European Union flag

This briefing showcases how Europe’s small municipalities are building climate resilience despite size-related challenges. It is based on a literature review, case studies and analysis of two EU-level databases and supports the implementation of the EU climate adaptation strategy.

Key messages

Small municipalities across Europe are showing strong leadership on climate adaptation, harnessing external networks and knowledge partners and embedding actions into statutory mechanisms, plans, budgets and policies.

This progress is particularly important as over 40% of Europe's population lives in municipalities of fewer than 20,000 inhabitants, including suburbs, rural areas, and towns. Yet there is insufficient focus on ongoing constraints and subsequently strengthening adaptive capacities.

Small municipalities face challenges including limited financial and human capacity, networks, experts and data along with missing or unclear responsibilities. Only 16% have adaptation action plans compared to 28% of larger municipalities.

Despite clear willingness and initiative, the pace and scale of action across Europe still falls short relative to what is needed, and significantly more could be done to fully align implementation capacity with the growing climate risks.

Policy context

Extreme weather and slow onset climate events are increasingly testing the social, environmental and economic resilience of European communities. The EU climate adaptation strategy was adopted in 2021 to support smarter, faster and more systematic adaptation action at all governance levels. The European Commission (EC) communication on managing climate risks and the forthcoming integrated framework for European climate resilience and risk management reinforce these efforts. National frameworks also support action at sub-national levels. Within this policy landscape, the sub-national level is identified as the bedrock of adaptation. This reflects the unique position of locally grounded efforts in addressing context-specific hazards, exposures and vulnerabilities.

The EU climate adaptation strategy also recognises that EU support is critical for the achievement of its objectives, through funding, data and capacity building opportunities. Tangible sub-national support of this nature both preceded and followed the strategy via initiatives such as the EU Mission on Climate Adaptation and the EU Covenant of Mayors, as well as climate resilience-focused funding calls under the Horizon Europe programme.

The EU climate resilience and risk management integrated framework now presents an additional important opportunity to further strengthen municipal leadership on climate adaptation through legislative and non-legislative actions. In the context of this briefing, the extent to which the distinct needs of Europe's many small municipalities can be addressed through this framework will be critical for meeting the objective of the EU Green Deal to leave no one behind.

Climate resilience in Europe’s small municipalities

Defining small municipalities and why they merit attention

European municipalities of all sizes must bolster local climate resilience. This briefing focuses on how they are currently doing while also facing significant constraints. It highlights the opportunities and enablers that support their efforts. For a working definition of ‘small’, see Box 1.

Roughly 40% of the population of the 27 EU Member States (EU-27) resides in municipalities of under 20,000 people. The large majority of these (94%) are classified as towns, suburbs or rural areas (Figure 1). Just over half of these small municipalities are rural and host much of Europe’s agricultural land and food‑processing micro‑industries. They also provide other life sustaining ecosystem services upon which cities greatly depend(1) (2). Their capacity to adapt therefore has a significant and direct impact on the well-being of many Europeans.

Figure 1. Population distribution by municipality size in the EU-27

The climate risks small municipalities face are compounded by challenges such as a reduced tax base, workforce shortages and declining public services. These can increase overall vulnerability as well as undermine adaptive capacity (5) (6) (7). Box 2 explores this relationship further.

This briefing’s focus on small municipalities responds to the limited policy attention they have received to date and the fact that they remain  under-researched in climate adaptation literature (5) (6) (7) (8).

Box 1. Definition of ‘small’ municipalities

There is currently no EU-wide definition of what constitutes a ‘small municipality’. As such, this briefing has drawn on two classification approaches to develop a working definition.

The first is the degree of urbanisation (DEGURBA), which is endorsed by the UN and applied by Eurostat. This is often used as a proxy indicator to approximate municipal size and context. It classifies local administrative units (LAUs) as cities; towns and suburbs; or rural areas based on a combination of geographical contiguity and population density. This is calculated by minimum population thresholds applied to 1km² population grid cells. Each LAU belongs exclusively to one of these three classes.

The second approach uses broad population size categories that closely align with a combination of several European frameworks, as well as more common national classification categories. One example is the ‘Boost for Small Municipalities’ initiative of the European Bauhaus, which focusses on municipalities with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants.

