This report builds on and complements the existing knowledge base on climate impacts and risks for Europe, including recent reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Copernicus Climate Change Service and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, as well as outcomes of EU-funded research and development projects and national climate risk assessments.

The knowledge in this first-of-its-kind assessment is synthesised with the aim to support strategic policy-making.

The report presents the first European Climate Risk Assessment (EUCRA) as announced in the 2021 EU strategy on adaptation to climate change. It contributes to the European Green Deal.

EUCRA aims to support the identification of policy priorities related to climate change adaptation and policy development in climate-sensitive sectors during the next EU policy cycle (following elections to the European Parliament in 2024), both at the European and the national level.

The report focuses on risks for Europe caused or aggravated by human-caused climate change, but also considers non-climate risk drivers and the policy context. It comprises an assessment of major climate risks and of the policy context, including a coarse evaluation of risk ownership and policy readiness.

EUCRA identifies priorities for EU policy action, considering the outcomes of the structured risk evaluation jointly with qualitative aspects, such as considerations of social justice.