Lombardy, Italy

Lombardy adopted its first climate adaptation strategy in 2014, nearly a decade before Italy approved its National Climate Change Adaptation Plan (PNACC). This case study examines how the region’s longstanding adaptation work supports national priorities, and the challenges of putting its legal and planning commitments into practice across sectors and municipalities. It forms part of a special collection developed by Regions4 with the support of the European Climate Foundation (ECF), examining how subnational governments engage with national adaptation plans.

We examine how the Regional Climate Law and Regional Adaptation Strategy (SIRACC) integrate adaptation into spatial planning, water management, agriculture, and disaster risk reduction. The case also considers Lombardy’s role in the National Observatory on Adaptation, where regional experience informs national guidance and methodologies. Funding constraints, uneven integration across departments, and differences in municipal capacity continue to affect implementation, while formal reporting between regional and national authorities is not yet fully established.

The document draws lessons for other regions seeking to implement national adaptation plans: incorporate adaptation into existing planning and investment processes, maintain exchanges between regional and national authorities, and provide local governments with the resources and technical support to act. Lombardy’s experience shows the value of building institutions and expertise over time, while underlining the gap that can remain between legal responsibilities and the capacity to fulfil them.