A roadmap for policy transformational change towards climate adaptation (Adaptation Agora/policy paper)

Institutionalising citizen engagement, strengthening local capacities, empowering citizens to engage, and sharing best practices: these are the four interconnected pillars to address the challenges hindering the scaling up of stakeholder and citizen engagement, analyses Adaptation Agora, in a paper published on 15/12/2025.

In its policy white paper, Adaptation Agora, a consortium made up of 12 European academic institutions (Université de Genève, ATC, Ibercivis, Stockholm Environment Institute, IIASA, APRE, ICLEI, CIMA, Barcelona Supercomputing Center, ECSA, and CMCC), funded by the Horizon Europe program, issues recommendations and provides examples to policymakers for scaling engagement of citizens and stakeholders towards climate adaptation.

They aim to address the current challenges facing climate action across Europe, including limited inclusivity, engagement processes, mistrust and impact assessment, differing engagement cultures across regions, perceptions of climate risk, uneven political commitment, unequal capacities and resources among local authorities, and fragmented…