Urban areas, major population centres, are exposed to high and compound climate risks, impacting socioeconomic, ecological, financial, and political environments. The EU policy landscape recognises the critical importance of urban climate adaptation, as encompassed by the European Green Deal, EU Climate Adaptation Strategy, and European Climate Law. A key aspect of achieving the policy objectives is using knowledge and intelligence derived from Earth Observation (EO) to enable more efficient adaptation. 

This report presents the findings of the second deep dive assessment of the Knowledge Centre on Earth Observation (KCEO), focusing on how EO products and services can support EU policies on urban climate adaptation. Components of the assessment include the needs of policy and Horizon Europe Missions; a consolidated set of EO-relevant urban climate adaptation indicators; and a series of use cases spanning urban heat islands, urban greening, water management, urban coastal risks and adaptation, and urban development in Africa co-developed with several European Commission Directorates-General. A common set of adaptation measures is represented by the Key Type Measures approved by European Environment Agency. 

Whilst EO provides valuable information for urban adaptation needs, uptake and impact could be significantly improved through higher value intelligence offerings, tailored for decision-making.  

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