CF_D10 D4.5 Informal establishment of Local Resilient Taskforces in four territories

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. Deliverable 4.5 Informal establishment of Local Resilient Taskforces in four territories Alice Ferrant Noémie Autran Ramboll 1 www.climatefit-heu.eu DELIVERABLE INFORMATION © CLIMATEFIT Consortium, 2024 This deliverable contains original unpublished work except when indicated otherwise. Acknowledgement of previously published material and of the work of others has been made through appropriate citation, quotation, or both. Reproduction is authorised if the source is acknowledged. This document has been prepared in the framework of the European project CLIMATEFIT. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme under grant agreement no. 101112705. The sole responsibility for the content of this publication lies with the authors. It does not necessarily represent the opinion of the European Union. Neither the CINEA nor the European Commission are responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein. Deliverable Number and Name D4.5. Informal establishment of Local Resilient Taskforces in four territories Work Package WP4. Pilot solutions on four leader territories Dissemination Level PU – Public Author(s) Alice Ferrant (Ramboll), Noémie Autran (Ramboll) Primary Contact and Email Alice Ferrant (Ramboll), [email protected] Date Due 31/12/2024 (postponed to 31/01/2025) Date Submitted 30/01/2024 File Name CFIT_D4_5-Informal-launch-LRT Status Reviewed by (if applicable) Consortium partners: Alexandra JAUNET (ACT) Anna Lea EGGERT (WCF) Suggested citation Ferrant, A., Autran, N. (2025). Informal establishment of Local Resilient Taskforces in four territories. CLIMATEFIT Horizon Europe 2 www.climatefit-heu.eu List of contents DELIVERABLE INFORMATION............................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Abbreviations ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Glossary ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 1. Definition and purposes of LRTs ...............................................................................................................................................................................6 1.1. Definitions ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................6 1.2. Purposes of Local Resilience Taskforces .............................................................................................................................................. 10 2. LRTs within CLIMATEFIT project ............................................................................................................................................................................ 11 3. Process implemented to conceptualise the LRTs .................................................................................................................................... 13 3.1. Literature review ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13 3.2. Collaborative work with consortium members ..................................................................................................................................15 3.3. Conceptualising Local Resilience Taskforces ............................................................................................................................. 16 3.4. Mapping the adaptation and financial contexts in the four leader territories ..................................................... 17 3.5. Supporting the four leader territories ................................................................................................................................................. 18 4. Methodologies and tools developed to establish the LRTs ............................................................................................................ 20 4.1. LRT model ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 20 4.2. Stakeholders’ engagement strategy ................................................................................................................................................... 25 4.3. Planification tools for CLIMATEFIT leader territories ............................................................................................................. 25 5. LRT establishment process ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 27 5.1. Implementation timeline and monitoring .............................................................................................................................................. 27 5.2. Progress of the leader territories............................................................................................................................................................ 28 5.3. Next steps and replication ........................................................................................................................................................................... 38 Annexes ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................40 Annexe 1: literature review’s list of references .................................................................................................................................................40 Annexe 2: Example of a planning document design to support Alba Iulia’s municipality in implementing its LRT ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 43 Annex 3: Strasbourg LRT launch agenda – 02/12/24 ................................................................................................................................ 44 3 www.climatefit-heu.eu Abbreviations Abbreviation Description AFFS Adaptation funding and financing solution EUNLRT European network of Local Resilience Taskforce FIE Financing and investment entity IC Investment concept IM Incentive Mechanisms IP Investment plan IS Investment strategy LRT Local Resilience Taskforce MEL Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning PA Public authority UA University of Antwerp WP Work Package 4 www.climatefit-heu.eu Glossary Adaptation Funding and Financing Solution (AFFS): Any funding/financing/guarantee scheme/grants, or a combination thereof necessary to finance the investment concept. Champions: Identified FIE, consulted during the project, with excellent knowledge of key innovative AFFS that will be tested. Financing & Investment Entities (FIEs): Organisations and stakeholders that provide all types of funding and financing sources for climate resilience. Incentive Mechanisms (IM): Any measure or scheme to attract/reward FIEs. This can range from changes/introduction of enabling laws/regulations, to providing grants/subsidies/tariff support to investment concepts, to introducing new investment/financing schemes. Incentive mechanisms are proposed and offered by the public sector (EU, national, regional, or local) to the private sector to attract/mobilise private financing, de-risk innovative solutions and overcome funding/financings barriers for climate adaptation projects. Investment Cases (IC): Demonstration of the readiness to implement investment plans, including robust AFFS uniquely matched to the need, context and condition of each territory and capabilities of actors engaged in the taskforces, allowing the mainstreaming of adaptation into the finance and economic sector and PAs considerations. Investment Concept (IC): Document that translates an investment project idea into the financial language to mobilise financing for its realisation. The purpose is to provide investors and financial institutions with the information necessary to assess an investment project in a simple and fast manner. The owner of this document is the territory proposing the investment project. Investment plans (IP): Operationalising the investment strategies with measurable goals, including estimated resources needs, required innovative IC and IM and optimised articulation and combination of financing sources for successful implementation. Investment Strategies (IS): Set of principles designed to help an actor increase investment in climate resilience using a systemic and catalytic approach. Public Authority (PAs): Local or regional authority that has the climate resilience competence. 5 www.climatefit-heu.eu Introduction Territories are at the frontline of climate adaptation action and financing. Adaptation to climate change is the answer to local and specific climate impacts. Adaptation actions range from reaction to existing climate events to transformation of human activities, assets, institutions, infrastructures, and networks, and are often cross-sectoral. Local Public Authorities (PAs), are thus at the frontline of its implementation, bearing most of its financial weight. CLIMATEFIT Horizon project tackles this issue through the development of methodologies which will support PAs in complementing traditional adaptation funding sources with new sources of funding and financing. Objectives of the deliverable CLIMATEFIT supports the conceptual development and concrete application of Investment concepts (ICs), Incentive Mechanisms (IMs) and Adaptation Funding and Financing Solutions (AFFSs), which are tested at local level by PAs and relevant stakeholders, in particular public and private Financing and Investment Entities (FIEs). These stakeholders are brought together in local working groups known as Local Resilience Taskforces (LRTs). The current deliverable has been drafted under the project’s Task 4.1, “Stakeholder engagement in each territory in a systemic and catalytic approach to adaptation finance”. Running from M5 to M26 of the project, the task aims to conceptualise Local Resilience Taskforces and involve stakeholders in four leader territories from Italy, France, Belgium, and Romania through the implementation of LRTs. Led by Ramboll, the task allows for the development of a model for stakeholders’ engagement, fostering dynamic interaction between stakeholders and setting the ground for further application and scaling up of the concept. The stakeholders’ engagement approach developed lays the ground for the social innovation process supporting the implementation of the ICs, IMs and the associated AFFSs. The concept of LRT is translated in each of the four leader territories through a specific structure and communication strategy. The project’s Grant Agreement states that LRTs must be informally established in each of the four leader territories by December 2024. LRTs will then be replicated in the rest of CLIMATEFIT territories through Task 5.1 and to more territories across Europe in Task 5.3. The aim of this deliverable is therefore to provide evidence of LRTs’ informal launch in the Eurometropole of Strasbourg (France), in the municipality of Alba Iulia (Romania), in the Flanders Region (Belgium), and in the municipality of Brescia (Italy). 