Empowering Rural communities for Climate Resilience

GRACE helps rural and remote communities across Europe prepare for the impacts of climate change. Working directly with local people, the project develops practical, nature-based solutions that protect the environment, support local economies, and make communities stronger and safer for the future.

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The Challenge

Remote rural regions are among the most exposed to climate change. They face rising floods, droughts, wildfires, heatwaves and, in coastal areas, sea-level rise. Their reliance on natural resources and limited infrastructure make these impacts even more severe.

At the same time, many rural authorities lack the funding, capacity, and climate data needed to plan effective adaptation.

These pressures are intensified by depopulation, ageing communities, economic decline, and digital gaps, creating major obstacles for regions that urgently need support to build climate resilience.

GRACE equips remote rural regions with the tools, knowledge, and partnerships needed to strengthen resilience and build a climate-ready future.

Key figures

  • Duration: 4 years (October 2025 - September 2029)
  • 26 partners organisations
  • 17 Countries
  • 5 demos
  • 5 replicators
  • a lot of observers

GRACE Regions

GRACE brings together regions across Europe that collaborate to develop, test, and scale climate-adaptation solutions.

The project includes Demonstrator Regions, Replicator Regions, and Observer Regions, each contributing in different ways to accelerating climate adaptation in rural and remote areas.

Demonstrator Regions

  • D1
  • Portugal

Baixo Alentejo

Dry Mediterranean landscapes facing heat and water scarcity.
  • D2
  • Italy

Cavallino-Treporti

A coastal area exposed to flooding and sea-level rise.
  • D3
  • Austria

Bucklige Welt

A hilly region affected by storms and changing rainfall.
  • D4
  • Denmark

Limfjorden

A fjord landscape sensitive to flooding and coastal change.
  • D5
  • Sweden

Västerbotten

A northern region experiencing rapid warming and shifting winters.
  • R1
  • Greece

Thessaly

Agricultural region affected by droughts and floods.
  • R2
  • Slovakia

Žilina

Mountainous area facing storms and winter climate shifts.
  • R3
  • Ireland

Atlantic Seaboard North

Coastal zone exposed to storms and erosion.
  • R4
  • Latvia

Vidzeme

Forest and farmland region with changing precipitation patterns.
  • R5
  • Ukraine

Zalishchyky

River-side community affected by climate variability.

GRACE also involves 20 Observer Regions from across Europe’s rural territories, helping ensure that remote rural areas are not left behind as they follow the project’s progress and prepare to adopt its climate-adaptation solutions. These regions are chosen from remote rural areas that have not yet signed the Mission Charter on Adaptation to Climate Change, with diversity across clusters and biogeographical areas guiding the final selection.

News & Events

GRACE: A new Horizon Europe ​​project empowering Europe’s remote rural communities to become drivers of transformative climate action

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