Four Missions Having a Single Objective

Since the beginning of 2023, phenomena related to climate change have intensified across Europe: heat waves, droughts, extreme weather events and flooding. The estimated damages for 2022 amount to €12 billion (EEA, 2022) and are destined to increase. In Italy alone, extreme weather events that occurred between January and May 2023 increased by 134% compared to the same period in 2022 (Legambiente, 2023). To promote the low-carbon transition and climate adaptation, the EU attributes a fundamental role to research and innovation.With this in mind, in September 2021, the European Commission introduced an innovative work and management approach for the most critical industries and approved five Missions that the EU is committed to pursuing by 2030: i) Adaptation to climate change; ii) Fighting cancer; iii) Restoring our oceans and waters; iv) 100 climate-neutral and Smart Cities; v) A Soil Deal for Europe. Four of them concern environmental aspects and the topic of climate change is paramount. These Missions summarize and support the priorities defined by various EU programs within the framework of the Green Deal, and are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals defined by the United Nations 2030 Agenda. The Missions are included in the Horizon Europe Research and Innovation program (Pillar 2 "Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness") which makes approximately €5 billion available for the 2021-2027 period.

We also expect the mobilization of other sources of investment linked to other European programs and the involvement of private stakeholders. For example, for Mission 1 (Adaptation to climate change) it is estimated that investments could reach €10 billion (EC, 2022). For the implementation of the Missions, ad hoc plans have been defined and approved and a governance structure has been established for their management and to facilitate collaboration between the different directorate of the Commission and the other levels of government. Monitoring of results and impacts will occur periodically. The first evaluation concluded was in July this year (COM(2023) 457 final).
The objectives of the climate missions are very ambitious. Mission 1 aims to help at least 150 European regions become climate resilient by 2030 and Mission 4 aims to make 100 cities climate-neutral and smart by 2030, as to ensure they act as testing hubs to put all European cities in a position to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, capitalizing on the work carried out by various international climate initiatives such as the Covenant of Mayors.
As conceived, the Missions aim to create a connection between the EU's strategic objectives, and the instruments, resources and actors needed to achieve them. It is a governance approach that the Commission is implementing for the first time to eliminate or minimize the barriers identified in previous programs, such as overlaps between different initiatives, the failure to use all the resources available, and the poor horizontal and vertical interaction between the various levels of governance for the definition and implementation of innovative policies.

The approach therefore aims to systematize the objectives and resources to face the different socio-economic challenges and bridge the gap between research, policy innovation and policymaking, improving communication and collaboration between various stakeholders, including citizens. These aspects are particularly relevant for the definition and application of policies concerning climate mitigation and adaptation. In fact, climate impacts and margins for mitigation and adaptation differ considerably from one region to another, it is therefore necessary to define place-based measures that are coherent at the various levels of national, regional and local governance, also in order to ensure the resilience of socio-economic systems and ensure a just transition.