A new report from the CASCADES Project by Chatham House has determined that the European Union is not prepared to manage cascading climate risks. The report recommends urgent action through 21 strategic recommendations for response across policy, scales and systems for building resilience in Europe and beyond to cascading climate risks. The report is based on the four-year CASCADES EU Horizon 2020 Project. The project was intended to identify how the risks from climate change to countries, economies and people beyond Europe might cascade into Europe. The result is an enhanced understanding of hazard and risk interactions and strategic response options, with transferable and adaptable lessons for nations with similar contexts.
The report’s final recommendations were synthesised, grouped into policy domains, and prioritised through stakeholder engagement exercises and specialised partner input throughout 2022 and 2023. The finalised 21 strategic recommendations result from impactful, realistic, near-term priorities and transformative medium-term actions.