EU report: 91% of cities look to nature-based solutions in face of climate change

A report by the European Environment Agency (EEA) released on Monday 29 April finds that almost all European cities are turning to nature-based solutions to keep in check higher temperatures and other climate change impacts.

Across Europe, the temperature for March 2024 was 2.12°C above the average for that month. Cities, which can be 10 to 15 °C hotter than the surrounding land, feel these changes in climate acutely – and are looking for solutions.

Nature-based solutions, which are “effective for cooling and water retention in cities,” have become the tool of choice for most cities, finds a new report by the European Environment Agency (EEA). This approach is present in 91% of the 19,000 local climate action plans surveyed. 

“They also provide many other benefits, such as space for recreation and reducing pollution,” the agency adds. 

What do nature-based solutions entail? Creating and maintaining parks and urban forests, green roofs and putting in place “natural water retention measures” are considered best-practice.

As a consequence, the report observes a shift in established dogma: from cities opting for either “grey” or “green” infrastructure to a “grey with green” approach.

Across Europe, how much green infrastructure has been put in place varies greatly. In the Slovak town of Trnava, a mere 7% of space was green, while the Spanish town of Caceres boasts a whopping coverage of 96%.

While a city may boast a lot of green space, this does not mean that it is accessible for citizens. “Publicly-accessible green areas” only account for 3% of the area of European cities.

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Cities to learn from

Across Europe, some cities stand out. In Madrid, the local government is working on surrounding the city with a ring of trees as part of the ‘Madrid 360’ project.

Over the next 10 years the Spanish capital aims to plant two million trees in a 75 kilometre-long forest belt. However, the project struggles with extreme weather events that are harmful to young trees and clashes over land ownership. 

The Polish city of Poznań greened urban spaces and opened them to the public. It also established “city beaches” on previously unusable brownland along the river Warta.

In Gothenburg, Sweden, city planners have embraced the  rain that pours down on them around 40% of the time. Known as “Regnlekplatsen” (a rain playground), these play areas are designed to be most fun for children when it is raining.

While the report welcomed progress made to date, it concluded that more work is needed to ‘mainstream’ climate adaption across all industries and levels of decision making. The report argues for stakeholders to establish a “common vision for what a resilient urban future looks like,” which combines nature integration with consideration of citizen’s well-being.

[Edited by Donagh Cagney/Chris Powers]

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