The Transloss project has officially ended on June 30, 2022.
TransLoss Policy Brief: Grenzen der Anpassung in Österreich?
Im Mai 2022 ist der aktuelle TransLoss Policy Brief „Grenzen der Anpassung in Österreich“ herausgekommen. Das TransLoss Team stellt sich in diesem Policy Brief die Frage, inwiefern Anpassungsgrenzen in Europa – insbesondere in Österreich – erreicht und/oder heute bzw. zukünftig überschritten werden. Nachzulesen hier!
April 11, 2022: Online Workshop „Grenzen der Anpassung in Österreich?„
Laut dem neuesten Bericht der Arbeitsgruppe II des IPCC sind die Auswirkungen der Klimakrise bereits in vielen Teilen der Welt spürbar. Diese klimawandelbedingten Veränderungen können weltweit zu Anpassungsgrenzen führen. Die Online-Veranstaltung hat am 11. April 2022, 14:30-16:00 Uhr statt gefunden. Das Team des Forschungsprojektes TransLoss lädt zur gemeinsamen Diskussion möglicher Anpassungsgrenzen in Österreich ein.
Der kürzlich veröffentlichte Beitrag der Arbeitsgruppe II zum sechsten IPCC-Sachstandsbericht (AR6) zeigt eindrücklich, dass der von Menschen verursachte Klimawandel deutlich spürbare, negative Folgen für soziale und ökologische Systeme mit sich zieht. Davon können verschiedene Regionen und Bevölkerungsgruppen weltweit sehr unterschiedlich betroffen sein. Diese klimawandelbedingten Veränderungen können – in Kombination mit weiteren sozio-ökonomischen Prozessen – zu Anpassungsgrenzen führen, die bleibende Verluste und Schäden, sowohl im globalen Süden als auch im globalen Norden, verursachen. Das ACRP-Projekt TransLoss („Transformatives Risikomanagement zur Bewältigung von Loss and Damage“) hat zum Ziel, politikrelevante wissenschaftliche Erkenntnisse zu klimabedingten Risiken in Österreich, die nicht durch Mitigation oder Anpassung verhindert werden (können), zu generieren. Dieser 1,5-stündige Workshop wird zunächst kurz auf die Forschungsergebnisse eingehen, bevor wir uns in Arbeitsgruppen mit konkreten Szenarien für klimabedingte Risiken und mögliche Anpassungsgrenzen für Österreich auseinandersetzen, welche auf den Erkenntnissen einer umfassenden Konsultation österreichischer Akteur:innen beruhen.
March 29-31, 2022: INQUIMUS Conference: „Transformational risk management and Loss & Damage: What are suitable approaches for assessing climate-related (residual) risks?“ IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria
The TransLoss project co-hosted the 2022 edition of the INQUIMUS workshop series entitled „Transformational risk management and Loss & Damage: What are suitable approaches for assessing climate-related (residual) risks?“ An interdisciplinary group of thirty international researchers and practitioners have convened from March 29-31, 2022 at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) for the INQUIMUS 2022 conference.
Copyright: GLOMOS Research
Together with the co-organizers from the University of Salzburg, Austria, and Eurac Research, Italy, TransLoss scientists Veronica Karabaczek, Stefan Kienberger, Reinhard Mechler, Linda Menk and Thomas Schinko, invited the participants to discuss the topic „Transformational risk management and Loss & Damage: What are suitable approaches for assessing climate-related (residual) risks?“.
Inspired by four state-of-the-art keynote presentations by international experts, the conference participants jointly identified needs, gaps and experiences in comprehensively assessing and managing climate-related risks that may lead beyond adaptation limits; from a scientific but also a decision making point of view. Fruitful areas for future research were identified and requirements for transformational change within climate risk science itself have been identified in order to be able to respond to the needs from donors and decision makers.
Further Information on INQUIMUS Workshop Series
HIGHLIGHT: December 01, 2021: INQUIMUS Pre-event Online Workshop with 74 participants!!!
