Map
 

Demo site 1: Climate Zone 1, Climatic Marine, New Zealand

Wellington, New Zealand

​Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, is located on the North Island Fault, part of the Alpine Fault system, making it highly susceptible to earthquakes. Much of the central business district (CBD) and nearby areas were reclaimed following an 1855 earthquake (magnitude 8.2) that raised the land by 1 to 4 meters. The city's topography, combined with coastal hazards and sea-level rise, increases its risk of flooding, landslides, and storm tides, complicating evacuation efforts and infrastructure resilience. With climate change, more intense rainfall and sea-level rise will likely worsen these risks. Currently, 4,084 buildings and 36.2 km of roads are at risk from a 1% annual exceedance probability storm-tide event, which could increase to 14,336 buildings and 173 km of roads with further sea-level rise.

Target Demonstration Activities:

  • Significant research was completed on seismic risk and resilience and will be combined with multi-hazard risks assessment and categorization within the Minority Report.
  • Integrating and enhancing work on risk exposure to climate change.
  • Defining impacts from multi-hazards and social-physical interdependencies of urban infrastructures.
  • Demonstrating the Minority Report resilience digital toolkit and people-centric technology platform.​​
 

Demo site 2: Climate Zone 2, Temperate Oceanic, Ireland

Dublin, Ireland

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As per national requirements for identifying decarbonisation zones, Dublin City Council (DCC) selected two zones, including Ringsend and the Poolbeg peninsula. This area was chosen due to the presence of critical infrastructure that must be made resilient to current and future climate risks. Without adaptation measures, events or slow-burn processes could cascade and compound risks, potentially disrupting water treatment, electricity, and port services, affecting up to 50% of Ireland’s population.

Ongoing and planned activities in these areas include: retrofitting buildings to improve both energy efficiency and resilience, enhancing transport through active travel routes like the East Coast Trail and the Bus Connects rollout, covering Ringsend and Irishtown (1 EV charging point, 4 GoCar sharing points), implementing adaptation measures such as the River Dodder Flood Alleviation Scheme, Campshires, and coastal monitoring systems (Titan and Tidewatch), and adapting critical infrastructure, developing nature-based solutions, including projects in the Dublin Bay Biosphere, Ringsend Park, and Irishtown Nature Park, and using URDF funding for public realm works, road upgrades, and park redevelopment. 

Target Demonstration Activities:

  • Contribute to the National Climate Objective of a 51% reduction in GHG emissions.
  • Apply a place-based approach.
  • Utilize systems thinking to promote innovation and new learning in the transition to climate neutrality.
  • Test a portfolio of actions, technologies, and interventions that support national climate goals.
  • Address both energy and non-energy-related issues, including adaptation, biodiversity, and just transition.
  • Test and demonstrate the Minority Report resilience digital toolkit and people-centric technology platform.​​​

 

Demo site 3: Climate Zone 3, Mediterranean, Greece

Patras, Greece

​The Region of Western Greece, covering the northwestern part of the Peloponnese and western Central Greece, faced devastating forest fires in 2007 that destroyed 35,280 hectares of forest. Before these fires, forests made up 23.8% of the region's land area (ELSTAT, 1999-2000). Located in the Eastern Mediterranean (EM), which is a prominent climate change hotspot, the region has experienced rapid warming and significant changes in the hydrological cycle. Extreme weather events, such as severe heatwaves, forest fires affecting air quality, and torrential rains leading to flash floods, are becoming more frequent. Additionally, RWG is one of Greece's most seismically active regions, with frequent and intense earthquakes.

Target Demonstration Activities:

  • ​Vulnerability assessment and categorisation for existing and future buildings / infrastructures
  • Capture complex dynamics of disruptive events in infrastructure networks for more realistic representation of interdependency and a priority based procedure of recovery and preparedness decisions
  • Renovation roadmaps for improved climate change mitigation and disaster resilience of the built environment
  • Improved weather and climate forecasting and catastrophe warnings
  • People-centric framework towards improved catastrophe resilience
  • Testing and demonstrating the Minority Report resilience digital toolkit and people-centric technology platform​