INFIRE – INnovative FInancing solutions for climate planning of REsilient and carbon neutral living areas

INFIRE is dedicated to bolstering Mediterranean cities and regions in their battle against climate change, empowering swift action and collaboration to mitigate further adverse environmental, social, and economic repercussions.
It gathers 10 experienced partners with highly complementary skills that cooperate to establish a long-lasting support structure to build capacities of public authorities in the involved regions for developing, implementing, and monitoring holistic climate adaptation and carbon neutrality (CACN) solutions and policy instruments.

The project confronts the challenges of the gradual shift toward climate neutrality and adaptation in the Euro-MED region, particularly the limited capacities of public authorities in strategic planning and the difficulty in mobilizing public and private capital for crucial large-scale investment projects essential for achieving the EU’s 2030 targets.

Area Science Park leads the Work Package 2 “WP2 – Integration of planning instruments, including financial roadmaps to support transition to resilient and carbon neutral living areas” aimed at developing a methodology to enhance the capacity of local public authorities to effectively plan and finance climate adaptation and carbon neutrality solutions.

Under the project, various climate adaptation and carbon neutrality solutions undergo testing and assessment. For instance, within Area Science Park, a technical and economic feasibility study is conducted for the radical upgrade of the Park’s heating and air-conditioning systems. The aim is to phase out the use of methane gas entirely, relying solely on renewable sources, predominantly photovoltaics, complemented by heat pumps. The attained results will be disseminated in the form of dedicated guidelines to encourage and inspire similar investments by other public bodies across the broader Mediterranean region.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

• Development of a Green Finance Evaluation Toolkit to facilitate financing for climate adaptation and carbon neutrality (CACN) projects, along with long-term strategies featuring innovative financing schemes.
• Enhancement and alignment of strategic planning documents and public financing programs to bolster the transition to resilience and carbon neutrality.
• Creation of a tailor-made curriculum and intensive capacity-building program tailored for public authorities in the Euro-MED region.
• Engagement of citizens through a co-creation process and civic-crowdfunding models aimed at promoting behavioral change.
• Piloting of eight concrete and innovative CACN solutions for future replication and scaling up.

PROJECT BUDGET: 2.212.746,00 €

AREA SCIENCE PARK’S BUDGET: 351.620,00 €