6 www.climatefit-heu.eu 1. Definition and purposes of LRTs 1.1. Definitions LRTs gather multiple stakeholders directly concerned by climate adaptation planning, funding, and financing, in order to support the deployment of innovative processes and solutions, which will foster climate adaptation locally. What are LRTs? Local Resilience Taskforces will bring stakeholders together to foster adaptation finance. LRTs can be defined as innovative concepts underlying the deployment of CLIMATEFIT’s research process. They provide a structure for regional and local stakeholders’ engagement, laying the ground for social innovation approaches, adopted through the chronological steps of the project, from adaptation strategies, through adaptation plans to adaptation investment cases. “Social innovation is the process of developing and deploying effective solutions to challenging and often systemic social and environmental issues in support of social progress.” 1 It requires the participation and cooperation of all concerned stakeholders across sectors: governments, businesses, civil society. The format of LRTs is also needed to apply the catalytic and systemic approach of resilience investment promoted by CLIMATEFIT and enables to boost the aggregation of several small climate adaptation project and make them more bankable. As part of the methodology developed through CLIMATEFIT, they contribute to the implementation of processes to overcome these barriers and create conditions for the funding and financing of local adaptation solutions across Europe, through stakeholder engagement. As described in the Grant Agreement, LRTs embody the “catalytic and systemic” approach of resilience investment promoted by CLIMATEFIT, by gathering “multiple regional stakeholders, and enable and boost the aggregation of several small [climate adaptation] projects”. Systemic and catalytic approach: targeting the financing of both the adaptation strategy and of resilience in other more conventional projects and ensuring the project’s legacy lives on and amplifies after its end, by the creation of an enabling environment: supporting the role of public funding to attract private investments, following a holistic approach with the creation of LRTs, and informing EU sustainable finance policies. Through this systemic and catalytic approach, CLIMATEFIT aims at scaling up adaptation finance. Instead of considering adaptation projects on a case-by-case basis, the approach promoted in CLIMATEFIT will integrate adaptation finance into more global investment strategies. At the territories’ level, all relevant stakeholders are identified and engaged through Local Resilience Taskforces. Adaptation is not only envisioned in a global strategy, but also mainstreamed in existing investment flows and in projects with various objectives. CLIMATEFIT’s methodology and the implementation of LRTs also play a catalytic role by better organising finance flows towards adaptation measures. The innovative tools and funding and financing solutions 1 Standford Center for Social Innovation, https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/experience/about/centersinstitutes/csi/defining-social-innovation, consulted on 22.08.24 7 www.climatefit-heu.eu developed and implemented through the project will create incentives for further replication and extension of adaptation finance overall. General characteristics LRTs are local and context dependant. LRTs cover a delimited area at the local or regional level, allowing to identify and bundle adaptation projects. They are rooted in the local adaptation, legislative, and financial contexts and aim to overcome barriers to adaptation finance at the local level. Even if generic LRT establishment models are developed through CLIMATEFIT their eventual legal form and organisation will be dependent on the local context and stakeholders involved. Political or legal constraints and existing collaborations with specific local entities must be taken into consideration when defining the LRT membership and engagement strategies. LRTs are multi-stakeholder groups with delimited membership. Within CLIMATEFIT, LRTs are initiated by local Public Authorities (PA) supported by their facilitators. Together, they identify relevant stakeholders, involve them to join the LRT, define the taskforce’s primary objectives, and coordinate the administrative matters of the LRTs. Stakeholders can only join the LRT upon invitation from the PA, the facilitator, or existing members of the LRT. Stakeholders are engaged gradually, based on existing connections with the PA and the facilitator, as well as their role in adaptation planning, funding, and financing. Their engagement follows a strategy described in a dedicated document. Stakeholders are engaged in the LRT through engagement activities (workshops, training, outreach campaigns, FIE Champion recruitment, agreements, etc.). LRTs encourage a collaborative approach of innovation. An LRT is an arena where representatives from different entities (PAs, FIEs, companies, technical partners) interact, debate, and discuss to enhance their respective capacities/maturities, to guide internal decisionmaking processes toward the successful concretisation of Investment Cases to co-develop and test solutions towards the funding and financing of adaptation solutions. The arena allows adaptation projects holders to meet with relevant financing and funding sources. Within the LRTs, stakeholders will adopt a social innovation approach, which means they will take part in activities to collectively plan and design (1) investment strategies; (2) investment plans; (3) investment cases. Within the project, the social innovation approach is often mentioned as “co-creation” or “co-design”. LRTs are experimental arenas meant to test innovative methodologies towards the identification of adaptation financing and funding solutions through social innovation. The variety of activities run through LRTs will improve the overall understanding of what works for catalysing local resilience investment. In order to sustain stakeholders’ engagement through the project and beyond, the LRT will include within its scope satellite activities, which will foster connections and exchanges between stakeholders. These activities will also aim at providing common bases for stakeholders to work efficiently and benefit from their participation in the LRT. LRTs’ implementation is flexible and evolutive. LRTs will be evolutive and their implementation will inform models and guidelines for replicability across European territories. 8 www.climatefit-heu.eu Associated concepts LRT models are developed according to a generic structure, introduced hereafter, and its adjustment to local context and situations. They are informed by data collected through the observation of LRT implementation in CLIMATEFIT’s four leader territories. Social innovation is the process of developing and deploying effective solutions to challenging and often systemic social and environmental issues in support of social progress.” 