Pathways2Resilience opens its second call for European regions and communities to build climate resilience.
Pathways2Resilience, the flagship programme under the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change, has launched its second open call to select 61 European regions and communities.
The selected regions will join the previous cohort of 39 regions in receiving direct funding and support to create their transformative, long-term climate adaptation plans, for a total of 100 regions supported by the programme between 2023 and 2027.
What will participating regions gain?
Through a comprehensive and ambitious learning programme, Pathways2Resilience supports regions with varying levels of adaptive capacity, ranging from those equipped with advanced climate risk knowledge and governance structures to highly vulnerable communities in need of foundational support.
To address these diverse challenges, the programme offers selected regions an 18-month tailored learning journey, based on the Regional Resilience Journey framework, that includes thematic sessions and peer learning activities:
Adaptation Finance Innovation Lab: Europe’s first dedicated facility for piloting innovative finance solutions.
Innovation Practice Groups: Collaborative week-long sessions that explore locally-led climate adaptation solutions.
Deep Dives: Thematic expert sessions focusing on critical enablers of climate resilience, including knowledge and data, governance, innovation, finance, skills and behavioural change.
At the end of the programme, participating regions will have produced a baseline assessment, a climate resilience strategy, an action plan and an investment plan ready to be implemented.
How to apply
Eligible European regional authorities can apply for the Pathways2Resilience second open call until 20 August 2025 at 12:00 CET via the Pathways2Resilience website.
A total of 61 subgrantees will be selected, each receiving €210,000 for a period of 18 months (January 2026 – June 2027). The main selection criteria include a focus on the most vulnerable regions (high climate risk and low adaptive capacity) and diversity across countries, bioregions, climate risk types, and scale.
Insights from the Pathways2Resilience first cohort of 39 regions
The first Pathways2Resilience cohort was selected from 164 applications and comprises 39 regions from 30 countries, representing 53 million people. A full list and a map are available here.
In their applications, the selected regions identified the following as the critical areas to strengthen in terms of climate adaptation capacity: water management (70%), nature-based solutions (32%), public infrastructure (30%), health (27%), local economy (27%), land use and food systems (20%).
16 of the 39 selected regions reported being at high risk in terms of exposure to climate impacts, with the following cited as the most pressing risks: heatwaves (40%), wildfires (32%), droughts (25%), river floods (25%) and coastal floods (12%).
In a 2023 survey conducted by Pathways2Resilience, 97 regions from 27 countries identified the following barriers to implementing climate adaptation measures:
Institutional barriers: 72% reported insufficient collaboration across governance levels, and 64% across departments and sectors. 60% reported a lack of policy frameworks.
Financial barriers: 92% reported limited availability of financial resources and instruments. 81% reported challenges with making adaptation actions ‘bankable’, that is, suitable for public or private investment.
Technical barriers: 74% reported a lack of technical knowledge and capacity. 73% reported a lack of access to data and scientific information.
Read more about the 2nd Call for European regions and communities here.
