A Uniform Framework for Climate Change Adaptation of Critical Infrastructure Using Nature-Based Solutions

With climate change expected to intensify hazards across Europe, empowering communities and strengthening local adaptation is urgent. The challenge is bolstering the resilience of critical infrastructure (CI), which faces substantial risks. Transitioning from predominantly “grey” infrastructure to integrated “green-grey” solutions provides an effective way to safeguard societal and infrastructural assets against hazards and environmental degradation. Although several frameworks developed by international networks and regional authorities exist, they often fail to fully address the nuanced challenges of CI climate proofing, disaster risk reduction, and biodiversity protection. In response to these limitations and to address key societal challenges, the work here introduces an innovative, integrative blueprint framework. This framework synthesises existing approaches to CI climate adaptation, systematically strengthening resilience with nature-based solutions (NBS). The framework is partially applied and validated through the Public-Private-Civil Partnership (PPCP®) approach, and operationalised in two climatically distinct but heatwave-prone regions: Egaleo (Greece) and Helsinki (Finland). These Labs have promoted more inclusive policymaking by supporting collaboration among key stakeholders, encouraging knowledge sharing and co-designing strategies to advance NBS implementation for heatwave mitigation. The approach facilitated the design of interconnected activities and simplified technical details. Adapting methods to local needs, such as site visits and participatory mapping, has led to concrete outcomes. The prefeasibility analysis outcomes and the targeted NBS-based strategies identified from these areas ensure that solutions are culturally relevant, technically feasible, and collectively owned, incorporating local knowledge and fostering long-term sustainability.