Climate Chance Europe 2026 Summit

Thematic Plenary: Digital, AI and resilience: how do innovations transform risk management?

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Thursday 04 June
09:00 10:30
Climate Chance Europe 2026 Summit
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Description

The development of sovereign digital technologies has become as much a matter of competitiveness as it is of economic security for the European Union. In this context, artificial intelligence, connected sensors, digital twins, and data platforms offer opportunities for the energy transition that are clearly identified in the Draghi report (Draghi, 2024). Perhaps less well-known are the opportunities for adapting to climate change: hazard forecasting, early warning systems, vulnerability mapping, and planning.

Beyond mere speculation, the development of AI finds applications at every level of adaptation. By processing large volumes of data, AI-based models can inform large-scale weather service forecasts. We must also consider the influence that conversational AI and complex models may have on the behavior of citizens, businesses, or, for example, insurers seeking information on their region’s exposure to the risks of global warming.

These promises are accompanied by growing tensions that often confine decision-makers to a reactive stance in the face of AI’s rapid development. Digital infrastructures as a whole consume water and energy resources and subject the continent to technological dependencies on large corporations and competing nations. It also raises ethical questions, which the Artificial Intelligence Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) has sought to address by aligning user and data protection with EU values.

This raises a key question: Can digital technology truly accelerate climate adaptation in Europe, or does it risk shifting—or even amplifying—existing vulnerabilities?

Speakers

  • Tanya BAYCHEVA-MERGER, Expert in Green and Digital Transformation, ICLEI Europe

  • Etienne METAIS, Senior Manager of Strategic Partnerships at CDP
  • Mickaël REAULT, Founder of SINDUP
  • Emmanuelle ROUX, Advisor to the Director General of IGN – National Institute of Geographic and Forest Information
  • Nikolai SINDORF, Chief Technical Analyst at AGWA

Moderator: Francis JUSTAND, Co-founder and Board Member of Cap Digital