An analysis undertaken for this briefing found around 94% of municipalities of this size fall into DEGURBA typologies two (town & suburbs) and three (rural areas). This briefing therefore uses a working definition of a small municipality as being one with a population of under 20,000, though this definition may not align with all cited sources as the definition of small may vary between countries.

Source: 9,10.

Box 2. The relationship between vulnerability and small, rural municipalities

A statistically significant relationship between vulnerability and small and often rural municipalities is shown in Figure 2 below. This figure overlays the 'degree of urbanisation' with the JRC vulnerability index (NUTS3), a composite index comprised of over 80 indicators categorised as social, political, economic or environmental. The analysis shows higher overall vulnerability in rural areas than urban or intermediate areas such as towns and suburbs. At category-level, there is higher social, political and economic vulnerability experienced in rural compared to urban regions. This is due to relatively higher dependency ratios and demographic factors, as well as relatively lower income and access to services. However, environmental vulnerability is lower in rural areas.

Figure 2. Vulnerability levels by degree of urbanisation

Source: Author's analysis based on (9) (10) (11).

State of play

Many small municipalities are already adapting to climate change. However, large municipalities (particularly in wealthier European countries) are more proactive. Small municipalities often lag behind due to constraints on capacity, finance and information (8) (20) (21). Municipal size correlates strongly with the level of climate adaptation activity. Large municipalities are more likely to develop formal adaptation plans, allocate budgets and integrate climate considerations into governance (5) (12) (17). Small municipalities are significantly less likely to have adaptation plans or dedicated managers (8) (20) (22). These findings are substantiated by an analysis of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM) MyCovenant 6th Release dataset. This shows municipalities with large populations are more likely to have adaptation action plans (28%) compared to their small municipal counterparts (16%) (see Figure 3).

Figure 3. Percentage of GCoM signatories with adaptation action plans

Several studies in Germany found adaptation in small municipalities to be reactive and focused on extreme events such as floods or heatwaves, rather than on long-term structural resilience (24) (25). Climate change adaptation was often deprioritised compared to core responsibilities such as education and health, except in the aftermath of severe weather events. This reflects both resource constraints and perceptions of urgency (17) (24). In many cases, climate change responsibilities were devolved without the transfer of sufficient funds or financial resources. This forces small municipalities to make trade-offs with existing obligations (17) (24). However, since these studies were published, in 2024 the German Federal Adaptation Act (KAnG) entered into force. This introduced a requirement for local or district authorities to conduct climate risk assessments and implement adaptation plans.

Nevertheless, self-reporting from the EU Covenant of Mayors shows only small differences in adaptation efforts between small and large municipalities. This could be due to municipalities already belonging to the covenant initiative being climate front-runners. This may therefore not fully represent the broader group of European small municipalities. Signatory data suggest small municipalities report almost identical progress to large municipalities with regards to adaptation implementation (Figure 4). They also fare similarly to large municipalities on progress in monitoring and evaluation. However, municipalities of all sizes self-report that their efforts are not sufficient.

Figure 4. Self-reported progress on adaptation, following the adaptation policy cycle

Small municipalities report lagging in their capacity to plan and prepare for actions, as well as risk assessment processes. Only 29% of small municipalities have completed or nearly completed such assessments compared to 46% for larger municipalities.

Adaptation enablers

A number of examples can be found of small municipalities demonstrate ambition, leadership and innovation in climate change adaptation. Some common ‘adaptation enablers’ emerge from these cases and the supporting literature. Understanding such commonalities is essential for scaling adaptation, leaving no municipality behind and ensuring that Europe responds adequately to the risk of climate change.

Effective multi-level governance

  • Support from higher levels of government (particularly regional) is crucial to provide knowledge, direction and resources, as well as motivate small municipalities to act (5) (8) (26).
  • Strong vertical policy coherence and collaboration can reduce capacity disparities between municipalities of different scales through the provision of much needed knowledge and direction (8).
  • Progress in local adaptation for small municipalities depends on clear national guidance and robust institutional frameworks that connect governance levels (23).

Box 3. National and regional support to local municipalities

Spain provides a clear example of how such support translates into adaptation action at a regional level (24) (25). Five regions (Navarra, Valencia, Galicia, Balearas and Canarias) have adopted the sustainable energy and climate action plan (SECAP) model as mandatory. All municipalities wishing to develop a SECAP receive support from provinces and regional authorities.  

