Supporting regional and local authorities in developing their Action Plans towards climate resilience

The Horizon Europe program, under the call "Supporting the implementation of the Adaptation to Climate Change Mission (HORIZON-MISS-2025-01)," seeks to provide financial support primarily to regional and local authorities in EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries. This funding aims to enhance climate adaptation efforts in alignment with the European Green Deal and the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change.

The initiative emphasizes the development of tailored climate adaptation Action Plans by at least 70 regional and local authorities. These Action Plans should incorporate a comprehensive analysis of potential future scenarios, including effective solutions applicable to relevant sectors, clearly defined actions, implementation timelines, estimated costs, and mechanisms for monitoring progress.

Funding for this initiative will be granted through a cascading mechanism where successful consortia will receive significant EU contributions. The indicative budget for HORIZON-MISS-2025-01-CLIMA-02 is approximately €25 million to fund one project, with a maximum grant limit of €250,000 allocated to each participating authority. The organizations receiving funding must not have previously been supported under the Pathways2Resilience project, nor can the covered territories have benefitted from it.

The application process consists of a single-stage open call, closing on September 24, 2025, aimed at encouraging diverse collaborations among various stakeholders including public authorities, private organizations, and civil society to ensure holistic approaches to addressing climate resilience. The success rate for applicants is expected to be low due to high competition for limited funding.

In summary, this Horizon Europe call highlights a robust framework for regional and local authorities to develop and implement climate adaptation strategies, with a strong emphasis on participatory methods, innovative solutions, and alignment with existing EU climate strategies.

The Horizon Europe program, under the call "Supporting the implementation of the Adaptation to Climate Change Mission (HORIZON-MISS-2025-01)," is offering funding to accelerate climate adaptation efforts of regional and local authorities in line with the European Green Deal and the EU Mission on Adaptation to climate change. The program aims to support at least 70 regional and local authorities in formulating and implementing climate adaptation Action Plans.

The core objective is to enable regions and local authorities to develop and implement tailor-made responses to climate impacts, fostering a just transition towards climate resilience. This involves providing the necessary knowledge, expertise, and services for creating effective Action Plans.

The Action Plans should include:

Analysis of different possible future scenarios and probabilities of impacts, including robust and cost-effective solutions for relevant sectors.

A set of concrete actions to be implemented at the regional/local level, identifying responsible actors and quantifying effects where possible.

A timeline of implementation, including intermediate milestones.

An indication of expected costs for each action and the entire plan, along with estimated avoided losses.

Analysis of how costs can be addressed by leveraging additional funding at regional, national, and European levels, including private funding sources and relevant non-financial considerations.

A framework to monitor the implementation of actions, facilitating synergies with the monitoring framework of Mission Adaptation.

Innovative solutions developed and tested within Mission Adaptation, enabling further replication.

Consideration of the nexus between mitigation and adaptation, addressing co-benefits and interlinkages with other crises like pollution and biodiversity loss.

Ex-ante evaluation of planned actions to avoid maladaptive practices.

Consideration of findings from the European Environment Agency’s European Climate Risk Assessment Report and alignment with national climate change adaptation strategies and legal frameworks.

Considerations on social impacts and ways to overcome them, aligning with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Inclusive and participatory processes involving all relevant stakeholders, including public authorities, private sector, universities, civil society, social partners, citizens, and vulnerable groups.

Financial support will be provided to third parties, specifically regional and local authorities in EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries, to develop their Action Plans. The maximum grant amount per third party is EUR 250,000. At least 70% of the total EU requested contribution should be allocated to this financial support. The first cascade call should be launched within the first 12 months of the project.

Eligible third parties must not have received financial support under the Pathways2Resilience project, nor should the concerned territories be already covered by Pathways2Resilience.

Proposals should describe how the consortium will:

Define and adopt a common framework guiding assistance to regional and local authorities.

Structure and organize the selection of regional and local authorities and their local partner organizations.

Support regional and local authorities in developing their Action Plans.

Integrate their work into the Mission and its activities to promote knowledge sharing and replication of good practices.

Close cooperation with the Mission Implementation Platform and collaboration with Mission National Hubs are expected. Operational links and collaboration should be established with the Climate-ADAPT platform and relevant projects from Horizon Europe and other EU programs.

The proposal page limit is 70 pages, as described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. Proposal page limits and layout are further detailed in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.

Eligible countries are 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, as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Other eligible conditions are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria are described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.

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

The indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Legal and financial aspects of the grants are described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Application form templates are available in the Submission System, including standard application forms for HE RIA, IA, CSA, RI, and PCP. Evaluation form templates will be used with necessary adaptations, including standard evaluation forms for HE RIA, IA, CSA, PCP PPI, COFUND, and FPA.

Guidance documents include the HE Programme Guide, Model Grant Agreements (HE MGA, HE Unit MGA, Lump Sum MGA, Operating Grants MGA), call-specific instructions, detailed budget table (HE LS), information on financial support to third parties (HE), information on clinical studies (HE), and guidance on lump sums.

Additional documents include the HE Main Work Programme 2023–2025, HE Framework Programme 2021/695, HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions, rules for legal entity validation, and the EU Grants AGA.

