News for topic Climate-change

Municipalities across the Baltic Sea Region are facing increasing climate‑related risks, while working under very different local conditions, capacities, and governance frameworks. To better support this work, the ClimaResponse project is developing a digital platform tailored to help municipalities implement more effective climate adaptation measures: participate in a short survey on climate adaptation capacity and preparedness!

The conference reaffirmed the network's primary goal of creating a more resilient, innovative, and united Baltic Sea region. Cities need to be at the table, not on the menu With these key words, UBC President Mantas Jurgutis addressed the conference participants. In these tumultuous times, it's vital to have strong and consolidated messages amplifying the city voices.

For the first time, the project consortium has gathered in Hamburg – the host city of the lead partner – Hafen City University and several other partners. The kick-off meeting, held on 24-25 September, has brought together the experts and practitioners representing regional energy agencies, municipalities, specialized networks, and academic institutions contributing to address the challenge of energy transition.

On 1–3 October 2025, over 70 urban leaders, climate experts, and changemakers gathered in Malmö, Sweden, for the annual Union of the Baltic Cities Sustainable Cities Commission meeting. Under the theme “Creating Climate-Proof and Nature-Positive Cities Together,” the event became a powerful platform for cities across the Baltic Sea Region to collaborate on urgent environmental challenges – and the solutions needed to meet them.

We are happy to announce that the 2025 disclosure cycle of the CDP-ICLEI Track is opening tomorrow on June 18!

The webinar brought together experts and local authorities from across the Baltic Sea Region to explore integrated strategies for climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction. It was opened by Agnieszka Ilola, Head of Secretariat at the UBC Sustainable Cities, and Kaspars Vārpiņš, Chairman of the UBC Safe Cities, outlining the priorities for local authorities to increase climate resilience.

"Cities can react swiftly when new challenges evolve, they have better skills to maneuver the change."- Anna-Kaisa Ikonen, Minister of Local and Regional Government of Finland

Due to climate change, extreme weather events like droughts, heavy rainfall, and heatwaves are becoming more frequent across the Baltic Sea Region. As these impacts intensify, cities face growing pressure to adapt and prepare. In response, the city of Turku is strengthening its climate resilience through the RESIST project.

Climate-4-CAST, launched in November 2023 and co-funded by the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme, is led by a consortium of 10 partners from Denmark, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Poland, and Sweden, with support from 14 Associated Organisations.

The versatile climate budget training series are targeted at decision-makers, sustainability and climate experts, as well as financial staff in local administrations. The series of events bringing educational, networking, and practical learning experiences, are launched by the city network Union of the Baltic Cities – Sustainable Cities Commission.

Project platforms of Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme aim to structure and disseminate outcomes from various projects to create even more innovative, sustainable, and interconnected Baltic Sea region, fostering synergies, enhancing knowledge transfer, and amplifying policy impacts. With this role, project platforms not only maximise the impact of individual projects but also contribute to shaping policies and strategies at regional and EU levels.

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.