For example, Galicia has used regional funds to establish a technical office to offer administrative support, guidance and technical assistance for the development of SECAPs. This has resulted in the number of covenant signatories jumping from 22 to 285 in just four years. These signatories represent 90% of Galician municipalities. Galicia also provides implementation-focused grants of up to EUR 800,000 for municipalities with a SECAP. Preference is given to plans that contain recently updated adaptation plans.

Italy displays a similar dynamic. Regions and provinces acting as covenant territorial coordinators (CTCs) also provide critical support to their municipalities. They pool resources, provide methodologies and data, organise funding and offer hands-on technical assistance (26). The results of this support are clearly evident.

In several regions, including Emilia-Romagna, Piemonte, Puglia, Sicilia and Veneto, the share of municipalities that have upgraded to the 2030-2050 covenant commitment, which incorporates adaptation goals and actions, is more than double that of regions without structured coordination (28) (29) (30).

In Austria, inspiration can be drawn from the national Climate Change Adaptation Model Regions for Austria (KLAR!) programme launched in 2016. KLAR! offers a process-oriented approach for municipalities to raise awareness for climate change adaptation and implement concrete actions at the regional level. The programme is funded by the Austrian Climate and Energy Fund (KLIEN), with a required 25% co-financing contribution from the regions. It has supported over 1,500 adaptation measures across 93 regions to date, covering 743 municipalities and 2.2 million inhabitants. A focus on funding coordination capacities in the form of regional adaptation managers has been key to the success of the programme.

Access to adaptation networks, and collaboration and resource sharing between municipalities

  • Active participation in adaptation networks, whether sub-national, national, or international, enables small municipalities to learn from peers, gain technical support and access funding opportunities (22).
  • Collaboration across municipalities also helps overcome individual capacity gaps, and fosters innovative solutions (7) (8) (12) (13) (20) (31). The design of these networks, such as network scope, the characteristics of participants and the expected commitment level, greatly influences their effectiveness (28).
  • Forming clusters or partnerships between municipalities is an effective way to tackle fragmented administration and the challenges of operating on a small scale (12) (27). For example, groups of neighbouring Italian municipalities legally linked together as unione have developed joint SECAPs. This led to the creation of a shared strategic vision while respecting the unique needs of each municipality.

Leadership and community engagement

  • In small municipalities, the leadership and level of political commitment from the mayor can be decisive in initiating and sustaining adaptation action, often compensating for administrative gaps (5) (8) (17).
  • The effectiveness of actively involving community members in adaptation planning and the co-design and implementation of response measures is also clear (7). An analysis from the EEA found local external stakeholders (including the private sector and academia) were more engaged in adaptation planning in smaller municipalities than in larger ones (29). This suggests small municipal authorities may have a comparative advantage over their larger counterparts in accessing and engaging local stakeholders. This is possibly due to several factors that include greater physical proximity between citizens and leadership and higher levels of established trust.
  • Collaboration for adaptation appears to be more feasible than for mitigation, as it is commonly viewed as being less politically polarised. This helps secure greater levels of consensus among local stakeholders and elected officials (5) (13). How the topic is framed can make a difference in gaining buy-in and support. This includes making clear the direct and immediate benefits of action.

Strong policy integration and reaping co-benefits of adaptation measures

  • Embedding adaptation in existing municipal regulatory mechanisms can lower the technical burden for small municipalities, allowing them to act even without dedicated staff or budgets. This includes land-use zoning and building controls, regulatory mechanisms that can mainstream adaptation even if capacity is an issue  (8) (13) (17). However, small municipalities may still need institutional and financial support to build expertise.
  • Incorporating adaptation ideas into municipal plans, budgets and sectoral policies can also increase resilience without requiring standalone plans (8) (17).
  • A significant and positive relationship exists between political awareness and the degree to which adaptation has been integrated into key documents and processes (8).

Inspirational case studies

The following case studies of three very small municipalities in different parts of Europe demonstrate the power of tapping into adaptation enablers to enhance resilience.

