Judith Klostermann

On the nature of barriers to climate change adaptation

Considerable barriers can emerge in developing and implementing climate change adaptation strategies. Understanding the nature of barriers to adaptation is important so as to find strategic ways of dealing with them. However, our current understanding is limited and highly fragmented across the academic community. This paper aims to bring some conceptual convergence in these debates by applying a systematic review method to assess the current state of knowledge on barriers to adaptation in the peer-reviewed literature. The review results show that: (1) Barriers to adaptation have hardly been defined in the literature and no clear indicators exist so as to identify and assess them systematically. (2) An impressive number of barriers have been reported, but the list of possible barriers is seemingly endless. (3) The most frequently reported barriers relate to the institutional and social dimensions of adaptation. (4) Barriers are identified as configurations of climate and non-climate factors and conditions that emerge from the actor, the governance system, or the system of concern. (5) Barriers are mainly studied in developed countries with a strong focus on water-related domains. (6) The majority of studies on barriers use small-n inductive case approaches while comparative studies across different contexts are limited. (7) Although interventions to overcome barriers are recommended by most studies, empirical studies on interventions are scarce. We present further conceptual clarification and a more precise definition of barriers to adaptation. We conclude that future research should go beyond asking the questions ‘if’ and ‘which’ barriers to adaptation exist and begin asking ‘how’ and ‘why’ barriers emerge.

Barriers to climate change adaptation in the Netherlands

Review of recent literature on adaptation to climate change and general literature on policy processes shows that there are a large number of barriers that hamper the development and implementation of climate change adaptation strategies. To reduce and manage the number of barriers and combine both streams of literature, we propose seven clusters of barriers to adaptation. Little is known, however, about the relative importance of these barriers to climate change adaptation policies and practices. An online survey was conducted between March 2010 and July 2010 among 264 scientists, policymakers, and private actors from different sectors and levels who are involved in climate change adaptation projects and programmes in the Netherlands. The survey aimed to gather their experiences with, and perceptions of, the barriers identified in the literature and encountered in their daily work. Both climate-related and non-climate-related barriers were included in the survey. Data were subjected to both qualitative and quantitative analysis. A survey feedback workshop was organized to discuss the results with several of the survey respondents. Results of this study revealed that respondents considered conflicting timescales as the most important cluster of barriers to adaptation. Other highly ranked barriers include conflicting interests; lack of financial resources; unclear division of tasks and responsibilities; uncertain societal costs and future benefits; and fragmentation within and between scales of governance. Furthermore, the analysis demonstrated that scales matter in understanding the barriers to adaptation: actors from lowlevels of governance seem to consider the barriers as more severe than actors from high levels of governance.

Analytical lenses on barriers in the governance of climate change adaptation

Barriers to adaptation have become an important concept in scientific and political discussions in the governance of climate change adaptation. Over the past years, these discussions have been dominated by one analytical lens in examining barriers and proposing ways to overcome them: the problem solving lens. In this paper, we aim to demonstrate theoretically and empirically that the choice of analytical lens influences how barriers to adaptation are constructed and the intervention strategies proposed. Drawing from recent governance literature, we explore the rationale of three dominant philosophies in the study of governance: the optimist, the realist, and the pessimist philosophy. Next, we demonstrate how these philosophies are operationalized and guide scientific inquiry on barriers to adaptation through four empirically rooted analytical lenses: i) governance as problem solving, ii) governance as competing values and interests, iii) governance as institutional interaction, and iv) governance as dealing with structural constraints. We investigate the Dutch government’s Spatial Adaptation to Climate Change programme through each of the four lenses. We discuss how each analytical lens frames barriers in a specific way, identifies different causes of barriers, leads to competing interpretations of key events, and presents other types of interventions to overcome barriers. We conclude that it is necessary to increase analytical variety in order to critically engage in theoretical debates about barriers and to empower policy practitioners in their search for successful intervention strategies to implement adaptation measures.

