urban challenges.
Her previous work spans multiple scales, from neighbourhood transformation and public space design to local planning frameworks, participatory processes, and mixed-use developments, with a focus on human-scale design and environmental challenges.
Moderators
Head of Resilience and Climate Adaptation, ICLEI Europe
Vasileios Latinos, Head of Resilience and Climate Adaptation, ICLEI Europe
Vasileios Latinos, is Head of Resilience and Climate Adaptation at ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability, European Secretariat. Vasileios is a climate resilience expert and project coordinator, with 14 years experience, working with local and regional governments throughout Europe. He is responsible for the management and coordination of projects and services in the topical areas of climate change adaptation, urban resilience and disaster risk reduction and leading the programmatic development of ICLEI in this field.
Expert - Mission on Adaptation, European Environment Agency
Lucy Gregersen, Expert - Mission on Adaptation, European Environment Agency
Lucy Gregersen works on monitoring frameworks and data systems supporting climate adaptation across Europe. Her work contributes to the implementation of the EU Mission on Adaptation.
Previously, she worked with UN Environment Programme and UNDP, focusing on climate technology transfer and supporting developing countries in implementing and monitoring their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement.
Master of Ceremony
Owner, Natasha Walker Associates
Natasha Walker, Owner, Natasha Walker Associates
Natasha is an expert on communication, focussing since 1995 on designing and facilitating complex dialogue processes. She enables effective strategy implementation, sustainable change and smart organisational development all over the world (and online!). She designs and facilitates long-term change and large-scale participation processes and is also a leading moderator of exclusive high-level discussions and workshops with and for corporate boards and governments. Natasha advises decision makers and scientific institutions on civic and stakeholder engagement across the globe.
She studied English Literature and Modern Languages (German) at Oxford University and at the University of Göttingen. She lives in Heidelberg with her family and dog.