The main objective of the EU project RISE-IN is to develop and test a bankability readiness level (BRL) to help cities attract finance for climate-resilient solutions (CRS) with a focus on flood risk reduction. CRS combine nature-based, ecosystem-based, physical and technological measures that address adaptation and mitigation while delivering co-benefits for biodiversity, human well-being and ecosystem services. The project maps these co-benefits and pairs them with innovative financing and investment options.

Using a structured assessment, RISE-IN evaluates the financial performance and feasibility of CRS by analyzing risks and returns, investment sizes, regulatory considerations and likely investor types. It then while tailors solutions to each city’s socio-economic and environmental context and co-designing them with local stakeholders. The outcome is practical guidance and pilot cases that build a pipeline of bankable climate-resilience projects aligned with EU investment principles.

HWWI contributes to the project by assessing the economic costs of potential future floods in the cities of Póvoa de Varzim (Portugal), Cesena (Italy), and Christchurch (New Zealand), which serve as real-life testbeds for the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of climate-resilient solutions (CRS). The analysis is carried out using HWWI’s own computable general equilibrium (CGE) model.