Community Of Practice Approach To Developing Urban Sustainability Indicators

In the urban context the quest to enhance economic growth and social well-being is challenged by the need to protect and manage natural resources. In order to promote sustainable urban planning, sustainability objectives are commonly embedded into planning policies, and the associated indicators used to evaluate planning interventions and monitor implementation of such objectives. The applicability of indicators is commonly tied in to their ability to address context-specific issues and monitor progress towards definite goals set at the local level. This paper presents the findings of a participative methodology applied in five European cities to develop a set of sustainability indicators with the aim of optimising their applicability for assessing planning alternatives affecting urban metabolism (i.e. the exchange of materials and energy within cities). The results indicate that engagement of researchers and practitioners through Communities of Practice (CoP) helped bridge the gap between science and practice, and facilitated the selection of consistent and meaningful indicators to be used as a tool for decision-making. However, the results also revealed that planning priorities can significantly shape the extent and scope of sustainability indicators, and that a CoP approach may not always be sufficient to guarantee continuity of collaboration.

The adaptive capacity of institutions in the spatial planning, water, agriculture and nature sectors in the Netherlands

The climate change problem calls for a continuously responding society. This raises the question: Do our institutions allow and encourage society to continuously adapt to climate change? This paper uses the Adaptive Capacity Wheel (ACW) to assess the adaptive capacity of formal and informal institutions in four sectors in the Netherlands: spatial planning, water, agriculture and nature. Formal institutions are examined through an assessment of 11 key policy documents and informal institutions are analysed through four case studies covering each sector. Based on these ACW analyses, both sector-specific and more general strengths and weaknesses of the adaptive capacity of institutions in the Netherlands are identified. The paper concludes that the most important challenge for increasing institutional adaptive capacity lies in combining decentralized, participatory approaches with more top-down methods that generate leadership (visions, goals) standards, instruments, resources and monitoring.

Assessing adaptive capacity of institutions to climate change : a comparative case study of the Dutch Wadden Sea and the Venice Lagoon

In this study we assess the adaptive capacity of relevant institutions for ecosystems and environmental management in two complex systems: the Dutch Wadden Sea and the Venice Lagoon. A new tool called the Adaptive Capacity Wheel (ACW) is used to diagnose strengths and weaknesses in the institutional systems in these two areas. An overview of both strengths and weaknesses leads to a better understanding of the system of governance and enhances the discussion of how it can be improved. The ACW identifies six dimensions that are relevant for the adaptive capacity of a society, according to the literature on climate adaptation and governance. They are variety, learning capacity, room for autonomous change, leadership, availability of resources, and fair governance. Then, we compare the two cases drawing attention to the physical and institutional similarities and differences that could explain the level of adaptive capacity we found. In this study, the physical and economic characteristics of the two regions proved to be quite similar, while the institutional system was very different. These two different governance systems, however, lead to a similarly low level of adaptive capacity. In theWadden, decision processes are slowed down because of a lack of authority and leadership. On the dimension of learning, the Wadden case scores positively. In Venice, lack of cooperation and accountability limit learning. Venice scores well on the autonomous ability to change. We conclude that in both cases there is a lot to be improved and that the two regions can learn from each other. Venice could, for example, improve learning with structures similar to those in theWadden, such as theWadden Academy. TheWadden area could learn from Venice about how to inform the larger public on potential flooding.

Towards a framework to assess, compare and develop monitoring and evaluation of climate change adaptation in Europe

Adaptation is increasingly recognised as essential when dealing with the adverse impacts of climate change on societies, economies and the environment. However, there is insufficient information about the effectiveness of adaption policies, measures and actions. For this reason, the establishment of monitoring programmes is considered to be necessary. Such programmes can contribute to knowledge, learning and data to support adaptation governance. In the European Union (EU), member states are encouraged to develop National Adaptation Strategies (NASs). The NASs developed so far vary widely because of differing views, approaches and policies. A number of member states have progressed to monitoring and evaluating the implementation of their NAS. It is possible to identify key elements in these monitoring programmes that can inform the wider policy learning process. In this paper, four generic building blocks for creating a monitoring and evaluation programme are proposed: (1) definition of the system of interest, (2) selection of a set of indicators, (3) identification of the organisations responsible for monitoring and (4) definition of monitoring and evaluation procedures. The monitoring programmes for NAS in three member states—Finland, the UK and Germany—were analysed to show how these elements have been used in practice, taking into account their specific contexts. It is asserted that the provision of a common framework incorporating these elements will help other member states and organisations within them in setting up and improving their adaptation monitoring programmes.

