Nature-Based Solutions for Demonstrating Climate-Resilient Critical Infrastructure

As climate disruptions become more frequent and intense, the resilience of Europe's infrastructure is crucial as it supports economic flows, human well-being, and social stability throughout the continent. However, this challenge provides a historic opportunity to revolutionise infrastructure by integrating it with nature. Hence, NATURE-DEMO creates, validates, and spreads nature-based solutions (NbS) for protecting infrastructure against climate threats. It covers critical sectors (e.g. transport and energy) and engages an alliance of infrastructure owners, scientists from industry and academia, and public authorities. NATURE-DEMO aims to shift decision management from reactive measures to proactively designing holistic systems that are resilient by design through four actions: Create, Validate, Scale, and Sustain. NATURE-DEMO will Create an advanced digital decision support platform that will integrate climate projections, asset exposure, NbS catalogue portfolios, and advanced simulations to optimise the efficiency of selected NbS implementations to enhance resilience and deliver co-benefits. NATURE-DEMO will Validate its methodology with real-world demonstrations of optimised NbS across 5 sites in the Alpine Biogeographic region. Successful NbS will then be Scaled as replicators in +4 other sites in the Alpine and other Biogeographic regions. NATURE-DEMO willSustain its solutions beyond its timeframe by focusing on exploitation pathways that include tailored guidelines that disseminate NbS knowledge across infrastructure professions, a Task-Force available to provide technical expertise, and a financial observatory for NbS funds. By pioneering a scalable, digitally-enabled and validated framework for implementing NbS, NATURE-DEMO will help realise the EU’s vision for a climate-resilient and sustainable economy optimised for the realities and demands of the 21st century - a vision for posterity.