ClimaResponse has been developed to address the increasing climate-related challenges faced by municipalities and communities, and its official launch took place on 1–2 April 2025 in Stockholm, Sweden. During two days filled with intensive discussions, partners clarified the next steps and planned the implementation further ahead. The project consortium represents an impactful mix of local authorities, an intergovernmental organisation, national and international associations of municipalities, as well as expert partners, ready to pave the way for the comprehensive response to climate change risks!
Uģis Zanders, ClimaResponse project manager, introducing the goals of the project. Photo by CBSS Secretariat.
This initiative, formally titled “Responsive Local Action for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction”, aims to enhance climate resilience across the Baltic Sea Region by equipping local and regional authorities with practical solutions to prepare for and adapt to climate risks.
“Municipalities are on the front lines of climate resilience. They manage most of the local infrastructure that protects us from extreme weather – be it snow, floods or heat. Through ClimaResponse, we are equipping municipalities with the tools and knowledge they need to build safer, better prepared, and climate-resilient communities.”
— Uģis Zanders, adviser and the project’s manager at the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS)
The scope of ClimaResponse
Led by the CBSS and co-funded by the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme, ClimaResponse brings together twelve project partners from across the BSR, including municipalities, research institutions, and regional organisations, to address the increasing climate-related challenges faced by local and regional authorities, supporting them in:
- Developing local climate resilience strategies to ensure cities and regions can effectively respond to climate risks.
- Enhancing cross-border collaboration between municipalities, researchers, and civil society on climate resilience.
- Piloting climate adaptation solutions to test new methods for risk reduction and resilience-building.
- Launching awareness campaigns to support municipalities in localising and implementing climate adaptation strategies.
- Creating the Digital Planning Platform for Climate Resilience, a comprehensive online knowledge-sharing tool that provides step-by-step guidance on integrating climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction (DRR) into local governance.
ClimaResponse builds on previous regional initiatives, including the ClimaLoc project, which supported municipalities in integrating climate adaptation into local governance and spatial planning. One key outcome was the Handbook on Local Climate Adaptation and Resilience, providing municipalities with practical guidance on climate risk assessment, stakeholder engagement, and financing adaptation measures. The project also draws on the experiences of the CASCADE project, which focused on climate-related disaster risk reduction.
UBC Sustainable Cities Commission was part of both consortia, and has actively participated in the development of this new project initiative as a way to bring up climate adaptation measures, responding to one of the most acute and common challenges noted by the cities of the UBC network. UBC SCC is a partner of ClimaResponse coordinating the transfer activities and preparing cascading campaigns to reach out and engage even more BSR stakeholders.
Agnieszka Ilola introducing the UBC Sustainable Cities Commission to the meeting participants. Photo by CBSS Secretariat.
The ClimaResponse project is seen as an important flagship for the holistic approach linking long-term climate adaptation with more immediate disaster risk preparedness, and it is also supported by the Union of the Baltic Cities Safe Cities Commission as an associated partner: Chairman of the Commission Kaspars Vārpiņš took part in the project kick-off.
We will talk more about the climate and disaster risk preparedness already this summer! This topic will be introduced in our regular webinar series UBC TALKS on 10 June, and we warmly invite everyone to join and listen (fill the short registration to receive the link to the webinar).