1Ober-Grafendorf, Austria2Kajárpéc, Hungary3Samsø, Denmark

Ober-Grafendorf is a small municipality in Lower Austria with just over 5,000 residents, which has become a national model for climate adaptation by pioneering the Ecostreet (Ökostraße) concept. This innovative form of urban rainwater management was developed after major flooding in 2024 left 15% of homes with flooded basements. Rather than expand costly sewerage systems, the town invested in drain gardens and green roadside strips that capture, filter and store water while cooling the town during heatwaves by up to 5°C. This shift was driven by urgent community concern.

Thanks to strong personal engagement from the municipality, early citizen demand for greener streets and partnerships with farmers and technical experts, Ober-Grafendorf paired its infrastructure with erosion-control ‘green stripes’, local vegetable-growing and trust-based regional markets. Despite having only 12 municipal staff, very limited funding and no dedicated environment department, the town makes effective use of European networks like the EU Covenant of Mayors and Climate Alliance, turning knowledge exchange into action.

Featured adaptation enablers: Leadership and community engagement; networks; policy integration.

Sebastian Wegerbauer

Source: (32) (33) (34).

Kajárpéc, a small village of approximately 1,400 inhabitants in western Hungary, stands out as an inspirational example of ambitious climate adaptation achieved under constraints common to small municipalities. It has limited finances, staff and ability to influence or shape policies and regulations imposed from above. However, the mayor personally knows all residents. Through close-knit community engagement, Kajárpéc has leveraged grassroots leadership and educational initiatives such as ‘living villages’ to drive regenerative agriculture, land-based permaculture and social cohesion. Climate mitigation projects include energy communities and voluntary residential consumption reductions. Alongside these efforts, Kajárpéc has advanced nature-based solutions such as community tree-planting, creative flood-management with local ‘water guardians’ and even letting beavers take the role as natural engineers to address both flash-flooding and desertification. 

Kajárpéc’s success is rooted in strong personal relationships, a culture of shared responsibility and an ecological mindset formed through playful and inclusive locally funded initiatives. These include street theatre about ecological footprints, garbage-themed escape rooms and annual hikes celebrating centuries-old oaks. By showing that progress is possible, even within restrictive frameworks, the village demonstrates how small communities can inspire each other — and others — to act boldly on climate. 

Featured adaptation enablers: Leadership and community engagement; policy integration; reaping co-benefits of adaptation measures.

György Laki

Source: (35) (36) (37) (38).

Samsø is an island with just under 3,700 inhabitants. Yet it has become an international role model for how even small municipalities can successfully combine climate change adaptation and energy transition despite political and financial isolation. Denmark designated Samsø as Denmark’s ‘renewable energy island’ in 1998. Samsø reached carbon neutrality in just six years, through local wind, solar, biomass and four community-owned district heating plants that today cover 90% of energy use. Samsø’s secret ingredient was early and strong citizen involvement. With this, the island has achieved its goal by integrating energy transition with flood prevention, sustainable land-use and biodiversity-friendly measures such as sustainable urban drainage ystems (SuDS) and natural coastal protection. An independent energy academy facilitated this participatory process, which ensured neutrality and trust among the population. Meanwhile, residents co-financed offshore wind parks, engaged in consensus-based decision-making and created both literal and mental co-ownership. 

Samsø’s definition of sustainability continues to evolve. Beyond energy, new priorities include cutting agricultural nutrient emissions to restore sea quality (supported by national funding to buy and repurpose farmland as farmers retire) and investing in higher-value sustainable production. Alongside flood protection and land restoration, these initiatives show how adaptation can drive both environmental renewal and economic resilience. By pairing grassroots leadership with municipal guarantees for investment, Samsø demonstrates how collective ownership can transform top-down restrictions into bottom-up innovation. Its approach has secured global recognition, from winning UN Climate Leaders award to serving as a model of energy democracy. 

Featured adaptation enablers: Strong policy integration; leadership; community engagement.

Jacques Rahr

Source: (39) (40) (41).

While these examples demonstrate what is possible, many smaller municipalities continue to face structural barriers that can limit the scale and speed of adaptation action.

Constraints of small municipalities in adapting to climate change

At the same time, many smaller municipalities face interconnected constraints that limit their ability to advance climate change adaptation. While identified constraints do not conclusively apply to all small municipalities, similar challenges across diverse contexts are seen.

