News and events

The interviews focus on the partners' experiences on this innovative way to respond to the challenges related to climate change via a cross-sectorial approach.

CASCADE Final conference

The final conference brought forward the results and recommendations from the project, including the launch the Climate Risk Preparedness Toolbox, and discussed future of climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction and resilience.

CASCADE addresses the challenges related to climate change risks, with better cooperation between national and local levels and different sectors. Close collaboration between specialists in climate change adaptation and well-prepared civil security and protection experts is CASCADE’s answer to climate change related consequences.

Eleven partners representing seven Baltic Sea Region countries are involved in the project.

The climate change risk assessment tools portfolio collects existing and widely used risk assessment methods and tools.

 "Train the trainers” training workshop aiming to increase knowledge in disaster risk reduction was organized online by the Hamburg Fire and Rescue Services (HFRS).

A newly published report “Overcoming barriers to climate adaptation” provides information on the typical barriers that local authorities face in moving forward on climate adaptation. It also offers a tool that local authorities can use to identify their own barriers, and introduces a collection of resources to help actors move forward in overcoming the identified obstacles.

The flagship status is a recognition for CASCADE’s aims to improve urban resilience in cities and towns in the Baltic Sea Region, as well as the overall macro-regional resilience and CASCADE now operates as a pilot example for cross-sectoral cooperation in the region.

Southwest Finland Emergency Services is the Lead Partner of the CASCADE project and in charge of the project coordination. Additionally their specialists participate in different project activities such as developing the training package.

The announced workshop in Hamburg has taken place in the last week of October to evaluate the current state of things and to take a look into the future. As mentioned in the last update about the ongoing work in work package 3, the main question ‘Is it possible to conduct an online workshop with the written curriculum and content’ has been focused.

The Safe Cities Commission is one of the thematic Commissions of the Union of the Baltic Cities (UBC). UBC Safe Cities Commission cooperates in order to improve security services as well as assure better safety standards and procedures for all Baltic Sea Region (BSR) citizens.

Frederiksborg Fire & Rescue Service (FBBR) strives to be one of the leading Fire & Rescue services in Denmark.

Things often turn out differently than expected - new plans for workshops in the CASCADE project

CBSS organises a region-wide policy dialogue on the UN Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction in the CASCADE project.

This is a useful reference for understanding the links between potential drivers, hazards, and their potential impacts of climate change - direct, indirect and even cascading - on society.

SEI (Stockholm Environment Institute) is a research-based think tank with the aim of bridging environmental research and policy. The SEI Tallinn centre works with multi-level stakeholders on a broad range of sustainability issues including climate and disaster risk reduction (DRR).

HFRS is, among other things, host for several workshops within the two years project time. The next upcoming event will be the “Pilot Training of the Trainers” which is not determined yet due to the ongoing Corona situation.

Baltic University Programme and the Centre of Lifelong Learning at Åbo Akademi University broaden the knowledge and visibility of CASCADE outcomes in risk preparedness and management to institutions of higher education in the whole Baltic Sea Region.

Liepaja Municipal Police is chairing the UBC Safe Cities Commission and has been part of the CASCADE project from the beginning.

The Main School of Fire Service (SGSP) is the leader of Work Package 2 in the CASCADE project. The main task for the SGSP team is elaborating the portfolio of risk analysis methodology and the guidelines for integrated climate change and risk reduction management for local authorities.

Arvika has tested the indicators for the UNDRR Scorecard for City Disaster Resilience as partners in the EU project U-SCORE. The improved Scorecard will be used in EU BSR CASCADE during the training course.

Janet Edwards’ full time job is to coordinate initiatives to strengthen the knowledge and use of this United Nations framework. In this capacity it’s important she provides Swedish cities with opportunities for networking nationally and internationally for Making Cities Resilient.

The Sustainable Cities Commission (UBC SCC) is one of the thematic Commissions of the Union of the Baltic Cities. Within the CASCADE project, UBC SCC supports the Lead Partner with project coordination and assists with leading communication and dissemination - meet the UBC SCC Team.

Southwest Finland Emergency Services is the Lead Partner of the CASCADE project and in charge of the project coordination. Additionally their specialists participate in different project activities e.g. communication and developing the training package. Meet the SWFES’ project team: Torbjörn, Miikka and Maria!

The worldwide Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has caused some delays for the CASCADE project. All events have been postponed or cancelled because of the European wide restrictions, although some activities have been possible to organize virtually.

CASCADE pursues to prolong the project for six months.

The first year of the project has provided a good base for moving forward and finalizing the project’s results. The mid-term project review summarizes the findings and results of the project so far (February 2020). Read the mid-term review here.

On 4 – 5 February, the CASCADE project partners gathered for a workshop in Copenhagen. The purpose was to review the components of a curricula for training in the climate change risk assessment methodology for the local level developed by the project. The training is tailored specifically for the local level context in the Baltic Sea Region and will be available for all countries in the region.

The first Transnational Policy Dialogue meeting of the CASCADE project took place during the Union of the Baltic Cities XV General Conference in Kaunas, Lithuania, 16 October 2019. The objective of the session: “Local perspectives for solving climate change related security risks –joining forces to effectively work with Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation” was to collect input from the cities in the Baltic Sea Region regarding challenges and needs.

Video message delivered by European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides at a panel session on ‘Delivering disaster resilience at the local level’ co-organised by UNDRR and the Committee of the Regions, held on 8 October 2019 in the context of the European Week of Regions and Cities 2019.

“The global temperature has increased, and we are witnessing extreme weather leading to unprecedented challenges … now we need to be preparing for other risks that we have not previously prepared for – every country needs to be prepared for a wide range of risks” stressed Elena Višnar Malinovská from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Climate Action opening the first transnational Policy Dialogue meeting in the CASCADE project, 16 October, during the XV UBC General Conference in Kaunas, Lithuania.

One of the main objectives of the CASCADE project is to increase the knowledge and capacity of civil protection experts and city planners by developing training courses in disaster risk reduction (DRR), including climate risk assessment and the Sendai Framework for DRR. CASCADE WP 3 Leader Hamburg Fire and Rescue Service (HFRS) organized the workshop ”Mapping the Training needs” in Hamburg, Germany on 26−27 September 2019. 

The flagship status is a recognition for CASCADE’s aims to improve urban resilience in cities and towns in the Baltic Sea Region, as well as the overall macro-regional resilience. Particular focus in CASCADE is on climate change related risks and adaptation.

28 – 31 May 2019, Lisbon, Portugal.  “Not acting is not an option – Climate Change is a current problem and the last four years have been the hottest ever” stressed João Pedro Matos Fernandes, Portugal’s Minister of the Environment and Energy Transition, in his opening remarks for the 4^th European Climate Change Adaptation Conference (ECCA).