On December 01, 2021, IIASA together with the University of Salzburg and Eurac Research hosted a workshop on „Transformational risk management and Loss & Damage: What are suitable approaches for assessing climate-related (residual) risks?“. After a key-note speeach from Prof. Ortwinn Renn, Scientific Director at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam (Germany), participants worked in break-out groups exploring issues around the question „What are the main challenges for transformational climate risk management?“
The results of the discussions will be a base for the upcoming INQUIMUS Workshop on March 29-31, 2022 (https://www.inquimus.org/) „Transformational risk management and Loss & Damage: What are suitable approaches for assessing climate-related (residual) risks?“ at IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria.
TransLoss / IUCA – COP26 Online Panel Discussion (November 09, 2021)
November 09, 2021: Tackling adaptation limits through transformational change. Isabel Hagen (Uni Zürich) was leading an online panel discussion as part of a set of events during COP26 organized by International Universities Climate Alliance:
Title: Tackling adaptation limits through transformational change
About event: What are the limits of adaptation to climate-related hazards and processes? This session explores whether equitable and community-lead transformationaladaptation can help reduce risk and losses and damages. The event was organised in the form of a panel discussion followed by a Q&A with the audience.
Date and time: Tue, 9 November 2021, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM CET
The session was recorded and can be streamed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x70LNQTG72U
Link to the event (with information about panellists): https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/tackling-adaptation-limits-through-transformational-change-tickets-198741399877
The event is part of a set of events during COP26 organized by International Universities Climate Alliance.
Link to all COP26 events: https://www.universitiesforclimate.org/how-are-universities-leading-the-way-on-climate-change/
TransLoss / SINCERE – ECCA Conference Session (June 10, 2021)
The 5th European Climate Change Adaptation Conference (ECCA 2021, https://www.ecca21.eu/, http://www.jpi-climate.eu/ecca2021) took place in a virtual format from 25 May to 22 June 2021. It comprised a series of 9 webinars in the run-up to a high-level event on 22 June, integrating key policy messages of the webinars. The conference was co-organised by the European Commission, JPI Climate and three Horizon 2020 projects (SINCERE, CASCADES and RECEIPT). The high-level event was hosted by the European Commission, back to back with the annual European Research & Innovation Days (23-24 June).
The webinar on „Building back better: COVID recovery, resilience building and societal transformation” (10 June 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXiEdDtjep8&t=6119s) was organised by the JPI Climate Action Group Enabling Societal Transformation (led by AG EST co-lead Elisabeth Worliczek) together with SINCERE (Martina Haindl) and other related projects (such as TransLoss: Thomas Schinko and Veronica Karabaczek). It aimed to answer the following overarching question „Is COVID a magnifying glass of society? If so, what does it highlight and what does it hide in the context of climate change?“. Four different break-out- groups (hosted by scientists and NGO representatives from EU and non-EU countries) interactively discussed these and subsequent questions from diverse perspectives.
The following main societal issues, derived from previous scoping activities (e.g. SOLSTICE Call: http://www.jpi-climate.eu/SOLSTICE), have been the focus of the webinar and the base for developing the key messages:
- Social justice and participation -> Key message: „The crises affects populations very differently and emphasizes existing inequalities and injustices. We call for participatory bottom-up initiatives as a means to foster a sense of a global common good to tackle multiple objectives and empower people.”
- Sense making, cultural meaning and risk perceptions -> Key message: „The crises demonstrates the interconnected elements of the web of life – humans and nature as one. We call for a thorough communication of both local and global issues and for giving science a voice in achieving this balance”
- Transformative finance and economy -> Key message: „Multidimensional and integrated socio-ecological goals and information systems help to achieve social and ecological goals that serve the common good. We call for new means of measure (away from GDP and profit) to consider global terms by accounting for consumption and production-based impacts.”
- Transformational governance -> Key message: „Faith and hope trigger community and locally led responses. We call for the co-creation of knowledge for decision-making and behavioural change that is able to address our perceptions and values by touching our emotions.”
The derived key messages (transferred through an animated video) have been discussed within a high-level event panel session focusing on „What next for climate resilience? – Forward looking session on COVID-19 recovery and green societal transformation“ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJtxT7Xl–4&list=PLvvWSuqy3auYFtjGaE9t2okZG7USPiRol, starting at 1:05:10).
