Adaptation to Climate Change: Supporting the implementation of the EU Mission Adaptation to Climate Change (Horizon Europe)

In February 2021, the European Commission adopted a EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change that sets out how the EU can adapt to the unavoidable impacts of climate change and become climate resilient by 2050. Pushing further on the belief that we must adjust now to tomorrow's climate, the EU has launched, in the same year, the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change to support at least 150 regions and local authorities to become climate-resilient by 2030.

Since the start of the Mission, the European Commission confirmed its strategic importance and the potential strength of its approach to accelerate the transformation to a climate-resilient Europe32. It also acknowledged that the Mission can serve as a best practice for all interested parties, and that it will be further leveraged33.

In March 2024, the European Climate Risk Assessment (EUCRA), published by the European Environment Agency, has further stressed the need to ramp up adaptation efforts in Europe. The Commission Communication ‘Managing climate risks: protecting people and prosperity’, also published in March 2024, sets out how the EU and its Member States can better anticipate, understand, and address growing climate risks. The urgency and importance of stepping up preparedness and adaptation is reflected in the Political Guidelines for the European Commission 2024-2029 which call the European Commission to develop a European Climate Adaptation Plan (ECAP), scheduled for the second half of 2026.

In this context, the Mission appears to be the perfect vehicle to support pioneering efforts on climate adaptation at the regional and local levels and to develop and facilitate the take-up of ready-to-use knowledge and tools for climate action.

Topics with submission deadline on 23 September 2026:

• HORIZON-MISS-2026-01-CLIMA-01: National Adaptation Hubs - Bringing together the national level with the engaged regional and local levels (multi-level governance)
• HORIZON-MISS-2026-01-CLIMA-02: Facilitating implementation of actionable solutions for climate adaptation of regions and local authorities
• HORIZON-MISS-2026-01-CLIMA-03: Standardising and supporting climate services for climate adaptation
• HORIZON-MISS-2026-01-CLIMA-04: Bridging the gap between disaster risk management and climate adaptation
• HORIZON-MISS-2026-01-CLIMA-05: Demonstrating solutions to protect and preserve cultural heritage from the impacts of climate change
• HORIZON-MISS-2026-01-CLIMA-06: Improving climate resilience of navigable inland waterways, their surroundings and related water infrastructure
• HORIZON-MISS-2026-01-CLIMA-07: Supporting financing of local adaptation actions with combination of public funding and private financing

Find the full work programme “Missions " for 2026-2027 here.