Demonstrating transformative solutions to increase cross-border climate resilience

This includes social, governance or nature-based solutions. Regional and local authorities from each side of country borders are better prepared to withstand jointly the impacts of climate change, including systemic risks and cascading effects. National, regional and local authorities are taking on shared responsibilities and are actively involved in the development and testing of innovative solutions to deal with cross-border climate risks. Scope: Rationale Cross-border risks [1] and cooperation are crucial in the European Union, where 37.5% of the EU population lives in border areas, spanning 38 intra-EU borders that often involve both administrative and linguistic divides [2] . While adaptation plans are usually prepared within a single territory (e.g. at national, regional or local levels), climate risks do not stop at the borders. For instance, around 70% of Europe's freshwater bodies are part of international river basins, making flooding and droughts typical cross-border risks. Similarly, wildfires pose a significant cross-border threat, as they can spread rapidly across national borders, affecting multiple countries simultaneously. The same applies to cross-border coastal areas affected by sea level rise and coastal erosion. At the regional and local level, the implementation of adaptation tends to be fragmented between different bodies such as managers of forests, water, protected areas or coastlines. To be truly resilient, European regional and local authorities therefore need to integrate their action with their neighbours and consider seriously the cross-border dimension of climate risks. Solutions sought Proposals should develop, test and demonstrate approaches and innovative solutions relevant for cross-border risks, leading to an increase of climate resilience in cross-border regions. Moreover, particular attention should be given to coordination between the national and regional governance aspects of the bordering regions. Services to better predict, monitor and report on cross-border climate events should be explored as a first step. The proposals should address all of the following aspects: Address at least one relevant cross-border climate risk (e.g. water scarcity, flooding, storms, wildfires, sea level rise) but are strongly encouraged to address risks systemically and to cover cascading and compound risks as well as risks emerging from the degradation of ecosystem services; Develop, and demonstrate a common classification of the climate risks and define what level of risks are acceptable across the national border. Develop and demonstrate innovative integrated solutions to make both sides of the border climate resilient. Those solutions should cover cross-border governance and/or socio-economic aspects (but are not limited to that). Nature-based solutions and ecosystem-based adaptation should be explored as a priority, in line with the Mission Implementation Plan . For the successful implementation of the solutions and to ensure their sustainability beyond the duration of the project, the development and testing of the proposed solutions should be embedded , as much as possible in the adaptation planning of the regional or local authority participating in the project and/or in national plans. This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities. Demonstration sites and related activities The Mission encourages collaborations between regional and local authorities facing similar challenges and considers this to be a very efficient approach to secure a large impact. Therefore, the demonstration activities of the proposals: Must take place in at least two distinct cross-border demonstration sites located in EU Member States or Associated Countries. The demonstration areas must span adjacent regions on both sides of a national border, fostering cross-border collaboration. Regional or local authorities in these areas should actively participate in the project, ideally as beneficiaries or associated partners within the consortium. Should identify at least 1 “ replicating ” cross-border site spanning adjacent regions on either side of a national border, located in Member States or Associated Countries, interested in reapplying the lessons learnt (totally, partially or with the required adjustments) in their territories. For the replication, the consortium could include one or more partners that would provide support for the technical exchanges and the knowledge uptake in the “replicating” regions or local authorities. Replicating regions are not necessarily expected to carry out on the ground activities already in the course of the project. However, replicating regions should at least prepare the theoretical framework for replicating the successful solutions and explore means to fund the implementation of those solutions. Links to the Mission and to other projects and initiatives Proposals should build (when relevant) on existing knowledge and adaptation solutions developed by previous projects and explore synergies with ongoing projects from EU and national programmes [3] . Synergies with other funding sources (EU and national) are encouraged to identify opportunities to scale up the solutions demonstrated and to foster their broad deployment across Europe through other programmes. Proposals should include a mechanism and the resources to establish operational links and collaboration with the Mission Implementation Platform (including on monitoring). Projects funded under this topic will be expected to participate in the Mission Community of Practice and to share relevant knowledge to feed the work of the project stemming from HORIZON-MISS-2026-01-CLIMA-02. All projects funded under this topic should work together as a cluster (under the umbrella of the Mission), coordinate their activities and align their outputs as much as possible to maximise their impact. Proposals are encouraged to (dedicate resources to) 1) link their monitoring to the framework developed by the project UNDERPIN ; 2) to rely on the (updated) CLIMAAX framework for their climate risk assessments. Applicants should acknowledge these elements and already account for them in their proposal, making adequate provisions in terms of resources and budget to engage and collaborate with the Mission. [1] In this context, cross-border risk is understood as risk spanning the border between two or more countries and affecting both or all areas. [2] JRC 2024 Cross-border and emerging risks in Europe [3] Interreg and LIFE are particularly relevant for this topic

Eligibility and submission conditions

"> General conditions 1. Admissibility conditions: Proposal page limit and layout described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System. 2. Eligible countries described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide . 3. Other Eligibility Conditions The following additional eligibility criteria apply: Demonstration activities must take place in at least 2 distinct cross-border demonstration sites located in EU Member States or Associated Countries. The demonstration areas must span adjacent regions on both sides of a national border. described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. 4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes. 5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes. 5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual . 5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes. 6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific conditions described in the [specific topic of the Work Programme] Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA): Application form templates Please use the application form that you will find in the Submission System. You can find examples of standard application forms in the Reference Documents page . Evaluation form templates — will be used with the necessary adaptations Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA) Guidance HE Programme Guide   Model Grant Agreements (MGA) HE MGA   Call-specific instructions   Additional documents: HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 12. Missions HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 15. General Annexes HE Framework Programme and Rules for Participation Regulation 2021/695 HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764 EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509 Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement

Hivatkozott dokumentumok

Mission Implementation Plan Annex A Horizon Europe Programme Guide Online Manual Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA) HE MGA HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 12. Missions Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions