Climate proofing: what it is, when it is required and what the report contains

Climate proofing is the process that makes infrastructure consistent with climate neutrality and resilient to climate change. It is required for infrastructure projects with a lifespan of at least five years financed by EU funds 2021-2027 and is documented in a report that analyses two aspects: the project’s emissions and the climate risks it is exposed to.

What climate proofing is

The reference method is the European Commission’s technical guidance on the climate proofing of infrastructure in the period 2021-2027, published in 2021 in Communication 2021/C 373/01. In Italy, the Department for Cohesion Policies published national guidelines in 2023 that adapt how it is applied.

Climate proofing is integrated into design and environmental assessments, such as EIA and SEA. It has two goals: mitigation, meaning the project’s consistency with an emissions reduction pathway, and adaptation, meaning its ability to withstand climate events today and in the future.

When it is required

• Cohesion policy funds: the Common Provisions Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 requires it for investments in infrastructure with an expected lifespan of at least five years, financed by the ERDF and the Cohesion Fund;
• InvestEU and the Connecting Europe Facility: these programmes also require it for infrastructure projects;
• regional and national calls: many calls under regional programmes include it among the project documents to be submitted.

The concept of infrastructure is broad: buildings, transport networks, energy, water, waste, digital and social infrastructure. The level of detail depends on the size and vulnerability of the project.

The two pillars: mitigation and adaptation

For each of the two pillars, climate proofing proceeds in two phases: an initial screening and, only if needed, a detailed analysis.

For mitigation, the carbon footprint must be calculated using the European Investment Bank methodology when the project’s absolute or relative emissions exceed 20,000 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent per year. Emissions then enter the cost-benefit analysis with a shadow cost of carbon that rises over time, set at €250 per tonne in 2030 in the reference values.

What the climate proofing report contains

1. Project description: location, lifespan, alternatives considered.
2. Mitigation screening and, where needed, carbon footprint calculation, with absolute and relative emissions.
3. Shadow cost of carbon applied in the cost-benefit analysis, where required.
4. Adaptation screening: sensitivity and exposure to heatwaves, heavy rainfall, floods, droughts, landslides, wind and sea level rise.
5. Risk assessment and the adaptation measures chosen, with their cost and the monitoring plan.
6. Consistency with plans at national and regional level, such as Italy’s National Climate Change Adaptation Plan, and with the DNSH principle.
7. Concluding summary, documenting the choices made in a readable way for those assessing the project.

The climate scenarios to use

The adaptation analysis must look at the climate over the whole lifespan of the asset, not just the past climate. It uses IPCC scenarios, including at least one high-emissions scenario, and the most detailed national and regional climate data available.

It is the same approach used to assess the physical climate risks of a plant or site. For a practical introduction, read the guide to physical climate risks for companies.

How to prepare it without delays

1. Start early. Climate proofing shapes design choices: doing it once the design is finished often means redoing parts of the work.
2. Collect site data. History of extreme events, flood and landslide hazard maps, local climate data.
3. Estimate emissions with real data. Expected energy use, main materials, transport and maintenance.
4. Document the alternatives. The report is stronger if it shows why one solution was chosen over the others.

Frequently asked questions