2 It requires the participation and cooperation of all concerned stakeholders across sectors: governments, businesses, civil society. Throughout CLIMATEFIT, social innovation entails a collaborative process between various stakeholders including local authorities and Financing and Investment Entities, which will allow to translate local resilience investment plans into investment cases. This process covers stakeholder engagement activities, and a methodological framework creating the conditions for the emergence of investment cases. Leader territories are four territories engaged in CLIMATEFIT as consortium members and already advanced on climate adaptation issues. They are the following: - Region of Flanders, Belgium - Strasbourg metropolitan area, France - Alba Iulia municipality, Romania - Brescia municipality, Italy Each territory is represented by a public authority (PA), supported by a facilitator. Their local contexts are described in local regime maps. Local regime maps describe climate features, climate adaptation and landscape and funding and financing regimes within the territories developing LRTs. They identify the main stakeholders involved in adaptation policy and implementation, as well as existing and potential sources of adaptation funding and financing (also considered as stakeholders). Stakeholders are actors (individuals, organisations, groups) affected by a project, a decision, or an action. In CLIMATEFIT, stakeholders are identified based on their role in adaptation planning, funding or financing, and implementation. They can come both from the public or the private sector. Main types of stakeholders involved in LRTs are presented in the figure 2 below. Stakeholder engagement covers multiple activities allowing the participation of stakeholders into decision making. This participation can take different forms, from information to co-creation (see figure 1 below). A dedicated document, the LRT Stakeholder engagement strategy, has been drafted in order to specially guide PAs and their facilitators into the process of engaging stakeholders. It shares inputs on how to operationalise the LRT models, which are only “static” descriptions of LRTs and their possible organisation. Insights into communication activities throughout the engagement process are also given in the engagement strategy. No specific communication strategy has been drafted for LRT implementation, as it would overlap with the CLIMATEFIT Communication strategy and the project’s FIEs engagement strategy. 2 Standford Center for Social Innovation, https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/experience/about/centersinstitutes/csi/defining-social-innovation, consulted on 22.08.24 15 www.climatefit-heu.eu Local Resilience Taskforces take the form of closed arenas, at least in the period following their launch. These arenas, build locally, gather stakeholders from different sectors aiming towards a common goal: enabling the funding and financing of climate adaptation solutions on a delimited territory. 3.2. Collaborative work with consortium members The development of the concept of Local Resilience Taskforces, its definition and translation into a generic model to be translated in local contexts, relied on a collaborative work and the engagement of various partners across the project’s consortium. Workshop in Ljubljana On March 27, as part of the Consortium Meeting held in Ljubljana, a world café was held to collect first feedback from consortium members on the Local Resilience Taskforces. Split in several groups, project partners had to answer several questions on the format and scope of LRTs. The main learnings are introduced below. • There already exist dialogue arenas between stakeholders on climate change-related topics. When such an arena exists on a specific territory, the option of incorporating the LRT into this arena should be considered. However, this should not prevent the creation of an LRT with very specific stakeholders and activities. Indeed, there lack opportunities for public authorities and FIEs to discuss and work together on climate adaptation finance. • What are the needs behind the creation of LRTs? PAs and FIEs do not speak the same language. The LRT could serve as an intermediary, and a capacity building space where PAs and FIEs can understand each other better to overcome barriers linked with adaptation funding and financing. • What will FIEs gain from joining LRTs? FIEs could gain capacity building on climate-adaptation topics and implication for their business (e.g. aligning with the taxonomy, avoid physical risks). The LRT can provide them networking and business opportunities and allow them to position themselves on a front-hedge market. Being part of the LRT can contribute to their reputation and anchorage in the territory. • What will PAs gain from the LRTs? As several departments of the PAs are recommended to take part in the LRT, the PAs would first benefit from cross-department and collaborative work, allowing for more efficient internal work on climate adaptation (e.g. the green space management team, the water management team and the budget team could gain from getting to know each other and how they could better work together). PAs can gain capacity building on financial matters and be better equipped to discuss and negotiate with FIEs. If investment cases emerged from the LRT, the PA will benefit from sharing the financial weight of adaptation projects with partners. • How open would be the LRT? What stakeholders should be engaged first? One of the main conclusions of the workshop was the need to implement a gradual engagement process, starting with internal and public stakeholders (PA’s departments, regional and environmental public authorities, public FIEs), as well as most engaged FIEs (members of the consortium and FIE champions). The LRT should be a closed arena with targeted stakeholders. It could later involve other private stakeholders (e.g. local companies contributing to adaptation to climate change, NGOs working on climate adaptation). Involving the greater public could be done under certain circumstances: external consultation to collect the population’s consent or through NGOs representing public interests. • Some questions remained unsolved: how to deal with the LRT’s actions publication? Would this turn FIEs engagement down? How to make sure that the general interest is still targeted when involving private stakeholders in local adaptation projects? How to make sure FIEs will be willing to take part in the LRTs? 16 www.climatefit-heu.eu Continuous feedback from project partners The LRTs were central to discussions in many meetings and across work package during the year preceding the informal LRT launch in the four leader territories. A taskforce dedicated to collaborative thinking between WP2 (capacity building and investment strategies), WP3 (investment plans) and T4.1 (stakeholders’ engagement through LRTs) was implemented. Based on the literature review, the workshop in Ljubljana and continuous exchanges and meetings with project partners, the LRTs were conceptualised through an evolutive concept note. Overall, the definition of Local Resilience Taskforces resulted from a precious collaborative and iterative work from various consortium members. 3.3. Conceptualising Local Resilience Taskforces Principles for stakeholders’ engagement and LRTs implementation The literature review and exchanges with project partners allowed to highlight two main principles for the establishment of LRTs. First, the establishment of LRTs in the 4 Leader Territories should follow a two-fold approach, both bottom-up and top-down. It should indeed be strongly anchored to the territories’ local context. Depending on the local financial and regulatory framework, as well as the main stakeholders in adaptation finance, and the adaptation finance gap, the LRT’s organisation and purpose will change. On the other hand, the LRTs are also conceptualised and advertised at a higher level, through CLIMATEFIT, through the involvement of national stakeholders (ministries, environment agencies, national public funders or FIEs acting at the national level) and thanks to their connections established with the European LRT Network (WP5). Then, the establishment of LRTs must be a gradual process (see Figure 4), gathering at first the most committed and relevant stakeholders: PAs, potential higher level public authorities acting as a support and guarantee for FIEs, and Champions, whether FIEs or companies. The LRT should build as much as possible on existing communities of practice around adaptation finance. The process is to be monitored in a flexible way. A minimum involvement will be required at the beginning and the establishment is not forced to be legally formalized. Further stakeholders will be gradually or occasionally involved depending on topics and financing solutions covered. 17 www.climatefit-heu.eu Figure 4 : Gradual involvement of stakeholders within LRTs. More specifically, three stakeholder engagement principles were emphasised: • Tailoring engagement strategies to the type of stakeholder and their maturity with regard to financing adaptation to climate change; • Relying on the commitment of a core group to then engage further stakeholders, especially FIEs, which are particularly peer-sensitive; • Developing an iterative process to gather relevant stakeholders all along the different stages. Tailoring LRTs to match CLIMATEFIT’s objectives – LRTs’ structure. The literature review emphasized the main components of every local working group. It was then decided to structure the LRT around 4 main components: governance and scale, financial and technical requirements, membership, and scope and activities. The translation of these components into reality in each territory depends on the local context. Within CLIMATEFIT, this translation process will also feed a replication activity supported by WP5. The LRT concept has also been refined from September 2024, with the advancement of project tasks on the development of investment strategies and investment plans. 