MULTICARE at Urban Resilience Forum 2026!

Green finance, resilient buildings and practical tools for urban resilience were at the centre of MULTICARE’s participation in the Urban Resilience Forum 2026, organised by ICLEI in Guimarães, Portugal.

European cities increasingly face compound and cascading climate and non-climate hazards affecting buildings, infrastructure and urban systems. Floods, heatwaves and other extreme events place growing pressure on local administrations to better understand vulnerabilities, prioritise adaptation measures and strengthen preparedness.

The Urban Resilience Forum 2026 gathered 420 participants from 42 countries. Most participants represented the public sector, especially local city governments, while private businesses and NGOs also took part in the event.

The MULTICARE project was invited to contribute to the forum and join the European exchange on practical tools for safer and more resilient urban spaces. On 17 June 2026, Steven Borncamp represented MULTICARE during the session “Opening the Resilience Toolbox: Solutions for Safer Urban Spaces”.

According to Steven Borncamp, the presentation was followed by questions during the panel session and further discussions with conference attendees. He also held promising exchanges with ICLEI, which may support future outreach to municipalities as part of MULTICARE’s capacity-building activities.

Practical Tools and Green Finance for Resilient Buildings

The session brought together experiences from cities and organisations working on climate resilience and urban risk management across Europe.

The discussion focused on practical ways to identify vulnerabilities, assess climate risks, support decision-making, co-create resilience actions with communities and strengthen preparedness for extreme events.

In this context, Steven Borncamp presented how engaging the banking sector can create new opportunities for net-zero energy and resilient homes. He explained that better, more resilient construction can reduce financial risks and create value for homeowners, banks, investors and insurance companies.

This opens the door to innovative financial products that reward safer and more energy-efficient buildings. Tools such as green mortgages can help support homes that are more comfortable, more affordable to live in and better prepared for climate-related risks.

Green Finance Expertise for Resilient Buildings

Steven Borncamp is an Advisor to the Smarter Finance for EU – European Centre of Excellence and founder of the Romania Green Building Council. His work focuses on green finance mechanisms, including green mortgages and property tax reductions for green buildings.

Together with the RoGBC team, he is involved in MULTICARE activities that support engagement with the finance sector. This work helps financial institutions better understand climate risk and the financial benefits of resilient buildings.

The presentation also highlighted synergies between MULTICARE and Smarter Finance for EU, including professional training for the banking, institutional investment and insurance industries.

These activities support the wider uptake of Green Homes and Green Mortgage programmes, which are already being developed across 19 countries.

Both MULTICARE and Smarter Finance for EU are supported by CINEA, the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency.

MULTICARE’s Role in Urban Resilience

MULTICARE develops low-carbon resilient technologies, digital services and decision-support approaches for a future-proof built environment.

At the current stage of the project, MULTICARE is strengthening its work on capacity building and stakeholder engagement. This means helping different groups, including municipalities, financial institutions, real estate stakeholders and insurance professionals, better understand how resilient buildings can support safer cities and communities.

By taking part in the Urban Resilience Forum 2026, MULTICARE contributed to an important European discussion on how cities can move from climate risk awareness to practical action.