In support of the European Green Deal, the EU Adaptation Strategy, the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change and the EU Disaster Resilience Goals, project results are expected to improve adaptative capacities of European regional and local authorities to extreme heat and reduce the impacts on human health and well-being.

Projects results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• Regional and local authorities are better prepared to withstand the impacts of extreme heat, therefore protecting their citizens (in particular, vulnerable groups), their health and well-being.
• Regional and local authorities are taking a leading role and actively involved in the development and testing of innovative solutions to deal with extreme heat.

Regional and local authorities are actively exploring funding opportunities beyond Horizon Europe for the deployment of adaptation measures

Rationale
Extreme heat is the deadliest climate hazard in Europe, causing an estimated 60,000–70,000 premature deaths in 2022. Risks are already critical in Southern Europe and urban areas, with vulnerable groups (elderly, low-income, socially excluded, people with disabilities/health issues) most affected. Ensuring heat-resilient housing and public spaces is therefore urgent.

Objective
Accelerate the implementation of solutions that build resilience to extreme heat and safeguard citizens’ health, especially in the built environment.

Solutions sought

• Demonstrate systemic measures to reduce/manage heat stress in buildings and public spaces, including nature-based solutions.
• Develop ready-to-use actions for emergency services, public transport, water and energy utilities.
• Explore innovative funding models to deploy solutions in diverse local contexts.
• Address governance, political, and justice challenges with strong Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) involvement.
• Embed solutions in local/regional adaptation planning for sustainability.

Demonstration & replication

• At least 3 demonstration sites in different Member/Associated States, with active involvement of local/regional authorities.
• At least 3 replicating regions to prepare frameworks for uptake of solutions.

Synergies & collaboration

• Build on existing EU/national projects (Horizon Europe, Interreg, LIFE, NEB, Copernicus, etc.).
• Seek synergies with other funding sources (e.g. LIFE, ERDF, Just Transition Fund).
• Collaborate with the Mission Implementation Platform, Climate-ADAPT, the European Climate and Health Observatory, Copernicus Health Hub.
• Share results within the Mission Community of Practice and contribute to monitoring/visualisation of progress.

General conditions

1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout

described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.

Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.

2. Eligible Countries

described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.

A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

3. Other Eligible Conditions

Demonstration activities must take place in the territory of at least 3 different regional or local authorities, each established in a different Member States or Associated Country.

described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.

4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion

described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds

are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.

5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes

are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.

5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement

described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants

Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025). [[This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for Horizon Europe, under ‘Simplified costs decisions’ or through this link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-decision_he_en.pdf]].

described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

described in the specific topic of the Work Programme