A novel approach for anthropogenic heat flux estimation from space

The recently launched H2020 project URBANFLUXES (URBan ANthrpogenic heat FLUX from Earth observation Satellites) investigates the potential of EO to retrieve anthropogenic heat flux, as a key component in the Urban Energy Budget (UEB). URBANFLUXES advances existing Earth Observation (EO) based methods for estimating spatial patterns of turbulent sensible and latent heat fluxes, as well as urban heat storage flux at city scale and local scale. Independent methods and models are engaged to evaluate the derived products and statistical analyses provide uncertainty measures. Optical, thermal and SAR data are exploited to improve the accuracy of the UEB components spatial distribution calculation. Synergistic use of different types and of various resolution EO data allows estimates in local and city scale. Ultimate goal of the URBANFLUXES is to develop a highly automated method for estimating UEB components to use with Copernicus Sentinel data, enabling its integration into applications and operational services.

ANthropogenic heat FLUX estimation from Space

The H2020-Space project URBANFLUXES (URBan ANthrpogenic heat FLUX from Earth observation Satellites) investigates the potential of Copernicus Sentinels to retrieve anthropogenic heat flux, as a key component of the Urban Energy Budget (UEB). URBANFLUXES advances the current knowledge of the impacts of UEB fluxes on urban heat island and consequently on energy consumption in cities. This will lead to the development of tools and strategies to mitigate these effects, improving thermal comfort and energy efficiency. In URBANFLUXES, the anthropogenic heat flux is estimated as a residual of UEB. Therefore, the rest UEB components, namely, the net all-wave radiation (Q*), the net change in heat storage (ΔQs) and the turbulent sensible (QH) and latent (QE) heat fluxes are independently estimated from Earth Observation (EO), whereas the advection term is included in the error of the anthropogenic heat flux estimation from the UEB closure. The project exploits Sentinels observations, which provide improved data quality, coverage and revisit times and increase the value of EO data for scientific work and future emerging applications. These observations can reveal novel scientific insights for the detection and monitoring of the spatial distribution of the urban energy budget fluxes in cities, thereby generating new EO opportunities. URBANFLUXES thus exploits the European capacity for space-borne observations to enable the development of operational services in the field of urban environmental monitoring and energy efficiency in cities.

Anthropogenic heat flux estimation from space : Results of the first phase of the URBANFLUXES project

H2020-Space project URBANFLUXES (URBan ANthrpogenic heat FLUX from Earth observation Satellites) investigates the potential of Copernicus Sentinels to retrieve anthropogenic heat flux, as a key component of the Urban Energy Budget (UEB). URBANFLUXES advances the current knowledge of the impacts of UEB fluxes on urban heat island and consequently on energy consumption in cities. This will lead to the development of tools and strategies to mitigate these effects, improving thermal comfort and energy efficiency. In URBANFLUXES, the anthropogenic heat flux is estimated as a residual of UEB. Therefore, the rest UEB components, namely, the net all-wave radiation, the net change in heat storage and the turbulent sensible and latent heat fluxes are independently estimated from Earth Observation (EO), whereas the advection term is included in the error of the anthropogenic heat flux estimation from the UEB closure. The project exploits Sentinels observations, which provide improved data quality, coverage and revisit times and increase the value of EO data for scientific work and future emerging applications. These observations can reveal novel scientific insights for the detection and monitoring of the spatial distribution of the urban energy budget fluxes in cities, thereby generating new EO opportunities. URBANFLUXES thus exploits the European capacity for space-borne observations to enable the development of operational services in the field of urban environmental monitoring and energy efficiency in cities.