Governance Recommendations for Adaptation in European Urban Regions: Results from Five Case Studies and a European Expert Survey

Abstract

This paper develops governance recommendations for urban adaptation strategies based on case studies in urban regions of five European countries, a European expert survey on guiding principles for adaptation to climate change (including more than 250 experts from all EU countries) and literature on adaptation to climate change. The case studies show that adaptation to climate change is influenced by social factors such as education, skills, values, perceptions, interests, customs, stakeholder participation and the cooperative structures between different sectors, communities, regions and policy levels. Social factors should therefore be explicitly addressed in adaptation strategies; if not taken into account, they can become significant barriers to adaptation. To adequately address social factors, every adaptation strategy should include learning, cooperation and communication strategies, which are best formulated at the local level.

Four case studies were carried out in the context of a study in the European Alps conducted by several European partners including Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany. The study was mainly funded by the European Environment Agency (EEA). The fifth case study is carried out by the German project consortium ‘nordwest2050’ including the University of Oldenburg. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The European expert survey on guiding principles for adaptation was conducted by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research as part of a project funded by the EEA.