As climate change intensifies, European cities are facing increasingly frequent and severe weather events, from extreme heatwaves and flooding to infrastructure disruptions. Many urban areas were designed for past climate conditions and now require new approaches to remain safe, functional, and sustainable.
To address this challenge, RINA, as project coordinator, is working together with more than 20 entities across Europe in the MULTICLIMACT project, a Horizon Europe research project aimed at helping cities understand their vulnerabilities, assess climate risks and identify the most effective adaptation measures.
MULTICLIMACT ambition is to equip local entities with a set of methods, tools and implementation guidelines to support their climate adaptation strategies, supporting them in their move from a reactive approach to climate impacts to a proactive one, from prevention to preparedness, from response to recovery. To make this happen, the project works on the social dimension of resilience as well, since all stakeholders, including citizens, are key to success. Indeed, according to Clemente Fuggini, MULTICLIMACT project coordinator, “Resilience relies on an intricate interplay between individuals, communities, institutions and infrastructures. In practice, that means understanding not only how buildings respond to climate hazards, but how transport, utilities, public services and the people who rely on them can continue to operate when disruption occurs.”
The project is testing solutions in four pilot sites across Europe, each representing different climate and environmental challenges:
Beyond individual buildings, the project adopts a systemic perspective, analysing how disruptions can cascade through transport networks, utilities and essential services.
By combining data from infrastructure, environmental monitoring systems and climate models, MULTICLIMACT provides public authorities with evidence-based tools to prioritise investments and strengthen urban resilience where it matters most.
“We have to think beyond individual assets,” added Fuggini. “The objective is to understand how entire urban systems behave under stress and how we can improve their ability to recover.”
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