EU proposes climate-risk law and national plans for 2030

The European Commission has proposed a climate-resilience law that would require EU countries to prepare national plans by the end of 2030, using a common warming trajectory to assess risks. Presented on October 27, the package aims to bring climate preparedness into decisions about infrastructure, public services and government spending.

The EU Framework for Climate Resilience combines a policy programme with a proposed regulation. The legislative text is a Commission proposal, not a law already in force. Its deadlines and obligations should therefore be read as proposed requirements, while the Commission says it will start applying the approach to its own work immediately.

In its announcement, the Commission put estimated economic losses from climate damage during 2022 to 2025 at about €200 billion. It estimated that adapting Europe's infrastructure and economy to future climate conditions would require investment of around €70 billion annually. That figure describes an investment need, not a new funding allocation announced for applicants.

A shared basis for assessing climate risks

The proposed European Climate Resilience Law sets a reference trajectory of 1.5 degrees Celsius of global warming by 2030, 2 degrees by 2050 and 3 degrees by the end of the century. These are increases in the multi-decade global average surface temperature against the pre-industrial average for 1850 to 1900.

The trajectory would give governments a common starting point when assessing future climate exposure. Member states would encourage public authorities to consider it in functions affecting resilience, particularly budgeting, spatial planning and environmental impact assessments. The purpose is to prepare decisions for projected conditions rather than rely only on past weather and damage.

Under the draft timetable, the European Environment Agency would complete an EU-wide climate-risk assessment by June 30, 2028. National assessments would follow by June 30, 2029, including subnational analysis where applicable. Both exercises would then be repeated every five years, helping align European and national planning.

Assessments would have to consider more than the central warming pathway. The proposal calls for attention to extreme scenarios and low-probability events with severe consequences. Its annex also covers risks that cross borders, disruptions that cascade between systems and hazards whose combined effects make the damage worse.

National plans would identify who is responsible

The Commission's draft sets September 30, 2028, for an EU strategic plan and December 31, 2030, for each country's national plan. Countries would designate a central coordinating authority to oversee preparation and implementation, and review their plans every five years.

The accompanying policy communication says a single national strategic plan would consolidate four existing planning instruments. These cover national adaptation strategies and plans, along with adaptation elements in national energy and climate plans and long-term strategies. The intention is to simplify the planning process rather than add another disconnected document.

Each major climate risk would have one or more public authorities identified as responsible for managing it. Local and regional authorities, as well as the public, would get opportunities to participate in preparing national plans. Countries would also consult neighbours and other member states likely to be affected by their measures.

The plans would have to take account of vulnerable people and disproportionately affected communities and territories. They would promote nature-based solutions and ecosystem-based adaptation. Required policy coverage extends from energy, transport and communications infrastructure to water security, buildings, public health, food security and financial systems.

Public tools and further initiatives

The framework also brings together practical digital resources. The European Climate Viewer is intended to map projected hazards across Europe. The Navigator of Climate Resilience Tools helps users locate relevant resources according to their location, sector and risks, while the Mission Solutions Explorer presents adaptation projects tested through the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change.

The draft would also put climate-loss statistics on a regular footing. By December 31, 2030, and annually thereafter, the Commission's statistical office, Eurostat, would publish figures on deaths and economic losses attributable to climate change, using data supplied by member states and other relevant sources where appropriate.

The Commission says further measures are being developed separately, including a European Heatwave Plan, a Climate Insurance Alliance and a European Water initiative. It also plans a PreparEU advisory group on disaster preparedness and an initiative to identify Europe's 100 most climate-vulnerable territories. Those announcements are still ahead, alongside work on the EU strategic plan in 2028.

European Commission material adapted and independently rewritten under CC BY 4.0. © European Union, 2026. No EU endorsement is implied.