The application of ecosystem service (ES) knowledge to planning processes and decision-making can lead to more effective climate change adaptation. Despite the increased attention given to the ES concept, its degree of integration and use in spatial planning processes are still below the expectations of those who are promoting this concept. Barriers hindering its operationalisation cover a span of aspects ranging from theoretical to procedural and methodological issues. Overall, there is a general lack of guidance on how and at what point ES knowledge should be integrated into planning processes. This study aims to promote the inclusion of ES knowledge into spatial planning practices and decision-making processes to enhance climate change adaptation. A replicable GIS-based methodology is proposed. First, the potential supply of ESs that can support climate change adaptation (ESCCAs) is defined, mapped, and quantified. Then, a need for an ESCCA supply is identified, and territorial capacities to respond to the expected climate change impacts on natural and socio-economic sectors are assessed. The methodology is applied to the Friuli Venezia Giulia Autonomous Region (Italy) as an illustrative case study. The results reveal that areas with similar geomorphological characteristics tend to respond similarly. Forest ecosystems, inland wetlands and specifically salt marshes can potentially supply a greater variety of ESCCAs. In the case study area, about 62% of the supplied ESCCAs can contribute to reducing the impacts in more than 50% of the impacted sectors. The territory of the study site generally shows good preparedness for expected impacts in most of the analysed sectors; less prepared areas are characterised by agricultural ecosystems. This reading approach based on land cover analyses can thus assist in developing policies to enhance different territorial capacities, ultimately leading to better and more sustainable decision-making.

Many regions worldwide are exposed to multiple omnipresent hazards occurring in complex interactions. However, multi-hazard assessments are not yet fully integrated into current planning tools, particularly when referring to transboundary areas. This work aims to enable spatial planners to include multi-hazard assessments in their climate change adaptation measures using available data. We focus on a set of hazards (e.g., extreme heat, drought, landslide) and propose a four-step methodology to (i) harmonise existing data from different databases and scales for multi-hazard assessment and mapping and (ii) to read identified multi-hazard bundles in homogeneous territorial areas. The methodology, whose outputs are replicable in other EU contexts, is applied to the illustrative case of Northeast Italy. The results show a significant difference between hazards with a ‘dichotomous’ spatial behaviour (shocks) and those with a more complex and nuanced one (stresses). The harmonised maps for the single hazards represent a new piece of knowledge for our territory since, to date, there are no comparable maps with this level of definition to understand hazards’ spatial distribution and interactions between transboundary areas. This study does present some limitations, including putting together data with a remarkable difference in definition for some hazards.

In the fight against growing energy poverty in Europe, remote and rural areas are most affected but play a crucial role in promoting a fair and sustainable transition. Furthermore, energy communities have been recognized as cost-efficient options and opportunities to enhance the active participation of citizens in electricity markets. Despite the wide recognition of their potential in alleviating energy poverty, evidence is still limited. This paper investigates the ‘missing links’ in producing clean energy through community-based practices in remote areas. This study presents a literature review aimed at identifying case studies at the European level to build a knowledge base on the state of the art in the context of the Green Deal. Of the 4422 publications found, we identified and analyzed 266 publications with one or more European cases. Of these, only 67 publications used keywords relevant to our research objective, which we further explored and categorized according to the primary purpose of the study, i.e., assessment, barriers and gaps, implementation, management and planning, modeling, and public opinion. Our results show that publications serve mainly to test a methodology for potential use and not to recount an experience, lacking practical application and policy integration. Nevertheless, we noticed a tendency to activate citizen engagement forms or gather perceptions to increase social acceptability.