Resources and capacities

  • Many small municipalities operate under chronic financial pressure due to limited tax bases, legal restrictions on revenue generation and less diversified economies. These factors constrain their ability to invest in adaptation measures (6) (12) (13).
  • Small municipalities are also less likely to have dedicated adaptation funding, access EU or international grants or use financial instruments (40). A significant positive correlation is found between population size and funding adaptation efforts (40).
  • Limited staffing capacities in small municipalities are a commonly cited obstacle to adaptation action (6) (12) (13).

Institutions and governance

  • A wide-spread lack of institutionalisation of adaptation activities is evident across small municipalities.
  • For example, governance structures are often hierarchical, fragmented and accompanied by missing or unclear responsibilities or legal mandates for climate change adaptation at the local level. This impedes context-sensitive and locally driven action (5) (8) (13). Issues concerning legal mandates are evidenced in the EEA's forthcoming analysis of governance reporting. This reveals that only 12 Member States had legal requirements for sub-national adaptation as of 2025 (41).
  • There is also a risk related to a lack of institutionalised responsibilities. Research in Austria and Germany finds that while the presence of single, committed, pro-active municipal actors driving adaptation processes can be a great asset, dependence on a single person creates significant vulnerability in case of personnel changes (42).
  • Political support for adaptation measures is also found to be lower in towns than in cities, limiting the mandate for action (5) (14). And any real or perceived lack of support from municipal leaders for addressing climate change adaptation is found to be a major barrier, particularly for small municipalities (8).
  • Adaptation topics were found to be less relevant in policy contexts or outside the competencies of small local municipalities (16).
  • Small municipalities indicated that mitigation goals take precedence over adaptation when resources are limited (5) (18).

Knowledge and Information

  • Small municipalities often lack access to professional and peer networks that could provide knowledge exchange, technical assistance and opportunities for collaborative funding (7) (12) (19). In many cases they also have less access to sources of knowledge and scientific capacity, such as universities, consulting firms and NGOs (7) (12) (19).
  • Small municipalities have less access to climate data, broad climate information and tools, and knowledge of subsidy programmes (7) (12) (20).

Looking forward

Europe’s small municipalities already demonstrate that meaningful progress on climate resilience is possible, even under significant human, technical and financial constraints. This briefing demonstrates that many smaller municipalities are not sitting idly and awaiting support from higher levels. They are instead identifying the most accessible adaptation enablers and acting. In small municipalities, the physical proximity of political leaders and their administrations to community members presents a possible comparative advantage over larger municipalities. This helps to drive community engagement and ownership of adaptation measures, with trust as a critical ingredient for progress. Yet significant structural challenges remain. Initiatives that open up access to existing municipal and peer exchange networks, research and funding opportunities, as well as those that reinforce strong multi-level governance systems are critical for small municipalities. This will ensure no municipality is left behind and that Europe responds to the growing risks of climate change. The creation of dedicated opportunities for boosting small municipality capacities, such as the New European Bauhaus (NEB) Boost for Small Municipalities, would help progress further.

The European Union and EU Member States share the responsibility of creating the necessary enabling conditions for these opportunities. The European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change report on strengthening resilience was published in February 2026. This indicated that at the EU level, sub-national resource constraints can be tackled partly through the economic governance framework and the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) (44). The climate resilience and risk management integrated framework also offers another key opportunity to further strengthen sub-national leadership on climate change adaptation. This creates the legislative and non-legislative conditions for the EU and Member States to support sub-national adaptation progress. Case studies in this briefing detail the efforts of regional governments in providing intermediary-level capacity and funding support for municipalities. These could be scaled further and replicated across the EU, should multi-level governance be truly embraced and strengthened at all levels.

1Identifiers2Acknowledgements3References

EEA Briefing 14/2026:

Title: Small but mighty — climate resilience in Europe’s small municipalities

HTML: TH-01-26-032-EN-Q - ISBN: 978-92-9480-784-7 - ISSN: 2467-3196 - doi: 10.2800/2227747

The European Environment Agency (EEA) would like to thank its partners from the European Environment Information and Observation Network (the EEA member countries (with comments from Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Latvia, and Turkey); the European Topic Centre on Climate Change Adaptation and LULUCF (ETC CA); Climate Alliance; Climate KIC; CMCC; and VITO for their valuable contributions and input.

