EU LIFE IP C2C CC

The cost of inaction on climate change is significant for Denmark and the wider EU. As a result, the Danish government made it mandatory in 2013 for municipalities to draw up CCA plans. It also encourages the integration of the CCA action plans into the municipal spatial planning covering all spatial areas including cities and countryside. In this way, it is facilitating compliance with the EU Water Framework Directive and the Floods Directive. The CCA plans have now been adopted, but their implementation has not start been initiated. The C2C CC project will provide a comprehensive base for implementation, evaluating the results and the process, as well as providing local authorities with the tools for better integrated planning, taking into account the uncertainties of future climate change.The project supports the implementation of 21 municipal CCA plans and four risk management plans under the Flood Directive in the CDR. It provides decision-makers with a framework for sustainable and integrative CCA planning, mainstreams CCA into local planning and integrates other policy areas. A total of 24 concrete actions cover capacity building within all themes in the hydrological cycle and improve multi-level management structures. The CCA plans address cities as well as the countryside and coastlines, and include solutions in the hinterlands to prevent flooding in the cities.OBJECTIVESThe overall objective of C2C CC project is to create climate-resilient cities in a climate-resilient region by drawing up with local stakeholders a common, long-term strategy. This strategy will lead to the targeted implementation of local CCA plans, coordinated CCA analyses and activities, and the identification and improvement of the resources and adaptive capacities of citizens, municipalities, utilities and companies in the water sector.C2C CC views CCA plans as a cross-boundary challenge in which coordination, knowledge sharing and capacity building are necessary for improved governance and the development of tools and innovation. The IP focuses on four themes related to the hydrological cycle: sea and fjords, rivers, groundwater and rainwater. These are supplemented by three cross-cutting themes: governance, tools and innovation.The objectives of the hydrological cycle related to the challenges documented in the CCA plans are to:Increase coastal resilience taking into consideration the environmental state and marine biodiversity and to enhance urban resilience;Increase the resilience of land alongside riverbanks taking into consideration the environmental state and biodiversity and to enhance urban resilience;Increase resilience towards rising near-surface groundwater optimizing the use of surplus groundwater;Increase urban resilience taking into consideration the synergies with green infrastructure and urban livability;Increase resilience through capacity building, strengthened network governance and cross-border coordinated planning;Increase resilience through enhanced decision-making processes; andIncrease resilience by generating jobs and green investments.In addition to the IP budget itself, the project will facilitate the coordinated use of €199.78 million complementary funding from EAFRD, ERDF, national and private funds.RESULTSExpected results:A 3D model of flooding that combines flood events owing to rainwater, rivers and the sea;A hydrological model of groundwater that combines surface water with rising groundwater level;New business models that consider CCA activities;New methods for city planning that can help prevent flooding (e.g. permeable surfaces);Warning systems for flooding;Network governance and integrative planning of large catchment areas.A range of capacity building events.Expected results:A 3D model of flooding that combines flood events owing to rainwater, rivers and the sea;A hydrological model of groundwater that combines surface water with rising groundwater level;New business models that consider CCA activities;New methods for city planning that can help prevent flooding (e.g. permeable surfaces);Warning systems for flooding;Network governance and integrative planning of large catchment areas.A range of capacity building events.