Adapting to the consequences of climate change – but doing it right!

We are currently experiencing an unprecedented global climate crisis that has become significantly more pressing in recent decades. Its impacts affect all of us – here and now. Even if greenhouse gas emissions were to stop completely, further temperature increases would still be unavoidable. This is because the greenhouse gases already emitted will continue to affect the atmosphere for many decades. Therefore, both are needed: climate mitigation and adaptation to the impacts of climate change. Austria’s national adaptation strategy outlines a wide range of necessary actions and measures across 14 different areas of activity.

Well thought out, planned, and implemented

The impacts of climate change affect many different sectors, which are often closely interconnected. The possibilities for adaptation are diverse, ranging from awareness-raising measures about how to behave during heatwaves, to increasing urban greenery, to technical structures for protection against natural hazards.
When planning and implementing adaptation measures, decision-makers repeatedly face similar questions, such as:
Does the measure achieve sufficient and long-term effectiveness?
Does its implementation negatively impact the environment or other areas, or does it conflict with climate mitigation goals?

Good Practice in Adaptation

For adaptation measures to be successful, they must be well thought out, carefully planned, and properly implemented. Good adaptation practice goes hand in hand with the goals of sustainable development and climate mitigation. A number of criteria are available to help achieve this:

• Effectively and permanently reduces vulnerability to the negative impacts of climate change.

• Supports climate mitigation and does not directly or indirectly lead to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions.

• Is considerate and does not shift the burden to other regions or sectors.

• Contributes to the preservation and enhancement of the environment and biodiversity.

• Takes social aspects into account by avoiding disproportionate impacts on vulnerable social groups, such as low-income individuals, the elderly, or children, and ensures a fair distribution of costs and benefits.

• Is broadly accepted by the public and all relevant stakeholders.

• Is financially justifiable, effective, and efficient, offering a favorable cost-benefit ratio.

• Is designed to be flexible, allowing for easy modifications if needed.

• Ideally provides co-benefits for the environment and society, even independently of climate change.

Adaptation processes that consider these criteria offer a range of benefits. First and foremost, they help avoid high financial, social, or environmental costs that can result from inadequate or poorly executed adaptation. In many cases, they also uncover and utilize new opportunities.

The impacts of climate change – and thus the need for adaptation – span across many sectors and areas. In this context, it is especially valuable to use synergies through good adaptation practices, such as nature-based approaches (e.g., in flood protection or open space planning).

Avoiding Maladaptation

Avoiding maladaptation is a key objective of Austria’s national adaptation strategy and is essential for successful and effective adaptation. For example, to prevent spontaneous maladaptation as an immediate, reactive response to the impacts of climate change, it is necessary to address this issue already during the planning and implementation of measures.

Long-term lifespans—such as those involved in infrastructure development or forestry—further highlight the need to avoid maladaptation. Measures must be designed and implemented today in a way that prepares us for climatic conditions 30, 50, or more years into the future.

While there are already various guidelines and manuals available for the development of adaptation strategies and action plans, there are still only a few approaches that systematically address the prevention of maladaptation and provide guidance for evaluating what constitutes good or poor adaptation.

As a result, initial ideas and considerations have been developed on how maladaptation can be avoided and how high-quality, effective adaptation—based on the existing criteria—can be ensured throughout the entire adaptation process.