Work

System innovation to address the urgency, scale and complexity of climate action: Climate KIC’s European vision and experience

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Juxtaposing incremental solutions can no longer respond to the climate emergency. This requires integrated approaches that take into account the interdependencies between actors and combine the levers of transformation—technological, behavioral, regulatory, and financial. The European Commission has created five Missions under Horizon Europe, reinforcing the coherence of objectives and means in support of the Green Deal. Notably, the “Smart and climate-neutral cities” and “Adaptation to climate change” Missions support cities, metropolitan areas, communities and regions that are aiming for decarbonization and climate resilience by 2030. In this paper, we discuss some structuring projects for these Missions, and other systemic innovation initiatives anchored in specific places, in particular Deep Demonstration programs led by Climate KIC in support of national and regional governments.

Source: Comptes Rendus Géoscience

DOI: 10.5802/crgeos.329

Author: Thanh-Tâm Lê

Language: English

Topic: Sustainability and Climate Change Governance

Subfield: Global and Planetary Change

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Climate action, Industry, innovation and infrastructure, Sustainable cities and communities

Open Access status: diamond

Funder: EIT Climate-KIC

OpenAlex ID: W7141536281