On December 4, 2025, the third Local Council Meeting within the EU Horizon project MountResilience took place in Innsbruck. This time, the workshop focused on the topic of “Financing and Climate Change Adaptation.” A total of 14 participants attended the meeting.
This third stakeholder meeting aimed to present project progress, build knowledge on climate change adaptation and financing opportunities, identify existing funding gaps, and develop new financing models. After a brief round of introductions, updates were presented from the four thematic areas of the Tyrol demo region: the KEK platform, tourism, buildings and settlements, as well as cross-sectoral approaches. In the KEK platform area, various services for municipalities and businesses were introduced, including workshops on climate change adaptation, risk analyses for companies, and catalogues of measures for implementing adaptation strategies. In the tourism sector, a three-step approach was presented, consisting of analysing the current situation and regional needs, developing nature-based adaptation measures, and implementing a testing phase with monitoring and evaluation.
For buildings and settlements, the focus is on preventing summer overheating in indoor and outdoor spaces. Thermodynamic simulations are being carried out to develop minimally invasive, nature-based solutions. Additionally, climate-resilient square design is being examined, taking into account the influence of green and blue infrastructure. Another key topic was the development of a monitoring tool in cooperation with the Tyrol regional government and a financing instrument for climate adaptation measures in collaboration with the Cooperative for the Common Good. The first data-based use case presented was the Heat Risk Report for tourism municipalities, based on remote sensing and ground sensor data.
This was followed by a presentation by Fritz Fessler (Chairman of the Cooperative for the Common Good), who provided an overview of funding opportunities in the field of climate change adaptation. Currently, there are not many government programs available, as many are either closed or under revision. According to Fritz Fessler, crowdfunding could represent a viable alternative. Daniela Hohenwallner-Ries (Chairwoman of alpS) and Lisa Heim (Region of Tyrol) spoke about the link between climate change and the maintenance and financing of hiking trails.
They addressed maintenance obligations, liability issues, and funding opportunities for hiking trails. During the discussion, participants emphasized that maintenance costs have increased significantly in recent years and that maintenance is very complex due to varying ownership structures. Crowdfunding could also be helpful in this context.
In the subsequent workshop session, participants worked in groups to answer questions about the current financing of measures, existing funding gaps, and possible new financing models. One group discussed tourism and financing options, including ideas such as a “solidarity contribution” added to ski ticket prices. The second group focused on the relationship between municipalities, buildings, and funding needs, identifying potential solutions. It was noted that tools are still lacking to properly assess financing, for example, to determine when and how renovation measures in buildings pay off. Interestingly, both groups discussed linking public funding to climate-related conditions and rated this approach positively.
