ABOUT THE PROJECT

The Development of a Regional Western Balkans Climate-Proofing Platform (WB-CPP), known as ClimaProof, is a landmark regional initiative aimed at strengthening climate resilience and supporting sustainable development across the Western Balkans. ClimaProof is implemented within the broader regional programme Climate Proofing for Sustainable Development in the Western Balkans, supporting coordinated climate resilience and adaptation efforts on a regional and national level with all 6 Western Balkan economies (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia).

As climate change increasingly affects the region through rising temperatures, floods, droughts, forest fires, and growing pressure on infrastructure, agriculture, tourism, energy systems, and public health, the need for reliable climate information and forward-looking planning has become essential.

ClimaProof addresses these challenges by providing representatives of relevant national authorities, government institutions and agencies, the private sector as well as local and regional climate change adaptation experts with advanced climate data, practical tools, and future scenarios that support informed decision-making and climate-resilient investments.

The platform is the first of its kind attempting to bring together climate information for the entire Western Balkans into one integrated digital system. It offers an interactive geographical interface with a high resolution of 0.01 degrees (approximately 1 km), enabling users to explore highly localized climate scenarios and projections made including 40 different models for all region. Data has been modeled by the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU).

The platform includes:

• Historical climate observations (1981–2010) based on satellite and national data sources
• Climate indicators including temperature trends, precipitation intensity, drought periods, wind speed extremes, snowfall, landslide rainfall thresholds, freeze-thaw cycles, and heat extremes
• Future projections for 2036–2065 and 2071–2100
• Three emissions pathways: RCP2.6-Low emissions scenario; RCP4.5-Moderate emissions scenario; RCP8.5-High emissions scenario.

Additional resources include economy profiles, sector-specific checklists, climate adaptation guidance, model selection tools, and downscaling datasets that support evidence-based planning.

The focus is on a regional multi-stakeholder approach involving Approximately 500 stakeholders are intended to actively gain information and knowledge of how to incorporate climate proofing in their planning and decision making from which around 120 are local beneficiaries. The UNEP programme team will exploit its existing networks and strong partnerships in the region of the Western Balkan economies to ensure that the appropriate target audiences are reached.

KEY PROGRAMME COMPONENTS:

1.  Understanding Future Climate Risks – Improving access to climate data, observations, and projections to strengthen national and regional capacities for climate risk assessment.
2. Planning Climate-Resilient Development – Supporting the integration of climate proofing, adaptation planning, and green infrastructure into development strategies and sector policies.
3. Enabling Climate-Resilient Investments – Creating stronger conditions for regional cooperation and future infrastructure investments that are aligned with climate realities.

LONG-TERM IMPACT

ClimaProof is evisaged to deliver a highly advanced level of climate intelligence for the Western Balkans and serves as a powerful tool for climate adaptation and sustainable development. By improving foresight and planning capacities, the platform helps economies and institutions prepare for future climate conditions and build more resilient communities, economies, and infrastructure.

NET BALKAN ROLE

NET Balkan contributes to the development and visualisation of the ClimaProof platform, helping transform complex climate datasets into an accessible digital tool for policymakers, institutions, experts, and the wider public.