3.4. Mapping the adaptation and financial contexts in the four leader territories In order to develop adjusted engagement strategies, the various types of stakeholders to involved in an LRT were mapped and described. This mapping of stakeholder’s types was then matched with the local stakeholders’ mapping conducted through the Investment Landscape definition in WP1. This work allowed to share with PAs and facilitators of the leader territories, a clear vision of the stakeholders to engage in their territory and the tools and relevant timeline to involve those stakeholders into the LRT. 18 www.climatefit-heu.eu 3.5. Supporting the four leader territories Once the LRT had been defined, and its initial principles and components set out, it was possible to introduce the concept to the four leader territories, to help them understand it and translate it into reality locally. The main milestones in the discussions with the 4 leader territories are explained in this section. Initial contacts A one-hour LRT introductory meeting was organized with each Leader Territory with their respective Facilitator following several objectives: • Formally introduce the LRT concept, their different players (i.e. PAs, FIEs, facilitators, public organisations, businesses, civil society, CLIMATEFIT's technical partners), and their role within CLIMATEFIT from IS to IC development, namely: o Creating dialogue spaces for FIEs, local PAs and relevant stakeholders; o Make climate adaptation projects more bankable; o Testing innovative adaptation funding and financing solutions; o Identifying relevant financing and funding sources and fostering codesign of innovative solutions. • Outline the timeline and the various milestones in the gradual implementation of the LRT, in particular to discuss the vision of PAs regarding the involvement of FIEs (who, how, when?). • Introduce and provide recommendations on the four components of the LRT (governance & scale, financial & technical requirements, membership, scope & activities) to be discussed by the PAs and the facilitators to define their local LRT model. • Obtain initial inputs from PAs and facilitators on their vision of LRT in their territory on the basis of the 4 components presented, by guiding their thoughts with questions such as: o What are the financial resources available to cover the LRT operational expenditures? o Where do the human and logistic resources lie? Which organisation will bear them? o How to engage stakeholders? What is the role of each stakeholder? Based on this exchange, an LRT planning document was drawn up for each Leader Territory, presenting the progress of LRT design in the territory by component. The document is completed step by step throughout the whole LRT design process. It has been sent to each leader territory and their respective facilitator for further completion. Alba Iulia’s planning document is to be found in Annex 2. Second meeting A second one-hour bilateral meeting was held with each leading territory and each facilitator, to: • Report on their progress and gather questions on completing the planning document and each component of the LRT. • Outline the LRT Engagement strategy under development. This strategy identifies relevant stakeholders to involve in the LRT, describes how to reach out to them and motivate them to join the LRT, suggests steps and activities to engage stakeholders and sustain their engagement in the longer run. It assumes that the LRT follows a gradual construction process, where stakeholders should support the achievement of the necessary maturity at each stage to optimize and improve collaborative work between stakeholders. • Discuss which stakeholders to include at each stage of LRT development, and methods of engagement, particularly for FIEs. This includes proposing global communication on CLIMATEFIT to the FIEs as soon as the LRT is launched, before inviting them to participate in the LRT at the appropriate time. • Discuss the first activities to be set up within the LRT (e.g. consultation workshop on adaptation finance needs), and in particular the LRT launch activity (program, guests, objectives). We also present them with a first draft of the investment strategy implementation methodology, which will determine the LRT's activities. 19 www.climatefit-heu.eu Table 1 : Extract from the Engagement strategy - general process and main stages Stage 1 Setting the ground to launch the LRT with a core team and supporting the development of investments strategies. • Identify and map key stakeholders • Attract stakeholders and build shared knowledge through capacity building activities • Informal LRT launching event/workshop • Organize specific activities dedicated to information collection and participation of stakeholders to develop investment strategies, and as part of the fast-track mechanism Stage 2 Extending the LRT to relevant stakeholders, mainly FIEs not engaged yet, and supporting the cocreation process leading to the development of investment plans. • LRT launching event • Definition of a shared roadmap • Secure stakeholders’ engagement with dedicated tools • Organise LRT activities to support the cocreation of IPs with stakeholders Stage 3 Running the LRT towards the development of investment cases. • Sustain stakeholders’ engagement • Engage additional stakeholders when relevant • Set the ground for the development of investment cases and test of Adaptation Funding and Financing Solutions Workshop in Antwerp The Antwerp consortium meeting was used to move forward on LRTs with the various territories, with technical support from the different partners. Two sessions were organized: • A session with all consortium members, dedicated to the fulfilment of the various purposes of the LRT, since LRTs are associated with several goals, which can follow different chronologies and require various activities. They can be thought as instrument to codesign investment strategies and plans through social innovation processes. They aim at engaging various stakeholders and primarily FIEs around the subject of climate adaptation finance. They are expected to create innovation and spur the identification and implementation of innovative adaptation financing solutions. With leader territories starting to translate the LRT concept into reality, aligning with these different goals can be tricky for PAs and facilitators. That is why Ramboll organised a collective reflection on how to best achieve and articulate these various goals. • A peer-to-peer experience sharing session to help territories preparing their LRT launch and development. The territories were able to share their constraints, the obstacles met and foreseen solutions. It revolved around 3 main issues raised during meeting with leader territories: what kind of structure to adopt for the LRT, how to engage stakeholders, and primarily FIEs, and how to launch the LRT. Planning the launch of the LRT in line with the start of the IS phase Following the Antwerp meeting, now that the LRT leaders have a clearer idea of the structure of their LRT, how it will operate and which members to invite, they should be helped to contact and invite the various stakeholders and to prepare the launch of the LRT. This must take place before or at the beginning of the strategy investment phase, which relies on LRTs for some of its modules. Thus, the stakeholder engagement strategy has been drafted to help the leader territories communicate about the LRT and invite its members to participate in its activities. To facilitate communication and give stakeholders a better understanding of the purpose of the LRT, Ramboll then produced a PowerPoint detailing the objectives of the LRT and its link with the development of the IS. To ensure that these tools are fully understood, and that progress is being made in setting up the LRT, a meeting has been scheduled with each of the leading territories, with the aim of: • following the progress of stakeholder invitations; 20 www.climatefit-heu.eu • finding out how their LRT will be launched (internal workshop, launching event with many actors, etc.); • reporting their difficulties and needs; • recall the links between investment strategy and LRTs. Regular follow-up by e-mail is also organized to ensure that the LRT is launched soon and that stakeholders are successfully involved. 4. Methodologies and tools developed to establish the LRTs Throughout the process of defining and establishing the LRT, various documents were produced to consolidate the concept and support its development. These are detailed in this section. 4.1. LRT model The LRT model is a key document that has been drawn up to provide a definition of the LRT and its objectives, as well as a detailed description of its structure and generic components that must be adapted to each local context (see Figure 5 for the model’s components). Below is an extract from the LRT model document, focusing on the description of the generic components of the LRT to be applied locally. Figure 5 : Components of the LRT, and interactions with the local context and monitoring process. LRT coordination Governance and scale 21 www.climatefit-heu.eu Administrative activities Administrative activities cover the activities linked to the creation and running activities of the LRT, as well as daily membership management. Strategic activities Strategic activities are linked with the decision power within the LRT, its objectives and scope, but also with generic decisions over membership management. Governance format Defines clear responsibilities and appoints roles to members • Secretary • Chairperson • Steering committee Organises exchanges and the overall decision process. • How is a decision taken? What does it need to go through? Who can take a decision? Who can submit one? The question of the LRT’s governance is closely linked with financial resources and membership. If the PA and the facilitator choose to only rely on CLIMATEFIT budget, they will have limited resources to finance human resources. Thus, they should take on the main workload linked to coordination of the LRT, as other members would not have dedicated resources to work for the LRT. As well, the kind of membership and degree of openness of the LRT can affect the governance format. In a more