Climate adaptation: "The EU, Member States and private sector should invest €69Bn per year up to 2050"

"The EU, its Member States and the private sector should invest about €70 billion per year until 2050 in climate adaptation to reduce exposure to increasing climate hazards and improve resilience", according to a report commissioned by the DG Clima released on 23/01/2026.

"Investing in adaptation and resilience has become more urgent than ever as the trend towards warmer global temperatures continues and the socio-economic costs of climate-related events keep rising", the study says.

Of the annual €69 needed :
• "€28,8Bn are needed for infrastructure ;
• €20,9Bn for ecosystems, reflecting the scale of restoration and management required for land, forests, and coastal areas ;
• and €11,5Bn for food security".

But the study stresses that "investment needs vary significantly across Member States. France, Italy, Germany and Spain have the largest adaptation investment needs, in part due to their geographic and economic size".

Differences are also shaped by national contexts: "Mediterranean countries have proportionately higher investment needs for wildfire prevention and crop adaptation…