“We know the risks well, but we lack a shared framework to turn this knowledge into concrete action.” In a briefing accompanying a European Parliament workshop, CMCC’s principal scientist Jaroslav Mysiak calls for shared risk scenarios, clearer responsibilities, explicit policy on financial protection against climate-related losses, and a stronger focus on measurable results to help Europe move from adaptation planning to effective resilience.

Europe needs a more integrated approach to managing climate risks, combining scientific evidence, clear governance and measurable outcomes. This is the central message of a briefing by CMCC’s Jaroslav Mysiak offering recommendations for the European Commission’s forthcoming Integrated European Climate Resilience and Risk Management Framework.

The briefing, Expectations for the Integrated European Climate Resilience and Risk Management Framework, complements Mysiak’s address at the European Parliament workshop Managing Climate Risks on the Road to a Climate-Resilient Europe, held during the Committee on Environment, Climate and Food Safety (ENVI) meeting on 1 October 2026.

The need for a more coordinated approach is becoming increasingly urgent. Between 1980 and 2025, weather and climate extremes caused an estimated €930 billion in direct losses across the European Union, including €264 billion in 2021–2025 alone. Yet Europe’s capacity to anticipate and manage climate risks remains fragmented across policy areas, institutions and levels of government.

“The main goal is to establish a framework for climate impacts, risk management and resilience, built around a number of key elements,” says Mysiak.

A central recommendation is to develop scenarios that go beyond climate projections alone. While climate scenarios help anticipate changing hazards, effective risk management also requires understanding how exposure, vulnerability and interconnected systems may shape future impacts, as well as how societies and institutions can respond.

A shared approach would help make assessments more consistent and comparable, supporting decision-making across policy areas and administrative levels. It would also help connect scientific knowledge with practical choices on preparedness, prevention and investment.

Clearer governance is equally important. “It is not simply a matter of assigning someone responsibility for each risk, but of building a governance system in which everyone knows what role they have to play. Some actors need to monitor risks, others need to act, and others still need to make decisions. The distribution of responsibilities must be clear and transparent,” says Mysiak.

Moreover, the framework aims to bring together the many existing initiatives and activities addressing climate risks across European Commission services, organising them around common resilience objectives.

At the same time, while Europe has made progress in adaptation planning, the existence of strategies and plans does not in itself demonstrate that communities, infrastructure or economies are becoming more resilient. “Monitoring should focus on the results achieved, rather than on the number of plans produced. The existence of a strategy or plan, on its own, does not demonstrate that improvements have been achieved: we need to assess the effectiveness of the actions taken,” Mysiak stresses.

This shift would help policymakers understand which measures are working, where further action is needed and how successful approaches can be improved or replicated. It would also strengthen accountability and support more evidence-based decisions on adaptation investments.

The briefing also highlights the need to recognise financial protection against climate-related losses as an explicit public policy objective. Insurance can help households, businesses and institutions recover from extreme events, but gaps in coverage leave many losses exposed. The consequences can extend beyond individual property owners to critical infrastructure and the services on which societies depend.

How CMCC research supports Europe’s climate resilience goals

“CMCC’s contribution to European climate resilience spans the full chain from assessing risks at European scale to developing consistent scenarios, improving regional risk assessments and supporting adaptation in practice,” says Mysiak.

Assessing Europe’s climate risks. CMCC coordinated the first European Climate Risk Assessment (EUCRA), published by the European Environment Agency (EEA) in 2024. The assessment brought together evidence on 36 major climate risks facing Europe and identified those requiring the most urgent action. CMCC contributed across the assessment, including risk identification and analysis, the evaluation of risks and priorities for action, knowledge management and the development of an interactive data viewer. CMCC is also contributing expertise to the ongoing EUCRA-2 process, which aims to keep the European assessment of climate risks up to date and relevant to policymaking.

Developing the next generation scenarios. Coordinated by CMCC, the Horizon Europe project FUTURA brings together 40 institutions working across climate modelling, impact assessment, socio-economic pathways and data infrastructure. Its aim is to strengthen the connections between these scientific communities and support a more coordinated system for producing future emissions pathways, climate projections and impact scenarios.

Harmonising climate risk assessments across regions. The European project CLIMAAX develops a common methodological framework and toolbox to help regions and communities assess climate risks and vulnerability. CMCC contributes to the development of an inclusive and harmonised approach to regional risk assessment, addressing a key challenge identified in the briefing: making assessments more comparable across territories, while giving local and regional authorities practical tools to understand their specific risks and plan appropriate responses.

Together, these activities illustrate complementary contributions to the objectives discussed in Mysiak’s briefing. The broader challenge is to ensure that these different types of knowledge and experience inform a coherent and actionable approach to climate resilience.

The forthcoming European framework offers an opportunity to strengthen these connections, bringing climate risk assessment, governance, monitoring and financial protection into a more coherent approach to resilience.