closed arena, decisions can be taken with all members, through votes for example. This is more difficult to organise in a more open arena. Decision power Decisions to be taken in an LRT will cover the inputs into the various documents: investment strategy, investment plan, investment case. It will also be needed to appoint new members. More strategic decisions cover: the final objective of the LRT, its scope, the type of activities undertaken, etc. The decision power can lay in various hands. Some decisions can be taken collectively (e.g. roadmap, objective, etc.). Some others can be taken by a selected group of persons (e.g. the steering committee can state on strategic directions, propose to focus on several adaptation solutions or financing mechanisms, etc.). Last, an individual organisation and its representative may choose the timeline of the LRT, to reach out to new members, or have a veto power over the choice of financing solutions for an investment case (this could be the public authority). To recap: • Power distribution can shift overtime, as the LRTs consolidate Tip #2: Governance structure •Build on existing governance structures •Build on existing relationships (e.g. climate mitigation projects, retrofitting, investment in renewables, etc.) even outside of sustainability issues (e.g. insurances) 22 www.climatefit-heu.eu • Power distribution can be spread over various organisations and groups of individuals according to the topics. Covered area The natural scale of the LRT would be the governmental jurisdiction delimitations of the leading Public Authority. However, some PAs could be willing to expand the area of the LRT to neighbouring territories, either municipalities or regions. Operation costs Operating the LRT means: • Spending times on organising meetings, workshops, webinars, etc. • Renting rooms and/or ordering catering in case of in-person meetings • Hiring of event facilitators (being CFIT Facilitators); • Hiring of expert consultants (beyond what CFIT Technical Partners can offer) • Purchasing of data, information, and tools use (beyond what CFIT can provide). • Etc. Financial resources to cover LRTs costs Within CLIMATEFIT, PAs have a dedicated budget (human resources mainly) to implement and run their LRT. Depending on the scope they want their LRT to reach, they could need more resources to expand and sustain the LRT. Sources outside CLIMATFIT can be: • The PA’s resources • Subsidies from other public institutions within the country (ministry of the environment, environmental agency, public bank, etc.) • European subsidies – regional and cohesion funds, horizon projects, facilities, etc. See MIP4ADAPT platform; the Covenant of Mayors resources library. PAs and LRT members can also choose to adopt a business model allowing to sustain the LRT in the longer run. Some options could be as follow. Note: none of these solutions is specifically recommended and they should be thoroughly considered as they come with both advantages and drawbacks. • Membership fee – in exchange for networking opportunities and knowledge, as associations do • This could be completed during CLIMATEFIT project Human and logistic needs and resources LRT running and facilitation will particularly require human resources. Depending on the role the PAs choses to have in the coordination and governance of the LRT, this could represent a rather important workload for the PA. Logistic resources needed can be: • Renting room • Ordering catering • Paying fees to take part in conferences and professional events • Etc. Human resources needed can cover: Resources 23 www.climatefit-heu.eu • Stakeholders’ engagement efforts • LRT community management and facilitation • Activities organisations • Etc. Specific technical resources can be needed to run the LRT: experts and consultants to bring specific and punctual technical expertise or to facilitate the LRT in the longer run. Yet, a dedicated budget needs to be foreseen for such expenditures. Members engagement process and communication See the engagement strategy. Stakeholders to involve as members and their potential role See local regime maps. Membership management Membership management is linked to: 1) The coordination of the LRT and its governance structure: what role to assign to new members, what do they gain, what are their responsibilities and duties in exchange of being members of the LRT, etc. 2) The degree of openness of the LRT: are there barriers to the LRT, who can join and how, are there fees or not, etc. Note: here again, regarding membership fees, they are not recommended in the first phases of the LRT life as we want to attract as many stakeholders and especially FIEs as possible, so they should primarily see their gain and not be confronted with additional costs. Setting up a goal to the LRT See the engagement strategy. Defining the LRT scope and its limits See local regime maps. LRT activities: generic LRT activities should both support the development of the CLIMATEFIT methodology, but also allow to reach goals of the LRT defined by the PA and possibly, the LRT members. Activities in the LRT have specific objectives, chosen by the LRT coordination team. Several tools can be chosen, depending on the type of stakeholder involvement in the LRT. Members Scope and activities 24 www.climatefit-heu.eu Figure 6 Tools to engage stakeholders according to degrees of engagement. Source: WaVE Interreg project, 2019 More on LRT activities can be found in the engagement strategy. LRT activities: to support IS and IP development Investment strategy Expected role from the LRT • Collective identification of a pipeline of adaptation projects • Collective identification of funding sources • Test and development of investment strategies Inputs from WP2 into the LRT’s activities • Training level 2 (CMCC) towards PAs: 1st activity of the LRT (LRT gathering fewer stakeholders at this stage) • Training level 2 (CMCC) towards FIEs: later in the LRT implementation process, will contribute to involve FIEs in LRTs. • Methodology to help PAs identify funding and financing sources and matching of sources with projects Investment plans Expected role from the LRT • Test of methodology for translating IS into IP • Collective estimation of needed resources, costs, … • Test and development of investment plans, Inputs from WP3 into the LRT’s activities • Methodology/common process for translating IS into IP • Cost scenarios for adaptation/resilience projects • Assessment Criteria for Investments • Investment strategies and plans LRT activities: Towards Investment Concepts and Adaptation Funding and Financing Solutions Expected role from the LRT • Support to the identification of incentive Mechanisms • Test and development of investment concepts, criteria for Investment 31 www.climatefit-heu.eu There have been many debates on the integration of FIEs. Many think that FIEs should be involved, if possible, as soon as possible and that it is essential to identify their interests early on. However, considering the timing of the IS versus the LRT, it may not be feasible to have them on board and co-create the investment strategies. Moreover, FIEs only want to be included if their role and interest are clearly defined. That level of detail may not be available yet at the time of IS. It’s important to have a portfolio of adaptation projects to present. In practice, during the IS development phase, most LRTs will not include FIEs, except for public and semiprivate FIEs, or FIEs’ representative organisations. Nevertheless, PAs were advised to get in touch with FIEs to get to know each other better and introduce the project, as well as to invite them to FIEs level 2 training sessions. In this context, it is best to build on existing relationships, even outside of sustainability issues. The Antwerp workshop also provided a better understanding of the LRT's role during the IS phase which reassured PAs and facilitators. In any case, they were reminded that it is essential to align all stakeholders on the same objectives and priorities, by bringing together the various PA departments, for example in a workshop at the start of the process. Finally, the meeting removed many of the obstacles and uncertainties surrounding the structure of the LRT. PAs prefer to maintain a non-binding format during the IS phase. This format, like the structure and governance, can evolve as the project progresses and new needs arise. Figure 10 : Example of a gradual evolution of the LRT legal form, according to investment cases implemented. Nov/Dec Reaching out to stakeholders remained difficult for some territories but all of them started engaging either private FIEs, public FIEs, or representative of FIEs. PAs reported several examples of initially interested FIEs who end up being unreachable. In some territories, specific efforts on internal stakeholder engagement were needed, to strengthen the momentum within the municipality, a requirement to then extend the LRT to external stakeholders. Especially, more senior representatives (with sufficient hierarchical power within the technical departments or with political power) need to be committed and support the LRT initiative. The involvement of the facilitators should make it possible to overcome such problems and to identify relevant individuals within the leader territory to take over the project effectively. The LRTs’ financial sustainability remained unclear. The launch of the LRT was costly to organize in some regions, which held a face-to-face workshop attended by dozens of participants. They are not sure they can keep up this level of activity. Some sources of further funding opportunities to sustain the LRTs are identified in the stakeholder’s engagement strategy drafted by Ramboll. 32 www.climatefit-heu.eu Region of Flanders, Belgium Context Flanders is one of the three regions of Belgium. It covers the northern portion of the country, and accounts for 45% of Belgium's territory, and 58% of its population. This region is highly affected by climate change through drier summers and heavy summer storms, more humid winters, and sea level rise. It is thus concerned on better understanding the impacts of climate change in Flanders and subsequently improving resilience and reducing vulnerability. Flanders adopted its first climate adaptation strategy in 2013, encompassing many domains. In 2020, the Flemish government launched the Blue Deal, a plan that injected 343 million euros into initiatives for the next two years to tackle the fight against drought and water scarcity. The region of Flanders has signed the charter of the EU Mission on adaptation to climate change, which will help investigating mechanisms, policies, and instruments to finance climate adaptation and apply it to the entire region. Concerning its investment landscape for climate adaptation, various levels of government, public and private sectors, and international partners are involved. Private sector sources are emerging but remain limited and focused on mitigation, and climate adaptation relies mainly on public sources, including financial contributions from the EU and regional governments. LRT planning: governance and scale The Flanders government is responsible for the LRT's leadership. The latter covers the entire Flanders region (300 local cities and municipalities). Discussions are ongoing on the appointment of an independent facilitator to coordinate the LRT, with a clear mandate. It is not yet certain. In addition, Flanders is considering appointing a representative organisation to assist them in the leadership of the LRT. Scope of Flanders’ LRT LRT’s main objectives are as follows: • Contributing to the IS, IP, ICs; • Providing input and suggestions to the work form/organization/structure/approach of the LRT; • Actively maintaining a network and getting in touch with new potential stakeholders for investment cases; • Gaining recognition to attract potential stakeholders who want to participate in ICs. Membership Flanders’ representatives and the University of Antwerp (UA) are part of the core team. They are supported by a number of private partners (representatives of banks, insurance companies, economic accelerators). The main composition of the LRT is other public agencies like the Flemish Land Agency, the Flemish Environmental Agency, Flemish Water Agency, etc. Flanders really emphasises the participation of private players from the IS stage onwards. It wants to recruit more FIEs rapidly. The public regional entities involved with the LRT are implementing adaptation projects and have knowledge and expertise on financing and sometimes are also are in touch with the business world and entities from the federal government. To recruit these organisations, Flanders's representatives and UA sent out emails and held bilateral meetings. 33 www.climatefit-heu.eu LRT launch The LRT was launched on 11 December, during the follow up session of PA training. Other agencies of the Flemish government were asked to join the LRT. Flanders used the LRT launch opportunity to gather input and feedback for the IS modules and will be doing the same for the IP modules. In addition, in January, a meeting of all Flemish agencies has been planned, with CLIMATEFIT on the agenda. It will be an opportunity to recruit for the LRT. Strasbourg metropolitan area, France Context The Strasbourg Metropolitan area, “Eurométropole de Strasbourg” in French, is a public authority gathering 33 municipalities in the Eastern region “Grand Est”. Both the Region and the metropolis are quite advanced territories regarding climate adaptation and the ecological transition in general. The Strasbourg Metropolitan area’s climate policy relies on a strategy and an action plan to be implemented by 2030, where climate adaptation is key. The public authority is especially keen on aligning its climate ambitions with social justice and biodiversity protection. In 2023, it signed off the European charter for climate change adaptation. In Strasbourg, and in France in general, climate adaptation is usually funded by public authorities and institutions acting at the national, regional, and local level. Following the corona crisis in 2020-2021, the State and Grand Est Region launched a specific initiative aiming at better coordinating State and regional funds at the local level: Territorial Recovery and Ecological Transition Pacts. The pact gathers and coordinates funds from the European Union, the State, the Region, and the Council (intermediary level between the regional and local levels), which are then redistributed to local projects. LRT planning: governance and scale The Eurometropole de Strasbourg and the Strasbourg Climate Agency coordinate the LRT together, in order to mobilise their respective know-how, networks and skills as effectively as possible. The Eurometropole de Strasbourg will be responsible for deploying the administrative, logistical, and financial resources needed for the taskforce to function properly, with possible support from other partners according to the development of activities. The area covered by the Strasbourg LRT matches the metropolitan territory. This scale is relevant to the needs of local players and allows to respond concretely to the barriers and levers to financing and funding climate adaptation, through a local anchorage. However, the group has been opened to regional and national stakeholders, which play an important role in the local adaptation finance level. The LRT has been renamed “Local Working Group on Climate Change Adaptation Finance” (GT-FACC) to better fit the French collaborative culture. Scope of the GT-FACC The objective set for the GT-FACC so far is to better coordinate climate adaptation funders and financers and to examine in depth the issues involved in financing local adaptation projects. To achieve this, the LRT will focus on the following points: 1. Mapping the players and public and private financing and investment solutions for local adaptation projects. 2. Identification of a list of structuring regional adaptation projects in the Eurometropole de Strasbourg 3. Experimenting with new financing and investment models for regional adaptation projects 4. Better estimate the funding needs of the territory 5. Strengthen the stakeholders’ capacity to understand the solutions and issues involved in financing adaptation. 34 www.climatefit-heu.eu 6. Promote the expertise of local and regional players on the challenges of financing adaptation to climate change at European level. Membership The GT-FACC is projected to have an evolutive membership. For its launch on December 2nd, 2024, it gathered a first community of mainly public FIEs, with one public-private entity. This first pool of stakeholders had a high interest in adaptation funding and financing and have been easily engaged. Types of stakeholders engaged for the LRT launch: - Region (several departments) - Environmental Agency - Public territorial bank (FIE) - Regional State representatives on environmental issues - Spatial planning agency - Semi-public nature-based solutions fund (FIE) - The Port of Strasbourg (public organisation) More FIEs, both private and public, have been identified during the launching workshop and are expected to be engaged in the next months, when the territory will finalise its Investment Strategy and start co-design activities for the Investment Plan. In parallel, several departments of the public authority Eurometropole de Strasbourg are being engaged to collect the relevant information needed to develop the Investment Strategy. LRT launch The Strasbourg LRT was launched on the morning of 2 December 2024, in person, with around thirty participants (PA, facilitator, consortium partners - Actierra, Ramboll, Institut de la Finance durable, and various public and semi-public FIEs from the region). The agenda is presented in Annex 3. It provided an opportunity to introduce CLIMATEFIT and its objectives, and to review the context and challenges of local adaptation funding. Above all, it was an opportunity for funders to get to know each other and strengthening their collaboration. Each entity introduced its funding or financing offer for climate adaptation. They were encouraged to discuss the usefulness of setting up a one-stop-shop for adaptation in the territory, and to consider ways of mobilising private investors more widely in adaptation funding. The participants looked ahead to future meetings of the working group, with suggestions for new members and ways of attracting them, themes to be addressed, etc. A real group dynamic is at work. The LRT was also launched in parallel with a specific national dynamic on adaptation with the release of the new National Adaptation Plan (PNACC 3) where local actors and financing measures were mentioned. The launch of the LRT can thus be also seen as a contributor to the implementation of this new national plan still at its inception phase. Brescia municipality, Italy Context Brescia is a city in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. With a population of more than 200,000, it is the second largest city in Lombardy. The main climatic impacts, which are already evident and will become increasingly obvious in the coming years, concern the increase in heat waves, extreme weather phenomena, and drought periods. Climate change impacts mainly affect vulnerable people, infrastructures, green areas, the energy, agricultural and forestry sectors. 