ClimaResponse

ClimaResponse aims to:

• Strengthen local climate resilience by improving the ability of municipalities and regional authorities to plan, implement and sustain climate adaptation measures.
• Provide municipalities with practical tools to integrate climate risk reduction into governance structures and decision-making processes.
• Enhance knowledge-sharing and cooperation between local, regional and national authorities to promote a cohesive, cross-border response to climate risks.
• Develop a digital knowledge-sharing platform that offers best practices, guidance, and step-by-step support for municipalities working on climate adaptation and DRR.
• Support the implementation of transnationally validated solutions, ensuring the sustainability and scalability of innovative climate adaptation strategies.

To achieve its objectives, ClimaResponse implements a range of activities, including:

• Piloting climate adaptation solutions in municipalities across the Baltic Sea Region, testing innovative methods for risk reduction, climate resilience planning, and governance models.
• Developing the Digital Planning Platform for Climate Resilience, a comprehensive online tool that provides structured guidance on creating and implementing municipal adaptation plans.
• Launching cascading campaigns to raise awareness and support municipalities in localising and implementing climate adaptation strategies.
• Facilitating capacity-building workshops and training sessions, equipping municipal decision-makers and practitioners with actionable strategies for improving climate resilience.
• Strengthening cross-sectoral collaboration through transnational exchanges, networking events, and partnerships between local governments, researchers, and civil society organisations.

As the lead partner of ClimaResponse, the CBSS plays a central role in coordinating the project’s implementation, ensuring coherence across activities, and managing strategic communication. The CBSS’s responsibilities include:

• Overseeing project coordination and ensuring alignment with regional and EU climate policies.
• Developing and hosting the Digital Planning Platform.
• Integrating knowledge from past and ongoing climate resilience projects.
• Supporting municipal-level engagement by facilitating cooperation between local authorities and regional decision-makers.
• Leading dissemination efforts to ensure that project results are widely available and applicable beyond the project’s duration.

ClimaResponse is rooted in previous CBSS initiatives and builds on existing resources and structures within the project consortium, the BSR and the EU that have contributed to enhancing municipal climate resilience. Three key references in this context are the ClimaLoc project, the Handbook on Local Climate Adaptation and Resilience, and the CASCADE project.

The ClimaLoc project (2021–2023) laid the groundwork for municipal climate resilience by integrating climate adaptation strategies into local governance and spatial planning. Through ClimaLoc, municipalities in the BSR gained access to case studies, training materials, and local adaptation strategies, which now inform the methodologies and approaches used in ClimaResponse.

Developed within the ClimaLoc framework, the Handbook on Local Climate Adaptation and Resilienceprovides municipalities with practical guidance on implementing climate adaptation strategies. It covers key topics such as risk assessment, cross-sectoral collaboration, and financing adaptation measures, making it a valuable resource for ClimaResponse participants.

The CASCADE project (2019–2022) strengthened disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate adaptation capacities in the Baltic Sea Region by integrating risk assessment methodologies into local governance. It supported municipalities in developing cross-sectoral cooperation models and practical tools to enhance preparedness for climate-related hazards.