The most innovative solutions to climate change, the most advanced policies, and the latest knowledge on climate impacts and risks and how to tackle them. Over 500 participants from across Europe, including senior representatives of European institutions, businesses, and the scientific community, along with art and photo exhibitions and film screenings. From June 16–18, 2025, the Rimini Palacongressi will host the 7th European Climate Change Adaptation Conference (ECCA2025), the premier European event on climate change adaptation. Organized by the CMCC Foundation – Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change, within the Horizon Europe MAGICA project, in collaboration with JPI Climate and with the partnership of the European Space Agency (ESA).

As a major event in the climate policy calendar, ECCA2025 will bring influential voices from Europe and beyond to Rimini, Italy, so as to accelerate adaptation action. Under the theme “Smarter, faster and more systemic adaptation”, the conference will serve as a crossroads between research, innovation, real-world experiences, and public policies – all working toward building a climate-resilient society.

Keynote Speakers on June 16 (2:30 PM) include: Susanne Mecklenburg, European Space Agency (ESA); Matthias Langemeyer, European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA); Antonio Navarra, President of CMCC and JPI Climate; Giulio Boccaletti, Scientific Director, CMCC; Alessandro Guerri, Director General for European, International and Sustainable Finance Affairs, Italian Ministry for the Environment and Energy Security; Morena Diazzi, Director General for Knowledge, Research, Employment and Enterprises, Emilia-Romagna Region; Anna Montini, Councillor for Ecological Transition and Blue Economy, City of Rimini.

The keynote speakers will be joined by experts and institutional representatives for thematic discussions on food and food security, infrastructure and energy, and the role of banking, insurance, and sustainable finance. Organizations represented include UnipolSai Assicurazioni, World Bank, Transport for London (TfL), European Investment Bank, and companies such as Peroni, European Court of Auditors, Petrobras, ArcelorMittal Europe, Zurich Resilience Solutions, Horta srl, and HERA Group.

On Tuesday, June 17 at 9:15 AM:

A plenary session on the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change, focusing on building stronger links between the scientific community and local authorities for faster climate action, with participants from across Europe.

The Final Day – Wednesday, June 18:

Dedicated to future outlooks, featuring an inspirational talk by Bas Smets, curator of the Belgian Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Biennale, followed by a high-level panel discussion including: Frank McGovern, Chief Climate Scientist at Ireland’s Environmental Protection Agency and Vice President of JPI Climate; Anna Pirani, CMCC, live from the UNFCCC negotiations in Bonn; Nadia Pinardi, from the UN Decade Collaborative Centre for Coastal Resilience.

Under the coordination of Giulia Galluccio, Director of CMCC’s Advanced Training and Education Centre (ATEC), ECCA2025 is hosted by CMCC, which also contributed to organizing ECCA2021 (held online during the pandemic) and ECCA2023 in Dublin. This marks the first time the event is hosted in Italy. Its international scope is also reflected in its ties with the Adaptation Futures Conference (October 2025, New Zealand) and the Nordic Conference on Climate Adaptation (NOCCA2025), held in Finland.

As a global leader in climate research and scientific innovation, CMCC will not only lead the organization of ECCA2025 but will also contribute to its scientific content. CMCC researchers will be active throughout the sessions, presenting cutting-edge findings and engaging with institutions, businesses, local authorities, and citizens on challenges such as extreme weather, vulnerable cities, stressed coastlines, and emerging social and legal issues.

CMCC speakers include: Anna Pirani, Director of the Strategic Program on Predicting the Socioeconomic Impacts of Climate Change and IPCC focal point for Italy; Giovanni Coppini, Director of the Strategic Program on Global Coasts as a New Frontier; Paola Mercogliano, Director of the Regional Models and Geo-hydrogeological Impacts Division; Silvia Torresan, Director of the Risk Assessment and Adaptation Strategies Division; Researchers Elena Allegri, Elisa Fiorini, and Elisa Furlan.

CMCC researchers will also be available to meet with participants at the CMCC booth during the conference – a space designed for dialogue, knowledge exchange, and new collaborations.

The scientific program will be complemented by artistic and cultural initiatives aimed at bringing climate risk, impacts, and solutions to broader audiences. Notably, Nic Balthazar, director of The Duty of Care – The Climate Trials, will be at the screening of his film about Roger Cox, the lawyer who successfully sued Shell and the Dutch government, setting a historic precedent for corporate and governmental accountability on climate change.

The off-site program will include the “Our Ocean from Space” traveling exhibition, co-produced by ESA and UNESCO with support from Mercator Ocean, Copernicus Marine, Planetek Italia, ICGC, CMCC, SHOM, Prométhée Earth Intelligence, and the Maldives Space Research Organisation (MSRO). The exhibition – organized in collaboration with Rimini Blue Lab, a cultural and social innovation lab supported by EU funds – will be open for visitors at Piazzale Boscovich until July 16, 2025, offering a space-based perspective on efforts to protect marine ecosystems and understand the impacts of climate change and human activity.

Additionally, at the ECCA2025 venue: Roberto Ghezzi’s artworks from The Greenland Project, artistically exploring glacier melt, and Destination Earth, an interactive performance by French artist Salomé Bazin, blending satellite data, generative music, and motion tracking in an immersive journey through ocean currents.

A full and engaging program involving 500+ participants, 39 parallel sessions, 4 plenary sessions (including one curated by the EU Climate Adaptation Mission) and 5 thematic pillars guiding the discussions:

• Living with climate extremes
• Managing cities to be fit for the future
• Protecting coastal and mountain areas
• Human and legal dimensions of change
• Adaptation finance: reducing communities’ economic or social vulnerabilities

ECCA2025 will place Rimini at the heart of the European conversation on climate adaptation, building bridges between science, policy, society, and territories.

Practical information:

ECCA2025 will take place at the Rimini Palacongressi from June 16 to 18, 2025.
 All details on the program, registration, and logistics can be found on the official website.

Organized by:

• CMCC Foundation
• MAGICA, a European partnership connecting research, policymakers, and society
• JPI Climate, the European intergovernmental panel on climate research

In collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) 

Under the patronage of the Italian Ministry for the Environment and Energy Security, Emilia-Romagna Region, City of Rimini, and UN Decade Collaborative Centre for Coastal Resilience.

In collaboration with the projects: MAIA, ICARIA, IMPETUS4CHANGE, SCORE, LOCALISED, DIRECTED
Supported by: Birra Peroni
Media partner: SkyTg24