35 www.climatefit-heu.eu To address the impacts of climate change, the municipality administration has been undertaking several articulated actions in the last decade. In 2016, the Land Management Plan set a "zero land consumption" goal to limit soil sealing; in 2018, the administration developed the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan to incentivise sustainable mobility; in 2012 they approved the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan, with the target of reducing CO2 emissions per capita by 50 per cent by 2030, compared to 2010 emissions by excluding the production sector and acting on reducing energy consumption and increasing the use of Renewable Energy Sources; in 2021 they also approved a Climate Transition Strategy (STC), identifying the vulnerabilities and exposure to climate change to implement adaptation interventions and calling for the definition of innovative financing techniques and the adoption of a specific “STC Municipal Fund”. At the end of 2023, the Municipality of Brescia began the construction of the Green Plan, a planning document to guide the management of municipal public green areas with the aim of sustaining and increasing ecosystem services, contributing to addressing the climate transition. In 2024, the city launched a process aimed at drawing up the Air and Climate Plan (PAC) with the objective of combating air pollution, reducing the emission of greenhouse gases and increasing the capacity to adapt to climate change. The adoption of the PAC is scheduled for January 2026. The investment landscape for climate adaptation in Lombardy, so far, has comprised a complex interplay of public funding, EU support, and private sector engagement. Public funding from regional grants, and private funding from the Cariplo Foundation (a private foundation with a strong presence in the Lombardy region) form the backbone of adaptation investment. LRT planning: governance and scale The municipality of Brescia has the decision power and coordinates the LRT. Eventually, the objective is to include LRT activities inside the adaptation working group of Brescia’s Air and Climate Plan. The LRT operates at municipal level, however small municipalities within the city region that participate with Brescia to other working groups might be involved in the future. Scope of Brescia’s LRT The objective of Brescia LRT is to identify new financing instruments to implement adaptation projects by working on the IS, IP and ICs. This CLIMATEFIT activities will be propaedeutic for the adaptation actions outlined in the work-in-progress Air and Climate Plan. In addition, the LRT will focus on the identification of local stakeholders that could be involved in LRT activities and in the investment cases. Membership The LRT core team includes directors from different departments of Brescia Municipality (sustainability, green, ecological transition, mobility, urban transformation, administration) and an external consultant working on the PAC. The future expansion of the LRT to external stakeholders beyond the core team will take place through direct invitations, in the case of public actors, or may involve public calls for interest, in the case of private entities. LRT launch Brescia LRT unofficial launch was held on December 13th, during a follow up session of the 2nd level training (online). The meeting took place following two meetings held at the Municipality of Brescia with the presence of the city manager, to present the project in detail and involve key people from various sectors. The meeting focused on defining the LRT structure and developing an action plan to complete IS modules. 36 www.climatefit-heu.eu Alba Iulia municipality, Romania Context Alba Iulia is a Romanian city, located in the region of Transylvania. It began its climate planning in 2018 alongside the elaboration of the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP), conducting a Risks and Vulnerabilities Assessment, and formulating an initial action plan for climate change adaptation. In 2022, further proving its engagement in climate resilience and in collaboration with Alba Local Energy Agency (ALEA) as technical partner, Alba Iulia Municipality elaborated the Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Action Plan – CCAMAP within the CRESC project, implemented with support from EEA grants for climate resilience and decarbonisation. The challenge is securing suitable financing sources for climate resilience actions. For now, the investment landscape for climate adaptation in Romania is characterized by a strong reliance on EU grants complemented by municipal budgets. Like other EU countries, private sector involvement in climate adaptation financing is still rather limited. LRT planning: governance and scale Alba Iulia, with the support of ALEA (Facilitator), manages the local LRT. For the time being, the LRT works at the local level, even if the idea of an extension at Centru Development Region level is explored. All LRT operating costs must be covered by the CLIMATEFIT project budget allocation. After the CLIMATEFIT project, additional financial sources will further be identified. Scope of Alba Iulia’s LRT The aim of the LRT, in addition to working on IS, IP, ICs, is to focus on experience sharing and learning from best practices and concrete climate projects. Membership Representatives of Alba Iulia Municipality (among others the financial department, 1 decision person, technical department, representatives of European fund department and public policies), representative of ALEA, and some FIE champions are part of the core team of the LRT, working on the development of the IS. FIEs and other technical stakeholders will be involved latter, during the IP phase. The Local Resilience Taskforce (LRT) comprises a 2-tiered membership framework designed to foster collaboration among key stakeholders from various sectors. The Romanian CLIMATEFIT LRT is structured as follows: 1. Core LRT Team The core team serves as the primary decision-making and operational group within the LRT. Membership includes: • Alba Iulia Municipality: Representatives from various departments, including: o Decision-makers – Public Administrator, Public Manager o Urban Planning, Territorial Development Directorate o Public and Private Domain Maintenance and Administration Directorate o International Relations, Partnerships and Urban Innovation Department o Programs Directorate o Expenditure Directorate o Technical Development Directorate o Voluntary Service for Emergency Situations • Local agencies (energy, regional development, environment) • Water utility company 1. Extended team 37 www.climatefit-heu.eu 1.1. FIEs • FREE • Other banks 2.2 Other Technical Stakeholders • Public Transport Operator • Electricity Provider • Universities This comprehensive membership framework is designed to integrate expertise from public administration, the financial sector, environmental management, academia, and private enterprise, LRT launch The official launch of the LRT took place on the 20th of December. It was marked by the official document issued and signed by the mayor regarding the establishment of the Romanian CLIMATEFIT LRT. Also, on this date, the Organisational and Operational Rules and Regulations was agreed upon by the mayor. The Organisational and Operational Rules and Regulations (OORR) is a document developed by ALEA with Alba Iulia Municipality support that serves as a foundational framework for the functioning of the Local Resilience Taskforce within the CLIMATEFIT project. It sets the roles, responsibilities, and decision-making processes of taskforce members, ensuring clarity and responsibility in their collaborative efforts. By establishing the procedures, the OORR promotes coordination among members, and provides guidance on resource allocation, meeting protocols, and reporting mechanisms, enabling the taskforce to operate efficiently. Ultimately, the OORR is instrumental in supporting the taskforce's mission to build climate resilience through structured and results-oriented action. However, prior to this date, 2 main steps were undertaken in the establishment of the Romanian CLIMATEFIT LRT. A productive meeting was held on the 21st of November between Alba Iulia, ALEA, FREE and Transilvania bank – Romanian FIE champion bank, focusing on exploring opportunities for collaboration in sustainable development and climate change adaptation. The second step was represented by the implementation of a training module dedicated to LRT establishment and operation conducted within the framework of the second level public authority training. The LRT module aims to encourage participants to build functional LRTs that strengthen local climate resilience through innovative collaboration between stakeholders in order to stimulate funding for future climate-related projects in the city of Alba Iulia. During the 21st of November meeting, the establishment of the LRTs was proposed as a discussion point. This provided a valuable opportunity to introduce the concept to the participating stakeholders—specifically, the FIEs — and to gather their perspectives on the initiative. The discussion aimed to assess their interest in participating in the taskforce and to explore