On 21-22 September took place in Bilbao, Spain the official kickoff of a new Horizon Europe project called SOTERIA (SOlutions TEsting for Regions through Insurance for Climate Adaptation). The project, which is coordinated by BC3, will contribute to the wider goal of the EU Mission Adaptation to Climate Change of increasing Europe’s resilience and preparedness to face the unavoidable consequences of the climate crisis by filling the gaps in insurance coverage for climate adaptation.

During the meeting, SOTERIA Beneficiaries and Associated Partners presented and discussed the upcoming work to be done towards a successful implementation of the project. To kick off the meeting, the Project Advisor overviewed the EU vision of the new programme and the DG CLIMA Policy Officers presented the insights of the EU Climate Resilience Dialogue and the Horizon Europe Mission Climate Adaptation.

“We aim to help reduce the protection gap in different European regions by documenting best practices and testing insurance products and services that reward proactive prevention measures while seeking to increase coverage through co-designed solutions in SOTERIA Pilot Regions. We will also consider the enabling framework that analyzes the role of public sector modernisation and how to develop affordable insurance schemes that leave no one behind, through our Communities of Practice engaged in Climate Resilience society-insurance dialogues.” (María José Sanz, BC3 Scientific Director, Ikerbasque Professor, and SOTERIA’s Principal Investigator)

SOTERIA is funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No 101112867. With a total budget of €2 998 353.75, the project brings together leading European think tanks and SMEs specialized in climate change, climate and agriculture data, risks indicators, behavioral sciences and data communication, experts on insurance legal aspects and markets, research institutions specialists on climate change adaptation incentives and data sharing, technological industries with expertise in advance insurance solutions, software startups, and the regions that will provide knowledge in climate resilience policies to advance innovative insurance solutions for climate change adaptation.