Transport
EU
EU FRAMEWORK FOR CLIMATE RESILIENCE
The European Commission published a Communication on an EU Framework for Climate Resilience, setting out an approach to embed “climate resilience by design” across EU policies. The Commission estimates that adapting Europe’s infrastructure, built environment, ecosystems and economy will require investment of around €70 billion annually, with the global market for climate resilience solutions expected to reach approximately €3.5 trillion by 2050.
The Framework signals a stronger emphasis on assessing assets against projected future climate conditions, rather than historical weather patterns. The proposed reference trajectory assumes global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by 2030, 2°C by 2050 and 3°C by 2100, informing asset and investment decisions, spatial planning and impact assessments. The Communication highlights existing TEN-T climate-proofing requirements for transport infrastructure, including anticipatory climate risk assessment and preventive management.
A proposed European Climate Resilience Law would establish a common EU framework for anticipating and managing climate risks. Its main measures would:
- Introduce a shared warming trajectory, with Member States required to encourage public authorities to take account of the trajectory and climate-risk assessments in budgeting, spatial planning and environmental assessment
- Require regular climate-risk assessments using common assumptions
- Require strategic resilience plans, with an EU plan by September 2028 and national plans by December 2030
- Clarify responsibility and coordination, requiring a national coordinating authority, public authorities responsible for each major climate risk, and consultation between Member States on cross-border risks
- Improve information and accountability through an online knowledge platform, common climate-loss statistics and national implementation reporting
