How to develop a risk and vulnerability assessment

The present document provides step-by-step guidance on how to develop a Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (RVA) which is the ground to plan successful climate adaptation actions. To ensure sound and effective climate action planning, implementation and monitoring, the Covenant of Mayors (CoM) Guidebook provides cities with relevant context, objectives, methodological principles, procedures, data sources and examples to develop a Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP). One of the key elements of the SECAP, the Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (RVA) is a process that combines scientific data with local knowledge to assess the current local situation in terms of climate risks.

The process to build the RVA consists of identifying past and future climate hazards, population and assets exposed, as well as physical and social vulnerabilities, determining adaptive capacity to evaluate how well a community can adjust to climate impacts, analysing and prioritising risks and potential impacts. This is embedded in a framework where there’s a dedicated team to develop the RVA, stakeholders are identified and engaged, and appropriate tools and techniques are explored and selected. This document also provides insights into climate adaptation goals which should address the most important identified risks and vulnerabilities in alignment with the community's capacity and needs.