Flooding, like climate change itself, is deeply complex. It involves a vast web of actors, overlapping initiatives, and an ever-expanding body of legislation.
At the outset of our investigation, we imagined we could uncover negligence simply by sending out a wave of FOI and EIR requests and identifying those who had failed in their responsibilities. But what we uncovered was more complicated. The problem is not simply negligence; it is disjointedness – and can better be described as a fragmented response, leaving gaps between some initiatives.
Although climate change touches every corner of Europe, its consequences are uneven. Each landscape carries its own vulnerabilities, and floods take on different forms depending on terrain, climate, and history. In some places, rivers spill over floodplains; in others, rising seas press against coastal cities.
Just as the physical expressions of flooding differ, so too do the political visions that respond to them. Some governments prioritise protecting urban growth, some build dams, others focus on restoring natural buffers such as wetlands and rivers. The result is a patchwork of strategies, each shaped by geography, culture, and competing desires for how nature and cities should coexist.
There is no single solution. Rather, countless communities are working within their own domains to address facets of the problem. Alongside them, small citizen-led initiatives are emerging, tackling challenges at a local scale. Unless emissions are significantly reduced, a prospect that seems unlikely, flooding will only intensify. Yet it remains crucial to highlight where people are already adapting, taking action and building resilience.