  1. Perpiña Castillo, C., et al., 2023, ‘Urban–rural continuum: an overview of their interactions and territorial disparities’, Regional Science Policy & Practice 15(4), pp. 729-769 (DOI: 10.1111/rsp3.12592).
  2. Partidario, M. R., et al., 2026, Role of Ecosystem Services in Enabling Rural-Urban Synergies, Springer Cham.
  3. Eurostat, 2023, Local Administrative Units – Tables 2022 Provisional data, (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/345175/501971/EU-27-LAU-2022-NUTS-2021.xlsx).
  4. Dasí, J. D., et al., 2023, How small and medium sized towns and cities (SMSTCS) are considered in Europe and in EU policies (https://www.espon.eu/sites/default/files/publications/files/2024-12/espon-small-medium-sized-towns-and-cities-in-europe.pdf).
  5. Buschmann, D., et al., 2022, ‘Adaptation to climate change in small German municipalities: Sparse knowledge and weak adaptive capacities’, Natural Resources Forum 46(4), pp. 377-392 (DOI: 10.1111/1477-8947.12262).
  6. European Committee of the Regions, 2022, Opinion of the European Committee of the Regions on small urban areas as key actors to manage a just transition (2023/C 79/08)., no(2023/C 79/08) (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52022IR0136).
  7. Ricciardi, G., et al., 2023, ‘Climate change adaptation cycle for pilot projects development in small municipalities: The northwestern Italian regions case study’, City and Environment Interactions 17, p. 100097 (DOI: 10.1016/j.cacint.2022.100097).
  8. Selseng, T. and Gjertsen, A., 2024, ‘What drives sustainable climate change adaptation at the local level? Approaching three knowledge gaps’, Sustainable Development 32(6), pp. 6504-6519 (DOI: 10.1002/sd.3043).
  9. Degree of Urbanisation, Eurostat (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/degree-of-urbanisation/information-data).
  10. Boost for Small Municipalities, New European Bauhaus (https://prizes.new-european-bauhaus.europa.eu/municipalities).
  11. Eurostat, 2025, Territorial typologies manual – urban rural typology. Statistics Explained, (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Territorial_typologies_manual_-_urban-rural_typology).
  12. EC, JRC, Risk Data Hub – Vulnerability Dashboard. Disaster Risk Management Knowledge Centre (DRMKC), (https://drmkc.jrc.ec.europa.eu/risk-data-hub#/vulnerability/dashboard) accessed 12 August 2025.
  13. Sibilia, A., et al., 2024, ‘Developing a multi-level european-wide composite indicator to assess vulnerability dynamics across time and space’, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 113, p. 104885 (DOI: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2024.104885).
  14. Friedrich, T., et al., 2024, Kommunalbefragung Klimaanpassung 2023 – Teilbericht., Institut für sozial-ökologische Forschung, SOKO Institut für Sozialforschung und Kommunikation, UP Transfer GmbH an der Universität Potsdam. (www.umweltbundesamt.de/publikationen).
  15. Otto, A., et al., 2021, ‘Ranking local climate policy: assessing the mitigation and adaptation activities of 104 German cities’, Climatic Change 167(1-2), p. 5 (DOI: 10.1007/s10584-021-03142-9).
  16. Bausch, T. and Koziol, K., 2020, ‘New Policy Approaches for Increasing Response to Climate Change in Small Rural Municipalities’, Sustainability 12(5), p. 1894 (DOI: 10.3390/su12051894).
  17. Fünfgeld, H., et al., 2023, ‘Upscaling climate change adaptation in small- and medium-sized municipalities: current barriers and future potentials’, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 61, p. 101263 (DOI: 10.1016/j.cosust.2023.101263).
  18. Reckien, D., et al., 2018, ‘How are cities planning to respond to climate change? Assessment of local climate plans from 885 cities in the EU-28’, Journal of Cleaner Production 191, pp. 207-219 (DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.03.220).
  19. Bezerra, P., et al., 2025, GCoM - MyCovenant, 6th Release - January 2025, (http://data.europa.eu/89h/6684edc9-9b78-464a-990d-810555957550) accessed 10 December 2025.
  20. Paterson, S. K., et al., 2017, ‘Size does matter: City scale and the asymmetries of climate change adaptation in three coastal towns’, Geoforum 81, pp. 109-119 (DOI: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2017.02.014).
