VITO Supports Coordinated Climate Adaptation Policy in Belgium
Everywhere in the world, we are experiencing more heat waves, floods, and forest fires than 100 years ago because of global warming. That’s why the European Union wants to build a climate-resilient Europe by 2030. To make sure EU countries are prepared for these inevitable climate impacts, all of them are forming National Adaptation Hubs. In Belgium, VITO forms a working group with national, regional, and local authorities to optimise climate resilience/adaptation policy so that we can protect the living conditions of our country’s citizens and ecosystems.
European Mission on Climate Change Adaptation
Are EU countries prepared for climate change? That is what the European Union and VITO are investigating. Our climate is warming, causing dangerous climate change, which affects various regions, economic sectors, and societal groups differently. Despite efforts to reduce emissions and achieve carbon neutrality, a warmer climate is inevitable, so we need to get better prepared to cope with its effects and adapt our way of living.
That’s why the EU instituted the Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change. The goal of this mission? Support at least 150 European regions and communities towards climate resilience by 2030. The adaptation mission focuses on helping these regions and local authorities to:
- Understand climate risks: Identify current and future climate-related challenges specific to their areas
- Develop adaptation pathways: Create strategic plans to prepare for and manage the impacts of a changing climate
- Implement innovative solutions: Deploy practical measures and technologies to enhance resilience on the ground
AdaptationHubs Map displaying the 27 Member States
27 National Climate Resilience Working Groups
To help reach this mission's goals, each EU member state is forming a so-called “National Adaptation Hub.” As Belgium’s trusted science and technology partner in the transition to a more sustainable world, VITO is responsible for creating the Belgian working group. This network of 27 National Adaptation Hubs will strengthen national, regional, and local climate change adaptation governance over the course of the next two years. How? By fostering collaboration among governments, regions, cities, experts, and communities to turn climate strategies into real action. Their strategies include peer-learning, shared resources, exchange programmes, and twinning partnerships with other working groups and similar projects.
Set-up of the EU AdaptationHubs project
"Belgium already has many initiatives on climate adaptation, but they are often spread across levels and sectors. The National Adaptation Hub is about bringing those pieces together to make adaptation more coherent, visible, and effective.”
— Filip Lefebre, Business Development Climate Services, VITO
Kick-Off Belgian Climate Adaptation Hub
On 21 April 2026, VITO kicked off the Belgian Adaptation Hub. In an initial workshop, we collaborated with the Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment, the Flemish Department of Environment and Spatial Development, the Belgian Climate Risk Assessment Center (Cerac), and the Walloon Air and Climate Agency (AWAC). We have mapped the current multilevel governance in Belgium to identify potential gaps, we built our future National Adaptation Hub framework to define our role, and we worked on our hub’s communication strategy moving forward. The partners in this National Adaptation Hub will connect on the EU Adaptation Mission, get a direct connection to their catalogue of climate adaptation solutions, and set up twinning for more knowledge sharing across European borders.
The first Belgian Adaptation Hub workshop on 21 April 2026
VITO Spreading Environmental Intelligence
With our long-standing expertise in sustainability research, VITO is the ideal partner to collaborate with on issues that require environmental intelligence. Our climate specialists developed powerful datasets on urban heat and other climate change impacts. VITO is also involved in other European climate resilience projects like SMARTER and NBRACER. And on the Belgian level, we work together with the Flemish Environment Agency (VMM), the Belgian Climate Risk Assessment Center (Cerac), the Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment, etc. on pressing climate and environmental initiatives.
Stay Informed
If scientists, policymakers, authorities, industries, and citizens keep working together on climate adaptation action, we can look forward to a sustainable future in Belgium, Europe, and across the world. Tune in to the AdaptationHubs website to learn more about the project outcomes within the next two years. Does your organisation also need evidence-based climate adaptation data or advice? Contact VITO's environmental intelligence experts.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Climate, Infrastructure, and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
