The Valorada Project: Improving access and usability of climate data

The Valorada Project: Improving access and usability of climate data GERICS developed a novel methodology to shed light on the climate-adaptation value of municipal and regional data. Cristóbal Reveco tells us more. Data-driven approaches increasingly underpin evidence-informed adaptation planning and policy. VALORADA– Validated Local Risk Actionable Data for Adaptation – begins from a simple but often overlooked premise: regions and municipalities routinely generate extensive volumes of non-climate data – such as socio-economic, demographic, land use and satellite data, environmental and infrastructure datasets – that can meaningfully characterise climate risk and vulnerability at local scales. These datasets, therefore, hold potential climate value. Realising this potential, however, is frequently hindered by practical and institutional barriers. VALORADA identifies three recurrent challenges: useful datasets exist, but their relevance for adaptation goes unrecognised; inexpensive but valuable data are not collected because their benefits remain invisible; and existing datasets could provide important risk insights but are undermined by outdated information or persistent gaps.