Community of Practice | Virtual Regions Forum
The Virtual Regions Forum, held online on 10-12 March 2026, was organised with the aim of replicating the fruitful exchange and co-learning of the workshop organized in June 2025 in Barcelona, combining it with the dynamic experience gained during the project’s webstivals. The event, aimed exclusively at the CLIMAAX regions, includes inspirational presentations, ample time for questions, and breakout groups to ensure participants can interact with each other. The event was organised by the project partner CMCC and moderated by Athanasia Tompolidi (EURADA).
The core of the forum focused on regional case studies, with the aim of illustrating how different territories are applying the CLIMAAX Framework to assess and prioritise climate risks. Four regions, selected from both of the project’s open calls, were invited to share their experience, starting with the decision-making context and regional background in which the Climate Risk Assessment was developed, as well as the main issues and risk components analysed. The presentations then highlighted the most relevant findings emerging from the assessments, with particular attention to the results considered most significant or insightful for each territory.
A further key aspect concerned the usability of the results and their concrete impact at the regional level, for example in relation to decision-making processes, planning activities, and stakeholder engagement. The regions also outlined the next steps they intend to take to build on the work carried out within the project and to further capitalise on the analyses produced. Finally, space was devoted to reflecting on the lessons learned throughout the process, with the aim of identifying insights that could be useful and transferable to other regions participating in the project.
March 10
The forum opened with an overview of the project’s progress, presented by project coordinator Frederiek Sperna Weiland (Deltares), who highlighted the achievements of the two cohorts of participating regions. From Hungary, Emese Décsi, project manager at Green Office, Hegyvidék within the Municipality of District 12 of Budapest (MARCAdapt project), shared a detailed assessment of climate-related challenges, focusing on heavy rainfall, heatwaves, and urban drought, and illustrating how these risks are being evaluated at the local level. Later, Liliana de Sousa, project manager at GeoAtributo, a consultancy specialising in spatial and land-use planning, emergency planning, and climate change for the Municipality of Viana do Castelo in Portugal (VC_Climaax project), presented an innovative methodology aimed at bridging a persistent gap in climate risk assessment: translating large-scale datasets into practical insights that can directly inform local planning and decision-making. The day concluded with an open Q&A session, moderated by Fulvio Biddau (CMCC), Erika Meléndez (UPC), Christopher Polster (ECMWF), and Dana Stuparu (Deltares).
March 12
On the second day, Otto Lappalainen, project specialist at Valonia, presented the CLIVAS project at the Regional Council of Southwest Finland, highlighting work on agricultural drought and increasing precipitation extremes. This was followed by Clare Lee, from the Environment and Climate Action Office of Tipperary County, and James Fitton, a climate risk scientist, who showcased Tipperary County Council’s work on developing a semi-quantitative climate risk assessment, building on existing national frameworks. The final part of the forum featured PICO (Presenting Interactive COntent) presentations, offering short, high-impact overviews of ongoing work. Nine regions contributed to these sessions, with each two-minute presentation introducing key concepts, methods, and preliminary results, followed by an interactive discussion with CLIMAAX technical experts. Organised around four themes – key risk assessment, wildfires, heatwaves, and floods – the sessions allowed participants to explore specific challenges and practical results from different regional contexts, deepening their understanding of the CLIMAAX Framework.