Málaga is positioning itself as a benchmark city in sustainability and climate communication, thanks to a pioneering project that transforms the city’s streets into spaces for reflection and change.
Málaga from within: Exploring the climate emergency through a critical lens
When we think of tourism, we usually picture beaches, monuments and restaurants. But what if a tourist route could become a tool for understanding climate change, visualising its consequences and discovering real solutions? That is exactly what the Climate Route proposes: a pioneering initiative in Spain that has chosen Málaga as one of its epicentres.
The project redefining responsible tourism in Spain
The Climate Route (rutadelclima.es) is more than a guided walk. It is a comprehensive tool that combines responsible tourism, environmental education and civic cooperation to address the climate emergency from a constructive and hopeful perspective.
Born in 2019, this initiative has grown and evolved into a project funded by the European Union through Spain’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, under the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism’s Experiencias Turismo España programme. A recognition of the transformative potential of an idea that started small but thinks big.
Málaga: The ideal setting to explore the climate
The choice of Málaga as one of the host cities of the Climate Route is no coincidence. A Mediterranean coastal city, Málaga is a living laboratory where the effects of climate change are something tangible: rising temperatures, the transformation of the coastline, extreme weather events such as DANAs (cold drop storms), and a society actively seeking answers.
Those who walk the route not only enjoy the landscape and heritage of Málaga — they also discover, stop by stop, what is happening to our climate, which actors are doing something about it, and how they themselves can contribute. The city becomes the classroom.
Educational and technological innovation: Clima academy and the mobile App
One of the project’s recent milestones is the launch of educational and technological tools unprecedented in Spain. The University of Málaga recently hosted the presentation of two standout innovations:
Clima Academy is a gamification experience designed specifically for secondary schools and educational centres, dividing learning about climate change into six interactive stations. Young people and teachers can thus tackle the climate emergency without giving up on play or scientific rigour.
Additionally, an open application for mobile phones and tablets allows users to geolocate in real time all the sustainable initiatives along the route, both for individual users and professionals. A step forward in making climate knowledge accessible, visual and participatory.
These tools have been made possible thanks to the collaboration of organisations such as Social Climate, Rutas Pangea, Aethnic, Low Carbon Economy and many others committed to climate action.
Simultaneous routes, many cities: When climate action expands
One of the project’s most remarkable moments took place on 21 March, when Climate Routes were held simultaneously in five Spanish cities: Málaga, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Zaragoza. A powerful image: while in some cities people were discussing the impact of DANAs and urban reorganisation, the exact same conversations were taking place in other squares and streets across the country.
This capacity to generate simultaneous debate across multiple urban nodes is no coincidence, it is part of a communication strategy: making climate change stop feeling like something distant, and instead become a close, shared and mobilising experience.
What this project teaches us about communication and sustainability
From the perspective of strategic communication and public relations, the Climate Route is a fascinating case study. We ask ourselves: why does it work?
First, because it combines physical experience with rigorous content. It is not about handing out a leaflet or listening to a talk — it is about walking, observing, interacting and conversing in the very spaces where the climate is changing.
Second, because it places citizens at the centre. There is no passive audience receiving information: there are people actively participating, becoming agents of change during and after the route.
And third, because it bets on hope without denying the crisis. One of the great challenges of climate communication is avoiding emotional collapse or paralysis. The Climate Route achieves this by showcasing real solutions, real people and real possibilities.
Málaga as a city that regenerates
This project fits perfectly with the spirit of the EUPRERA Annual Congress 2026, to be held in Málaga in September under the theme “Regenerating public relations and strategic communication in the face of the new global order”. The Climate Route is, in itself, an example of regenerative communication: it does not merely inform or raise awareness — it activates, transforms and connects.
Málaga is not only the setting for the congress. It is a city that experiments, that innovates and that demonstrates that it is possible to do things differently. The Climate Route is proof of that.
Saturday, 19 September
9:30 – 12:00 (approx). Social Programme
Faculty of Communication Sciences (UMA)
The Climate Journey: Explore the climate emergency and its solutions
The Climate Journey is a participatory experience as a tool for climate action, environmental education, responsible tourism, and cooperation. Through thematic itineraries, participants explore climate change from a local perspective – its causes, impacts, and solutions – in a dynamic and interactive way.
The activity will be conducted in English, lasts approximately 2–2.5 hours, and requires prior paid registration (during the registration for the Congress, via ConfTool).
More information about the Routes for Climate project.
