Living with Climate ChangeSystemic investigation of climate change impacts on our society and efficient adaptation / mitigation scenarios to sustain our quality of life

Austrian Proposal

GPC Meeting, 14. 9. 2009

Process

Discussions within the Austrian research community

Workshop on European level with participation of Belgium, Estonia, Spain, Finland, France, Hungary,

Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, and Sweden

with the objective to develop a vision and basic concept of a JPI „Living with Climate Change“

Current draft as a framework for the JPI Further specification of the proposal requires discussion process on

European level

219.04.23

Vision

Shifting Europe to a society that copes with climate change while sustaining / improving quality of life

enabled by a systemic approach that considers the complexity of our social, economic and ecological systems

Develop a European vision how to tackle climate change and develop society

Link existing (sectoral) knowledge and expertise and their interrelationships to develop optimised systems

Establish a learning community across Europe for the sake of a sustainable and efficient adaptable Europe

Strengthen Europe as the lead market in CC adaptation and mitigation

319.04.23

Current status and activities on CC

Manifold research activities ongoing and expertise available on European and international level, e.g. International global change programmes

• International Geosphere – Biosphere Programme IGBP• International Human Dimension Programme IHDP• Earth System Science Programme ESSP• Biodiversity Programme DIVERSITAS

CIRCLE• Focus adaptation• Regional focused calls (Mediterranean, Nordic, Mountain calls)

FP7 climate change projects

419.04.23

Relevant sectors and research fields – current activities

Water system Water cycles Costal regions – oceans Erosion Water quality, water supply and management

Soil systems Soil ecosystems - soil quality Management concepts for soil, agriculture and forestry

Pollutants Bioavailability and remobilisation processes of pollutants Greenhouse gases

519.04.23

Relevant sectors and research fields – current activities

Biodiversity Shifts in plants and animals in water and terrestrial

ecosystems Genetic diversity Availability of bio-resources Impact on healthcare system

Agriculture and forestry Biotic disturbances

Impacts on crop production, livestock and food security

619.04.23

Relevant sectors and research fields – current activities

Energy Sustainable concepts for energy generation, transmission

and use

Increased energy demand (for heating and cooling)

New building concepts

Utilisation of renewable energy sources

Transport Systems and Infrastructure Safety and reliability of transport infrastructure

Health system Pests and parasites

Detection, medication and protection measures of (new) diseases

719.04.23

Motivation for the JPI

What is changing? Which subsystems and sectors are affected?

Comprehensive data, models, scenarios on CC available

In which way are specific sectors affected and changing?

Research activities on climate change impacts mainly sectoral oriented, e.g. water, soil, atmosphere, biosphere, agriculture, energy, etc.

How does society handle CC? How can we adapt our systems efficiently to CC while at the same time sustaining our quality of life?

?

819.04.23

Motivation for JPI „Living with CC“

919.04.23

How does society handle CC? How can we adapt our systems

efficiently to CC while at the same time sustaining our quality of life?

Adaptation / mitigation scenarios for our society require a systemic approach

that consider the complexity of our system and its interrelationships and links

and combines the existing research results

Development of European strategies to successfully and efficiently adapt to

CC

Key objectives

Development of European scenarios for CC adaptation / mitigation Foresight processes Translation of research results into strategies for decision support

Research on CC issues on systemic level “Europize” existing global knowledge Investigate interactions between sectors and subsystems Investigate relevant societal aspects

• Extreme events• Rural areas • Urban areas

Evaluation of good practice of CC adaptation / mitigation on regional level

Establishing a learning system and transfer of good practices across Europe

1019.04.23

JPI concept

1119.04.23

Research issues

Research issues focus on systemic investigation of e.g. Climate prediction on decadal timescales (e.g. for

extreme events) Regional climate scenarios at improved horizontal scales Coupled climate and impact models Socio-economic models Systems resilience and vulnerability Risk research Genetic adaptability Ecosystems functioning

applied on selected systems, like urban areas, rural areas, extreme events, etc.

1219.04.23

JPI implementation

Iterative process for defining / redefining research programmes

Definition of various phases Preparatory phase for putting research programmes and

ongoing research activities together

Specification of focal points and identification of white spots (strategic driven research demand)

Research programme phase I

Reflection phase for evaluation of the research results on strategies and definition of research programme phase II

1319.04.23

Results

Understanding interdependencies of relevant subsystems and their impact on the European societal development

European scenarios, technologies, measures for living with CC

A learning Europe for a faster and more efficient adaptation to CC

Europe as a lead market for CC adaptation and innovation

Europe as best practice for sustaining a stable social environment

1419.04.23

Added value of JPI

Systemic approach is currently not considered sufficiently but is required for developing / shifting European society, economy and ecology

Systemic approach requires coordinated European activities and strategies on a mid- to long term perspective ERA-net more short term oriented

Most programmes sectoral oriented

Transfer of successful adaptation measures and strategies between regions

Keeping Europe on the forefront of economical and social development

1519.04.23