The government is launching work to accelerate the climate change adaptation plan

Faced with the increasing number of heat waves, droughts, fires and floods, the Prime Minister has tasked Monique Barbut, Minister for Ecological Transition, with coordinating the acceleration of the National Climate Change Adaptation Plan (PNACC).

The stated objective is to select actions that can produce short-term results, based on lessons learned from recent climate events and feedback from the territories.

Working groups convened as early as September

The work will be organized thematically, in conjunction with the various relevant ministries. The groups must include local authorities, businesses, professional organizations, associations, and other stakeholders involved in climate change adaptation.

Their mission will be to identify the measures in the PNACC that need to be accelerated or strengthened. They will also be able to propose new actions when existing measures are deemed insufficient.

Preparatory work is scheduled to begin at the end of July 2026, with discussions intensifying in September. The government hopes to have initial proposals by October.

A timeline and funding for each measure

Each measure adopted must be associated with a deployment schedule, a clearly identified person responsible, and indicators to monitor its results. The working groups must also specify the financial resources required for its implementation.

The government indicates it wants to measure the initial short-term effects. At this stage, however, it has not yet released a list of prioritized actions or the amount of any potential additional funding.

A plan designed to prepare France for a 4°C warming

Adopted in March 2025, the third National Climate Change Adaptation Plan includes 52 measures and more than 200 actions. It is based on a reference trajectory forecasting, for mainland France, an average temperature increase of 2°C in 2030, 2,7°C in 2050 and 4°C in 2100 compared to the pre-industrial era.

The PNACC is structured around five axes: the protection of the population, the resilience of territories and infrastructures, the adaptation of economic activities, the preservation of natural and cultural heritage and the mobilization of all stakeholders.

The building and the layout directly concerned

Several measures in the plan are of direct interest to professionals in the building, public works, real estate, and development sectors. The PNACC notably includes:

• to better protect buildings against damage related to clay shrinkage and swelling;
• to adapt housing to high temperatures and to improve the consideration of summer comfort;
• to develop renewable cooling technologies;
• to integrate climate adaptation into the renovations of the State's building stock;
• to strengthen the resilience of transport infrastructure and energy networks;
• to develop the renaturalization of cities;
• to progressively integrate the reference climate trajectory into public planning documents and technical standards.

The working groups will have to determine which of these measures can be accelerated and what additional resources may need to be allocated to them.

“The National Climate Change Adaptation Plan sets our course. Faced with the accelerating impacts of climate change, we must collectively amplify our response, provide concrete solutions to better protect the French people from the episodes we are already experiencing, and prepare our country for future climate changes,” declared Monique Barbut, Minister for Ecological Transition, Biodiversity and International Climate and Nature Negotiations.

Image illustrating the article via Depositphotos.com.