Grenzen der Anpassung in Österreich? TransLoss Policy Brief

Es gibt immer mehr wissenschaftliche Belege dafür, dass besonders exponierte und vulnerable natürliche und sozioökonomische Systeme durch den menschengemachten Klimawandel an Grenzen der Anpassung stoßen werden. Dadurch wird es weltweit zu gravierenden Schäden und bleibenden Verlusten kommen, die von monetärer, aber auch ideeller Natur sein können. Während im globalen Süden bereits heute Anpassungsgrenzen erreicht werden und Menschen daher mit intolerablen Risiken konfrontiert sind, stellt sich die Frage, inwiefern Anpassungsgrenzen in Europa – insbesondere in Österreich – erreicht und/oder heute bzw. zukünftig überschritten werden. There is increasing scientific evidence that particularly exposed and vulnerable natural and socio-economic systems will be pushed to the limits of adaptation by man-made climate change. This will result in serious damage and permanent losses worldwide, which can be of monetary, but also non-material nature. While in the Global South adaptation limits are already being reached and people are therefore confronted with intolerable risks, the question arises to what extent adaptation limits in Europe - especially in Austria - will be reached and/or exceeded today or in the future

A reality check for the applicability of comprehensive climate risk assessment and management: Experiences from Peru, India and Austria

Climate-related risks are a major threat to humanity, affecting the lives and livelihoods of communities globally. Even with adaptation, climate change is projected to increase the severity of risks, leading to impacts and residual risks, also termed losses and damages. Frameworks and approaches using Climate Risk Management (CRM), an integration of Disaster Risk Reduction, Climate Change Adaptation, and sustainable development, are being devised to support the comprehensive management of increasing climate-related risks. Here we discuss to what extent comprehensive CRM has been implemented in three specific cases – in Peru, India and Austria. The approach is conceptually represented and evaluated using a CRM framework. The cases deal with risks associated with glacial lake outburst floods, sea level rise, tropical cyclones, salinization, riverine floods and agricultural droughts. Ultimately, we synthesise policy and research recommendations to help understand what is feasible for CRM approaches applied in practice. We find that successful CRM implementation in practice benefits from being flexible, and participatory from beginning to end, whilst considering compounding risks, and the spectrum of (just and equitable) incremental to transformational adaptation measures necessary for attending to current and projected future increases in climate-related risks