In support of the European Green Deal, the Adaptation Strategy and the EU Mission on Adaptation to climate change, the successful proposal will accelerate adaptation efforts of regional and local authorities.

The project is expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:

• Each Action Plan that regional and local authorities have developed sets in motion the implementation of a concrete list of actions to advance towards climate resilience.
• The implementation of the developed Action Plans is ensured thanks to the fact that each Action Plan includes a tailored analysis (or options list) of how the costs of each action can be addressed.
• The relevant government departments, citizens, academia, social partners, the private sector and other stakeholders are mobilised to contribute to local climate adaptation.

Objective: Support at least 70 regional/local authorities in developing tailored Climate Adaptation Action Plans, addressing asymmetrical climate risks and ensuring just, locally relevant transitions.

Content of Action Plans:

• Future scenario analysis and robust sectoral solutions.
• Concrete actions with responsible actors, quantified impacts, and timelines.
• Cost estimates, avoided losses, and funding strategies (EU/national/private).
• Monitoring framework aligned with Mission Adaptation tools.
• Social impact considerations, inclusivity, and participatory processes involving citizens, vulnerable groups, public authorities, businesses, academia, and civil society.
• Inclusion of innovative solutions tested in Mission Adaptation, avoiding maladaptation.

Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP):

• Cascade funding to regional/local authorities (or their representatives).
• At least 70% of EU contribution dedicated to FSTP.
• First cascade call launched within 12 months.
• Eligible authorities: not previously funded under Pathways2Resilience or already covered by it.
• Ensure geographical balance, inclusivity, and equity.
• Learn from CLIMAAX, Pathways2Resilience, and Mission Secretariat experiences.

Framework & Support:

• Develop a common intervention blueprint, adaptable to local contexts.
• Provide technical support and structured selection process for authorities.
• Embed plans in national and regional strategies; link to Mission Implementation Platform, Mission National Hubs, Climate-ADAPT, and other EU projects/programmes.

Integration with Mission:

• Share results, contribute to Mission monitoring, replicate good practices.
• Dedicate resources for monitoring, knowledge exchange, and networking.

General conditions

1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout

The page limit of the application is 70 pages.

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

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

Beneficiaries must provide financial support to third parties. The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants. The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 250,000[[EUR 60,000 - the usual amount maximum amount that can be paid to a third party - is insufficient for a region or a local authority to develop action plans that fully address the complex nature of climate risks. Instead, and based on previous experience and review of the market for this type of work, it is considered that EUR 250,000 is more appropriate to cover various costs such as extensive stakeholder engagement and analysis, cost analysis and prioritization, monitoring activities. This is especially true for bigger regions.]], to allow regional and local authorities to develop their action plans that address the locally relevant climate risks.

Eligible third parties are regional and local authorities in EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries (and/or other entities acting on their behalf), provided that they did not receive financial support under the Pathways2Resilience[[ This information is or will be publicly available on the website of Pathways2Resilience. For instance, here are the beneficiaries of the first call: https://www.pathways2resilience.eu/40-regions-unite-to-build-climate-resilience-for-53-million-europeans/]] project nor the concerned territories were already covered by Pathways2Resilience.

described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

described in the specific topic of the Work Programme