The Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO) is a partner in the new project ReCAPS – Re-assessing Climate Policies for Equity and Justice through Societal Readiness, funded under the Horizon Europe programme. The project was approved under the call HORIZON-CL5-2025-06 (Cluster 5 – Climate, Energy and Mobility).
With a total EU contribution of €4,808,249.80, the project will run from 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2030, coordinated by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim. The project is led at IRMO by Dr Ana-Maria Boromisa, Head of the Department for International Economic and Political Relations.
ReCAPS will examine how international and national climate policies influence local equity and justice outcomes, through six urban case studies: Zagreb (Croatia), Greater Nairobi (Kenya), Trondheim (Norway), Greater Lisbon (Portugal), Cape Town (South Africa) and Lusaka (Zambia). Building on a robust empirical evidence base, the project will analyse the contextual impacts of Global North-South differences, intra-regional dynamics and national contexts on the implementation of climate policies, in order to assess the societal readiness of urban climate policies to support equitable and just climate transitions.
Through contextually grounded case studies, ReCAPS will develop a methodology for Just Climate Policy Pathways (JCPPs) that integrate justice and equity considerations, engaging directly with policymakers at local, national, regional and global levels. The project will also explore how formal and informal actors mediate climate policy implementation at the local level, developing context-sensitive strategies and governance innovations that are scalable and adaptable.
Alongside coordinator NTNU, the consortium brings together twelve partner institutions: Erasmus University Rotterdam (Netherlands), the Institute for Development and International Relations – IRMO (Croatia), the South African Urban Food & Farming Trust (South Africa), SINTEF Ocean AS (Norway), the Sustainable Development Design Society – DOOR (Croatia), the Hrvoje Požar Energy Institute – EIHP (Croatia), the University of Nairobi (Kenya), OI! Trøndersk Mat og Drikke AS (Norway), S.Energia (Portugal), the National Laboratory of Energy and Geology – LNEG (Portugal), the University of Cape Town (South Africa) and the University of Zambia (Zambia).
