“Venice as a dual model for climate adaptation – Infrastructure meets nature-based learning” is the title of the side event organised by Venice Sustainability Foundation at the Italian Pavilion “Made for Our Future” at COP30 in Belém, Brazil.
The event presents Venice as a dual model of climate adaptation, where advanced engineering solutions combine with the resilience of nature, while integrating a widespread system of education and continuous learning.
The MOSE system – an integrated complex of works inside and outside the lagoon – is proof of how large-scale infrastructure and nature-based solutions (NBS) can work together. The morphological restoration of the lagoon, plant-based purification systems (phytoremediation), and ecological corridors have, in fact, enhanced the effectiveness and adaptive capacity of MOSE in the long term, contributing to the restoration of the lagoon’s balance.
At the same time, the City Campus project – a VSF thematic area dedicated to developing the knowledge economy in Venice – aims to transform Venice into a veritable open-air laboratory, where researchers, institutions, and citizens collaborate to test local climate adaptation strategies through field learning.
Venice thus positions itself as a place that is both a barrier and a laboratory against the climate crisis.
This event aims to share replicable methodologies and governance models that can transform vulnerable coastal areas into campuses for resilience education, offering a sustainable adaptation model that is scalable globally and paving the way for a more resilient and inclusive urban future.
The initiative is organized by VSF with CORILA, Iuav University of Venice (UNESCO Chair on Heritage and Urban Regeneration), the University of Southern Denmark (SDU, UNESCO Chair on Urban Resilience), and in collaboration with Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), SAVE Spa, and Thetis Spa.
