Europe’s adaptation insurance policies advance, however stronger motion is required to handle rising local weather dangers | Press releases

All 32 EEA member international locations now have nationwide adaptation insurance policies in place. This contains all 27 EU Member States, in addition to Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and Türkiye. Of these, 17 international locations now anchor adaptation in nationwide or federal local weather legal guidelines, marking a rising authorized dedication to local weather resilience.

These findings come from the most recent EEA briefing, which outlines progress and challenges in Europe’s local weather adaptation insurance policies and actions. The evaluation attracts on 2025 data reported by the EU-27 below the Governance Regulation, complemented by voluntary reporting from Iceland, Switzerland and Türkiye. 

Top dangers 

In 2025, EU Member States, Iceland, Switzerland and Türkiye reported heatwaves, floods, droughts and heavy precipitation as probably the most incessantly occurring acute local weather hazards, per the info reported over the past overview in 2023. Chronic hazards stay dominated by altering temperatures and adjustments in water provide. An growing variety of international locations reported water shortage as a hazard, pointing to evolving danger profiles and intensified challenges in 2025.  

Agriculture and meals was probably the most incessantly reported key affected sector by local weather change adopted by the well being, biodiversity, forestry and power sectors, reflecting a broadening recognition of sectoral vulnerability. Overall, as compared with 2023, international locations reported extra affected sectors, indicating a rising consciousness about and pressures from local weather dangers. These findings underpin the necessity for sturdy and up-to-date data on local weather dangers to information evidence-based and preventative adaptation planning.  

The EEA local weather adaptation check-up additionally discovered that local weather danger assessments throughout member international locations are additionally advancing, albeit completely different of their scope and ambition. Good information is that international locations are more and more aligning with the strategy taken within the EEA’s European Climate Risk Assessment (EUCRA) which was revealed in 2024. 

As extreme weather becomes more common and financial losses proceed to rise, higher planning and implementation of adaptation actions to strengthen Europe’s local weather resilience and preparedness is important. Insights from the EUCRA show that proactive, evidence-based adaptation is required to guard ecosystems, folks, financial system and infrastructure from escalating dangers whereas safeguarding Europe’s competitiveness, safety and prosperity.

Other key findings 

• Limited info on carried out actions and their effectiveness hinders forming an understanding of Europe’s progress on adaptation and local weather resilience.  

• Countries face widespread limitations: information gaps, weak decision-making instruments, unclear roles and tasks, restricted funding and inadequate native capacities.  

• Monitoring and reporting are slowly enhancing. However, sturdy analysis and studying frameworks stay a problem, limiting the power to evaluate adaptation motion outcomes and inform future adaptation insurance policies.   

Other related publications 

The EEA right now additionally revealed its annual Trends and projections in Europe report, which particulars progress made in assembly the EU’s bold local weather and power targets. Both are being launched on the identical time with the European Commission State of the Energy Union and Climate Action Progress Report 2025.  

Background 

This briefing is a part of an ongoing EEA collection exploring collective European progress in direction of local weather resilience, offering insights into how nationwide adaptation insurance policies and actions proceed to evolve throughout Europe. This third EEA evaluation of progress in direction of local weather resilience relies on nationwide studies on adaptation actions submitted to the European Commission below the Regulation on the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action. Where attainable, the briefing compares the most recent info with earlier reporting cycles and contains voluntary submissions as properly from Iceland, Switzerland and Türkiye to the EEA.