As part of the virtual conference, the SOLSTICE Call projects have been selected to be showcased at the Virtual ECCA Library. The graphical recording of the SOLSTICE Kick-off meeting on 28 April, 2021, that served as an inspiration for the consequent webinar, is available here: https://www.ecca21.eu/participants/284#363566.
All the sessions and webinar recordings are available on ECCA’s Youtube page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4TtWZytp-ShUzffnP0vzgw
Presentations
April 12 & 13, 2021: TransLoss Presentation at “Österreichischer Klimatag in Leoben”, Montanuniversität Leoben, https://ccca.ac.at/fileadmin/00_DokumenteHauptmenue/03_Aktivitaeten/Klimatag/Klimatag2020___2021/Tagungsband_2021_v4.pdf
Press Coverage
Austrian Local News Coverage of TransLoss Project:
April 15, 2021: BMK, Kategorie Klima- & Umweltschutz: “Wie sich Gemeinden besser vor Klimawandelfolgen wappnen könnten”, https://infothek.bmk.gv.at/wie-sich-gemeinden-besser-vor-klimawandelfolgen-wappnen-koennten/
April 13, 2021: Die Presse: “So können sich Gemeinden besser vor Klimawandelfolgen wappnen” – https://www.diepresse.com/5964822/so-konnen-sich-gemeinden-besser-vor-klimawandelfolgen-wappnen
Publications
October 13-22, 2020: Disaster Research Days 2020 – Konferenzband, Herausgeber: Disaster Competence Network Austria, WEBINAR S E R I E S OCTOBER 13-22, 2021, https://www.dcna.at/files/tao/img/veranstaltungen/drd20/DRD20_Book_of_Abstracts_v1.pdf
The following paper has been published in the international peer-reviewed journal Sustainability Science, which reveals novel insights in the context of limits to adaptation and transformational risk management for tackling residual risks (WP3):
Mechler, R., Singh, C., Ebi, K., Djalante, R., Thomas, A., James, R., Tschakert, P., Wewerinke-Singh, M., Schinko, T. et al. (2020). Loss and Damage and limits to adaptation: recent IPCC insights and implications for climate science and policy. Sustainability Science DOI:10.1007/s11625-020-00807-9. Available (open access) at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11625-020-00807-9
Interim Project Results – November 2020
The stakeholder and governance map displays the connections between individuals and institutions active in the field of disaster risk management and climate change adaptation, both of which are part of a comprehensive climate risk management approach and relevant for L&D issues (WP1).
The initial assessment of the interviews carried out with Austrian experts are described in the following (WP1 & WP4):
• The main concerns regarding potential limits to adaptation in Austria, include increases in precipitation extremes and heat stress, but also greater socioeconomic vulnerability due to non-climatic factors such as the increased exposure of assets due to wealth increases as well as building and zoning choices.
• Extreme heat and drought are of particular concern for certain regions in Austria, disproportionately affecting the agricultural and forestry sectors, as well as more vulnerable parts of the population such as the sick and elderly. The loss of forests not only affects livelihoods and leisure, but also the availability of territory and human safety due to the importance of protection forests. Storms and stronger wind also significantly contribute to observed and predicted damages.
• Risks posed by floods and alpine hazards were mentioned but are not considered to be main sources of concern or potential impacts beyond affected communities’ ability to adapt due to the long tradition of technical risk management in Austria. The voluntary relocation of inhabitants in the Eferdinger Becken after heavy flooding in 2013, however, is a recent example of a measure with a more transformative impact, highlighting the growing insufficiencies of traditional flood risk management measures.
The literature review in WP2 showed that the science debate is focused on the general understanding of L&D and on how to properly quantify tangible and intangible dimensions of it. The applied literature is predominantly concerned with questions regarding what factors to include in the L&D assessment, how to measure them, what data to collect, how to store it and how to translate data into condensed but meaningful, policy-relevant information. Risk metrics are still a marginal issue.
We have further developed the conceptual CRM framework that has been introduced in the context of L&D by previous ACRP-funded research. Specifically, we have further extended the previous 6-step approach by two more steps, which now better highlights the two closely interlinked elements of the CRM framework: (i) climate risk assessment and (ii) decision making, implementation and monitoring of CRM measures (WP3).
Downloads 2020
TransLoss Flyer (Deutsche Version)
TransLoss Flyer (English Version)
TransLoss 