Call: Disaster Resilience & Climate Change topic 1: Science and innovation for adaptation to climate change: from assessing costs, risks and opportunities to demonstration of options and practices

• Health, demographic change and wellbeing;
• Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine and maritime and inland water research, and the Bioeconomy;
• Secure, clean and efficient energy;
• Smart, green and integrated transport;
• Climate action, environment, resource efficiency and raw materials;
• Europe in a changing world - inclusive, innovative and reflective societies;
• Secure societies - protecting freedom and security of Europe and its citizens.

This Subprogramme aims to achieve a resource- and water-efficient economoy and society that is also resilient to climate change. Furthermore, it seeks to promote the protection and sustainable management of natural resources and ecosystems. Lastly, the Programme also supports the sustainable supply and use of raw materials, in order to meet the needs of a growing global population within the sustainable limits of the planet's natural resources and eco-systems.

Extreme weather and climate events, interacting with exposed and vulnerable human and natural systems, can lead to disasters. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), some types of extreme events (e.g. flash floods and related landslides, storm surges, heatwaves, fires, including vegetation fires) have increased in frequency or magnitude, and in the meantime populations and assets at risk have also increased, leading to greater disaster risks. In order to better forecast and manage the immediate consequences of weather- and climate-related disasters, in particular regarding emergency responses, improved measures and technologies are needed.

As the EU, the  Member States, Associated Countries and the EU Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs)  progress towards the development of appropriate responses for adapting to climate change, there is a pressing need for developing a coherent research and innovation agenda, to provide:

The coordination and the clustering of research and innovation activities on climate change impacts, vulnerabilities and adaptation in different sectors, also in relation to long-term risk reduction from extreme weather events;

A more standardised basis (including transferable, widely applicable tools and methods) for assessing potential climate change impacts, vulnerabilities, costs, benefits, risks and opportunities;

A strengthened knowledge base, through a more coherent approach to the identification and assessment of the performance and impacts of different adaptation measures, with a view to prioritise relevant interventions;

Support for the development of innovative adaptation and long term risk reduction options, fine-tuned to specific natural and socio-economic conditions across Europe, with the aim to protect and reduce the vulnerability of sensitive resources, economic sectors, green and technical infrastructure, and society from climate-change related threats.