BRT’s newest Horizon Europe project ADAPT-FIN – Unlocking Private Sector Finance for Climate Adaptation officially began its work with a Kick-off Meeting held on 9–10 September 2026 in Barcelona, Spain.

 

Hosted at the historic Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau, the meeting brought together representatives from the ten partner organisations that make up the ADAPT-FIN consortium. The project is coordinated by the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZU) under the leadership of BRT Director Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hynek Roubík, Project Coordinator.

 

Representing CZU at the meeting were BRT members Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hynek Roubík, Dr. Stacy Hammond, Dr. Viktoriia Chubur and Michaela Šrubařová, who joined partners for two days of discussions, presentations and collaborative workshops focused on establishing the foundations for the project’s work.

 

ADAPT-FIN responds to an important challenge: while climate adaptation can help reduce losses, protect assets and strengthen resilience, its wider economic, environmental and social benefits are not always sufficiently reflected in conventional financial assessments. This can make it difficult for valuable adaptation solutions to attract private investment.

 

Over the next 42 months, ADAPT-FIN will bring together expertise in climate adaptation, economics, finance, behavioural science, policy, communication and stakeholder engagement to develop and test new approaches for demonstrating the value of climate adaptation and supporting investment-ready solutions.

 

 

The meeting opened with welcoming remarks from Assoc. Prof. Hynek Roubík and Prof. Rym Ayadi, Founder and President of the Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association (EMEA), which provides scientific leadership within the project.

 

Sessions throughout the first day introduced the project’s scientific framework and explored how its different Work Packages and case studies will work together.

 

At the centre of ADAPT-FIN are nine case studies across six European countries, addressing challenges including drought, flooding, urban heat, landslides, ecosystem degradation, coastal salinity and declining agricultural resilience. The proposed solutions range from urban greening and water-retention measures to regenerative agriculture, agroforestry and salt-tolerant crops.

 

These case studies will provide real-world settings in which the project can test its economic methods, financial approaches and stakeholder-engagement strategies.

 

 

The second day focused on turning the project framework into practical collaboration.

 

CZU-led sessions addressed project governance, administrative and financial management, reporting, quality assurance, and Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hynek Roubík presented the project’s management and governance framework, while Michaela Šrubařová introduced the financial management procedures that will support implementation across the consortium. Dr. Stacy Hammond presented the project’s approach to communication, outlining how ADAPT-FIN will translate research findings, case-study evidence, Investment Roadmaps and policy recommendations into accessible resources for different audiences.

 

The meeting concluded with cross-Work Package workshops covering economic modelling, incentives and behavioural factors, communication and exploitation, data collection, case-study interaction, stakeholder engagement and private-sector participation.

 

Through this collaborative approach, ADAPT-FIN aims to connect climate-risk evidence with economic analysis, financial mechanisms and locally grounded adaptation solutions — helping make climate adaptation more understandable, measurable and investable.