  21. Häußler, S. and Haupt, W., 2021, ‘Climate change adaptation networks for small and medium-sized cities’, SN Social Sciences 1(11), p. 262 (DOI: 10.1007/s43545-021-00267-7).
  22. EEA, Forthcoming, Climate Risks and Resilience in Europe 2025: Progress and Challenges Across the Adaptation Cycle, EEA.
  23. Aguiar, F. C., et al., 2018, ‘Adaptation to climate change at local level in Europe: An overview’, Environmental Science & Policy 86, pp. 38-63 (DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2018.04.010).
  24. EU Covenant of Mayor Office, 2025, Interview conversation.
  25. EU Covenant of Mayors, 2023, ‘Galicia’s regional Covenant: harnessing local climate action to raise regional ambitions’ (https://eu-mayors.ec.europa.eu/en/Galicia-regional-Covenant-harnessing-local-climate-action-to-raise-regional-ambitions) accessed 10 October 2025.
  26. EU Covenant of Mayors, 2026, ‘The EU Covenant of Mayors at the heart of multilevel governance in Italy’ (https://eu-mayors.ec.europa.eu/en/com-munity-stories/eu-covenant-mayors-heart-multilevel-governance-italy).
  27. Fila, D., et al., 2023, ‘Climate change adaptation with limited resources: adaptive capacity and action in small- and medium-sized municipalities’, Environment, Development and Sustainability 26(3), pp. 5607-5627 (DOI: 10.1007/s10668-023-02999-3).
  28. Hauge, Å. L., et al., 2019, ‘Multilevel networks for climate change adaptation – what works?’, International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management 11(2), pp. 215-234 (DOI: 10.1108/IJCCSM-10-2017-0194).
  29. EEA, 2020, Urban adaptation in Europe: how cities and towns respond to climate change., Publications Office, LU.
  30. Marktgemeinde Ober‑Grafendorf, n.d, Climate brochure, (https://gemeinde.ober-grafendorf.gv.at/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/10/com-brochure-climate-en-web.pdf) accessed 14 November 2025.
  31. EEA, 2017, Environment-friendly urban street design for decentralized ecological rainwater management in Ober-Grafendorf, Lower Austria (https://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/en/metadata/case-studies/environment-friendly-urban-street-design-for-decentralized-ecological-rainwater-management-in-ober-grafendorf-lower-austria?set_language=en) accessed 14 November 2025.
  32. Handlfinger, R., 2025, Interview conversations.
  33. Village of Kajárpéc (HU), n.d, Shares (https://shares-project.eu/project/pilots/village-of-kajarpec-hu) accessed 14 November 2025.
  34. Kajárpéc Municipal Government, n.d, ‘Kajárpéc’ (https://kajarpec.hu) accessed 14 November 2025.
  35. Laki, G., 2025, Interview.
  36. Laki, G., 2024, ‘Flood and desertification at the same time’, conference paper presented at: Climate Alliance International Conference, Cascais, Portugal, 10 October 2024.
  37. Meijer, M. and Kristensen, M., 2025, Interview.
  38. Samsø, n.d, Smart Rural 27 (https://www.smartrural27.eu/village/samso/) accessed 14 November 2025.
  39. Samsø Energiakademi, n.d, Samsø Energiakademi (https://energiakademiet.dk/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) accessed 14 November 2025.
  40. Venner, K., et al., 2025, ‘Who leads, who lags? Inter-urban inequities in European climate adaptation funding and financing’, Environmental Research Letters 20(7), p. 074061 (DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/adde71).
  41. EEA, Forthcoming, Climate Risks and Resilience in Europe 2025: Progress and Challenges Across the Adaptation Cycle, European Envionment Agency.
  42. Klimawandelpassung, ‘GOAL’ (https://www.klimawandelanpassung.at/goal) accessed 27 April 2026.
  43. Campos, I., et al., 2017, ‘Understanding climate change policy and action in Portuguese municipalities: A survey’, Land Use Policy 62, pp. 68-78 (DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2016.12.015).
  44. European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change, 2026, Strengthening Resilience to Climate Change - Recommendations for an effective EU adaptation policy framework, Copenhagen (https://climate-advisory-board.europa.eu/reports-and-publications/strengthening-resilience-to-climate-change-recommendations-for-an-effective-eu-adaptation-policy-framework) accessed 2 March 2026.