The call HORIZON-MISS-2025-01-CLIMA-02 has a budget of EUR 25,000,000 and aims to award one grant. The call opens on 06 May 2025 and closes on 24 September 2025 at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

There are 13 partner search announcements available for collaboration on this topic. LEARs, Account Administrators, and self-registrants can publish partner requests on the Funding & Tenders Portal.

To start the submission process, click on the submission button corresponding to the type of action and model grant agreement.

The Online Manual provides guidance on procedures from proposal submission to grant management. The Horizon Europe Programme Guide details the structure, budget, and political priorities of Horizon Europe. The Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ answers common questions on proposal submission, evaluation, and grant management. The Research Enquiry Service can answer questions about European research and EU Research Framework Programmes. National Contact Points (NCPs) provide guidance and assistance on participation in Horizon Europe. The Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) offers advice to businesses, especially SMEs, on EU research funding. The IT Helpdesk addresses technical questions about the Funding & Tenders Portal. The European IPR Helpdesk assists with intellectual property issues. CEN-CENELEC and ETSI Research Helpdesks advise on standardisation in project proposals. The European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment outline the roles, responsibilities, and entitlements of researchers. Partner Search helps find partner organizations for proposals.

In summary, this Horizon Europe call aims to bolster climate resilience by supporting regional and local authorities in developing and implementing comprehensive climate adaptation Action Plans. It provides substantial financial support and emphasizes collaboration, knowledge sharing, and integration with existing EU initiatives. The call seeks to mobilize stakeholders and leverage additional funding to ensure the effective implementation of these plans, contributing to a sustainable and climate-resilient future.

Eligible Applicant Types: The primary applicants for this opportunity are consortia that will then provide financial support to third parties. The eligible third parties who will receive the financial support 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 project nor the concerned territories were already covered by Pathways2Resilience. The primary applicants are expected to include public authorities from different levels of government, private sector, universities, civil society, social partners, and in particular citizens and vulnerable groups.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Research and Innovation Action (HORIZON-RIA) or a HORIZON Innovation Action (HORIZON-IA) or a HORIZON Pre-commercial Procurement (HORIZON-PCP). The financial support to third parties must be in the form of grants.

Consortium Requirement: A consortium of multiple applicants is required. The selected consortia will then provide funding to at least 70 regional and local authorities.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility for the primary applicant is not explicitly stated, but given the nature of Horizon Europe, it is expected to be EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries. The eligible third parties (those receiving the cascade funding) must be regional and local authorities in EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries.

Target Sector: The target sector is climate adaptation and resilience, with a focus on supporting regional and local authorities in developing and implementing climate adaptation action plans. This includes areas such as energy, environment, climate, and innovation.

Mentioned Countries: EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries are mentioned as the geographic scope for eligible third parties.

Project Stage: The project stage is development and implementation of action plans. The projects should support regional and local authorities in formulating their climate adaptation action plans and preparing for swift implementation. The action plans should include concrete actions, timelines, cost analysis, and monitoring frameworks.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic within the call. The indicative EU contribution per grant is specified for each topic:
HORIZON-MISS-2025-01-CLIMA-01: around €17,650,000
HORIZON-MISS-2025-01-CLIMA-02: around €25,000,000
HORIZON-MISS-2025-01-CLIMA-03: around €10,000,000
HORIZON-MISS-2025-01-CLIMA-04: around €10,000,000
HORIZON-MISS-2025-01-CLIMA-05: around €3,000,000
HORIZON-MISS-2025-01-CLIMA-06: around €5,000,000
At least 70% of the total EU requested contribution should be allocated for financial support to third parties, with a maximum of EUR 250,000 to be granted to each third party (regional or local authority).

Application Type: The application type is an open call with a single-stage submission process.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of grants. The primary beneficiaries (consortia) will receive funding from the EU, and they will then provide financial support (grants) to third parties (regional and local authorities).

Application Stages: The application process is a single-stage process.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly stated, but the indicative number of grants for each topic is provided, which can be used to estimate the potential success rate based on the number of applications received.

Co-funding Requirement: The need for co-funding is not explicitly mentioned, but applicants are encouraged to analyze how the costs of the action plans can be addressed by leveraging additional funding at regional, national, and European levels, including private funding sources.

This opportunity is a call under the Horizon Europe program, specifically targeting the implementation of the Adaptation to Climate Change Mission. It aims to support regional and local authorities in developing and implementing action plans to enhance climate resilience. The call operates through a cascading grant mechanism, where consortia apply for funding from the EU and, if successful, distribute a significant portion of that funding to regional and local authorities within EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries. These authorities will use the funds to develop and implement climate adaptation action plans tailored to their specific needs and risks. The action plans should include a detailed analysis of future scenarios, concrete actions, timelines, cost analysis, and monitoring frameworks. The call emphasizes the importance of stakeholder engagement, collaboration with other relevant initiatives, and the integration of innovative solutions. The overall goal is to accelerate climate adaptation efforts at the regional and local levels, contributing to the broader objectives of the European Green Deal and the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change.