A new study reveals that nearly 70% of climate adaptation plans in European cities contain significant inconsistencies, severely limiting their effectiveness in addressing rising climate risks. “As Europe warms twice as fast as other continents, this ‘adaptation gap’ poses growing threats to the 75% of Europeans who live in cities”, says UT researcher and lead author Diana Reckien.
Despite decades of climate planning and institutional support, European cities are struggling to turn plans into meaningful action. The international team of experts introduces a novel framework for assessing the internal consistency of adaptation plans. The framework is a critical factor for understanding and reducing the gap between planned and implemented climate responses.
“Cities often tick the boxes for having adaptation plans,” says Diana Reckien, the lead author. “But when you look closely, many plans are misaligned or incomplete. Especially when it comes to protecting vulnerable populations.”
actions inconsistent
The study analysed 167 local climate adaptation plans from cities across Europe on actions consistency according to goals, risk, implementation, and monitoring information. The researchers assessed five key dimensions of consistency:
- Hazard risk alignment with adaptation goals
- Sectoral risk alignment with measures
- Risks to vulnerable groups and alignment with measures
- Inclusion of vulnerable groups in monitoring and evaluation
- Participation of vulnerable groups in plan development
The analysis showed that 52% of plans fully align identified sectoral risks with corresponding adaptation measures. Although promising, this means nearly half acknowledge risks without implementing appropriate follow-up actions. Furthermore, 49% of sector-specific measures, particularly those related to greening and water management, are put in place without a prior risk assessment.
Missing vulnerable communities
While over half of the plans aligned environmental risks with corresponding actions, only 1% effectively engaged vulnerable communities, such as the elderly, low-income, and ethnic minorities. This signals a widespread failure to integrate social equity into climate strategies. Regional patterns also emerge: adaptation plans from Eastern Europe, despite being more recent, frequently neglect vulnerable populations, while older plans from Northern Europe and the UK often display poor alignment between climate risks and adaptation goals.
This lack of consistency not only limits adaptation effectiveness but increases the risk of maladaptation, where actions may unintentionally worsen vulnerabilities or waste resources. The authors call on policymakers to strengthen internal coherence within adaptation plans by:
- Ensuring risk assessments underpin all planned actions.
- Explicitly addressing social vulnerabilities.
- Creating transparent participation and monitoring processes.
“Climate adaptation must go beyond paperwork,” said Reckien. “Without consistent, inclusive, and evidence-based planning, we risk leaving our most vulnerable communities behind.”
About the Study
This research is part of a broader European initiative to evaluate and enhance urban climate resilience. It sets a new benchmark for evaluating climate plans and offers practical tools to close the adaptation gap and helps cities build more resilient and just futures. This work is part of the Euro-LCP Initiative (EURO LCP Initiative – Local Climate Plans), https://www.lcp-initiative.eu/.
Lead author Dr. Diana Reckien is Associate Professor Climate Change and Urban Inequalities at the Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC). The researcher published their article, entitled 'Explaining the adaptation gap through consistency in adaptation planning', in the scientific journal Nature Climate Change.