their potential roles within this collaborative structure, laying the groundwork for its successful development. The meeting was opened by the Transilvania Bank representatives. They presented their portfolio of green financing solutions. It emphasized their commitment to supporting municipalities through projects that promise a strong return on investment, targeting an ideal timeframe of four years. It shared insights into their sustainability strategy, underscoring their dedication to aligning with local realities and public needs. It proposed innovative ideas, including empowering municipalities to produce their own energy through green energy systems and supporting urban development projects like park creation and renewable energy initiatives. Then, ALEA provided an overview of the ongoing project and explained the motivation behind convening this meeting. The role of ALEA in fostering partnerships between municipalities and financiers to create "bankable projects" that address climate challenges effectively was highlighted. ALEA emphasized the importance of forming dialogue groups with key stakeholders to ensure smooth project execution. Representatives from FREE elaborated on their role in the CLIMATEFIT project, focusing on financing mechanisms for climate change adaptation. They provided insights into how FREE can assist with funding 38 www.climatefit-heu.eu initiatives such as insulating residential buildings and public administration-led green projects. The discussion also addressed the need to replicate successful projects in other regions. The mayor of Alba Iulia shared the city's ambitious objectives, including promoting ecological transportation, increasing green space per capita, and improving the energy efficiency of residential buildings. He expressed a strong desire to create new parks and expand urban greenery. The bank reaffirmed its readiness to co-finance such initiatives, integrating them with other sustainable financing opportunities. Finally, the bank and ALEA explored the use of European funds for projects combining heat pumps, insulation, and photovoltaic installations. They also discussed long-term strategies for urban regeneration, including the potential for bond issuance, a practice commonly used in European cities. The bank suggested steps to simplify administrative processes like construction permits for NZEB (Nearly Zero Energy Buildings) projects, further aligning sustainability goals with practical implementation. The meeting concluded with a shared understanding of the next steps. These include identifying specific, actionable projects; exploring local energy generation opportunities for municipalities; and continuing the collaborative dialogue between stakeholders. The next steps discussed also included the CLIMATEFIT training for PAs on drawing up the investment strategy regarding climate adaptation, and the future convening of LRT meetings. FREE had a further short meeting with the bank to discuss how the latter would involve the bank's specific departments in climate-related financing. 5.3. Next steps and replication Next steps in leader territories From M13 to M26, T1.4 aims to sustain the LRTs and stakeholders’ engagement in leader territories. Support will be provided to the PAs so that the LRT can be developed and involve the relevant stakeholders to develop a local Investment Plan and Investment Cases. Support will also be provided to set up specific activities for long-term stakeholder engagement (site visits, capacity building, workshops, etc.). The next stages of LRT development are explained in the following subsections. Expand the LRT to essential stakeholders to develop the IP Once the core team has been gathered, the foundations of an investment strategy have been laid (identification of the main risks, identification of existing financing and the main needs) and some common skills have been acquired through participation in various webinars and workshops, the LRT should be extended to relevant stakeholders and especially to public and private FIEs. At the IP stage, each LRT should involve at least 3 FIEs (according to KPIs included in the Grand Agreement). As suggested in the Stakeholders’ engagement strategy developed by Ramboll, LRTs will then host various activities, with the aim to: 1) Contribute to the co-design of Investment Plans 2) Sustain engagement by providing opportunities and attractive activities to members (e.g. networking, capacity building, advertising opportunities, sites visit, etc.) Sustaining and facilitating the LRT to follow for the development of ICs The third stage consists in developing ICs, according to the IS and IP. To do so the LRT should define a schedule according to priority areas, and solicitate extra participants according to covered topics. Thanks to 39 www.climatefit-heu.eu the help of thematic experts and previous stages, the LRT should access to a better understanding of financial stakes and mechanisms, allowing them to define new investment cases. Replication WP5 will support the replication of LRT in new territories and will establish a European network of Local Resilience Taskforce (EUNLRT). More precisely, T5.1 will support the establishment and the consolidation of 4 new LRTs in Portugal, Spain, Slovenia, and Czech Republic. In each of the CLIMATEFIT regions, the possibility will be given for new cities from each region to join the training workshops to foster this LRT dynamic. Using the result of T4.1, this task will deliver updated guidelines to create and expand the LRT, and lessons learned from the whole process. T5.2 aims to invite through a public call other territories to follow the project activities, especially the process of the implementation through LRT. Seven to ten replicators per leader territories will replicate their LRT model designed in T4.1. The repartition among the 4 models will be based on replicators’ specific contexts and barriers. A LRT will be establish in each replicators, and generic guidance to prepare IS, IP and IC will be provided to them. Finally, T5.3 will create the EUNLRT to provide networking opportunities and facilitate knowledge transfer. 40 www.climatefit-heu.eu Annexes Annexe 1: literature review’s list of references Abord-Hugon Nonet, G., Gössling, T., Van Tulder, R., & Bryson, J. M. (2022). Multi-stakeholder Engagement for the Sustainable Development Goals: Introduction to the Special Issue. Journal of Business Ethics. Adaptation Fund. (2020). Local Leadership in Adaptation Finance: Learning from Locally-led Action in Adaptation Fund Projects and Programmes. Adaptation Fund. (2022). Scaling up adaptation finance. Experiences and lessons learned from the Adaptation Fund portfolio of project and programmes. Alkhani R. (2020). Understanding private-sector engagement in sustainable urban development and delivering the climate agenda in Northwestern Europe—a case study of London and Copenhagen. Sustainability, 12 (20). Banque des territoires. (2020). Structures d’innovation ouverte : une création de valeur pour les territoires. Bilal, S. (2019). Fostering the local dimension of blended finance: From principles to practice (Discussion Paper DISCUSSION PAPER No. 259). ecdpm. Boersma, K., Berg, R., Rijbroek, J., Ardai,P. and all. (2022). Exploring the potential of local stakeholders’ involvement in crisis management. The living lab approach in a case study from Amsterdam. International journal of disaster risk reduction, 79. Bracking, S., & Leffel, B. (2021). Climate finance governance: Fit for purpose?. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 12(4), e709. Cambien, A. (2008). Une introduction à l’approche systémique: Appréhender la complexité. Centre d’études sur les réseaux, les transports, l’urbanisme et les constructions publiques (CERTU). CCFLA. (2017). Localizing Climate Finance, Mapping Gaps and Opportunities, Designing Solutions. CDC Biodiversité. (2023). Etude sur les financements. Quels leviers mobilisables pour la mise en œuvre des solutions fondées sur la nature pour l’adaptation au changement climatique ?, Dossier de la MEB, 48. Chafiq, I. (2018). Exploratory analysis of living labs contribution to climate adaptation needs and innovative multifunctional dikes in the Netherlands. Chan, S., Eichhorn, F., Biermann, F., & Teunissen, A. (2021). A Momentum for Change? Systemic effects and catalytic impacts of transnational climate action. Earth system governance, 9(100119). Chronéer, D., Ståhlbröst, A., Habibipour, A. (2019). Urban Living Labs: Towards an Integrated Understanding of their Key Components. Technology innovation management review, 9(3). Climate Finance Lab. (2023). 2023 Lab Impact Report. Accelerating private climate investment in emerging markets. Compagnucci L., Spigarelli F., Coelho J., Duarte C. (2021). Living Labs and user engagement for innovation and sustainability. Journal of Cleaner Production, 289 (126721). Conde, C., Lonsdale, K. Engaging stakeholders in the Adaptation Process. Croix Rouge Française. (2022). Guide pratique d’innovation collective. Delft University of Technology., Interreg WaVE project. (2019). Methodology for the engagement of Local Stakeholder Groups. Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the UN. (2019). Multi-stakeholder engagement in 2030 Agenda implementation: a review of Voluntary National Review Reports (2016-2019). Donnadieu, G., Durand, D., Neel, D. Nunez, E., Saint-Paul, L. (2003). The systemic Approach : what is all about ? Durand, D. (2006). La systémique (10e édition mise à jour;10e éd.;). Presses universitaires de France.