Nikki Kent, led coaching in Gibraltar over three days to help environment officials, stakeholders and town planners develop an effective climate change adaptation strategy.

Over 196 responses to the survey were received from cities across Europe, the majority of which were from the Mediterranean (41%) and North-western Europe (23%).  81% out of the 196 cities have experienced periods of hot weather and heat waves. They expect this to be the main impact over the next 30 years that they will have to deal with.  Looking ahead 71% of cities surveyed expect an increase in periods of reduced water availability as well.  Around a third of the cities do not believe that there is sufficient support in the form of networks and task forces, funding or specific adaptation guidance or tools for adaptation planning in their cities.  There is a lack of budget and resources to prepare for the impacts of climate change. 20% of the 196 cities surveyed do not have resources allocated yet to implement their strategy and just 1% have resources fully allocated also beyond current budgeting period. Insufficient guidance and tools at all levels and a lack of political commitment are considered the main barriers. 14% of cities have an adaptation strategy which is mandatory due to a legal obligation; others (34%) have made a public commitment to voluntarily produce an adaptation strategy.

We are happy to present the 21 cities that have been selected for the training and capacity building phase of the EU Cities Adapt project. We have received a total of 48 applications and the selection has been all but easy. We would like to thank every city who applied for their interest in getting involved in the project.

How vulnerable could your city be to climate impacts?

The ADWICE Stakeholder Exchange Conference will take place in Brussels (Belgium) on 2 October 2012. The event will address the impacts of climate change on drinking water resources in all regions of the EU, the vulnerability of water resources and the measures that may be taken to mitigate or adapt, and sharing illustrations and best practices. Registration for the conference is now open. The one-day conference is free of charge.

As the climate changes, cities around the world are increasingly suffering from extreme weather events. Reports about cities hit by floods, droughts, heat or cold waves now make regular appearances in the news. As John Vidal put it in an article in the Guardian from 4 July, ‘formerly rare occurrences are becoming the new normal’.

The second Stakeholder Dialogue generously hosted and well supported by the city of Ancona saw over 60 participants from various European countries. There was a good mix of stakeholders including representatives from national and city governments, researchers, scientists, and private sector professionals.

We're just back from an exciting day of exchange and learning at our Stakeholder Dialogue in Ancona. It has been a thrilling event with a diverse mix of participants including city representatives from London, Venice, Burgas, Ghent and many more. We were also pleased to welcome a good mix of researchers, scientists, planners, architects and experts from institutions like the European Environment Agency and the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.

The first EU Cities Adapt Stakeholder Dialogue was hosted by the city of Aalborg, Denmark, on 6th June 2012.  The dialogue saw city representatives from the Baltic and North Sea regions gather to discuss and exchange experiences on climate change adaptation for an urban context.

The survey *Preparing for Climate Change in Cities* supports the project in its objectives to expand the knowledge base.  Based on a selection of multiple-choice questions it will help obtain an overview of where cities in the EU stand with regard to adapting to climate change. Cities are asked to provide information on past and expected exposure to weather and climate related hazards and extreme events, on their status on adaptation to climate change and existing or required support as well as on details on risk assessments and adaptation strategies that might be in place. The results of the survey will feed into the state of play report on adaptation in European cities.

A new tool, The Resilient House, has been launched by the Task Force on Climate Change Adaptation under the Danish Ministry of the Environment

*Resource Efficiency: Call for views and best practices** *