CLIMSAVE
European Union Projects
Project duration: 
Jan 2010 to Oct 2013

CLIMSAVE will develop and apply an integrated methodology for stakeholder-led, climate change impact and vulnerability assessment that explicitly evaluates regional and continental scale adaptation options, and cross-sectoral interactions between the key sectors driving landscape change in Europe (agriculture, forests, biodiversity, coasts/floodplains, water resources, urban development and transport). A range of sectoral meta-models will be linked within a common assessment platform that is user-friendly, interactive and web-based to allow the rapid reproduction of climate change impacts by stakeholders themselves.

Introduction

The meta-models will be derived from detailed state-of-the-art models which represent the latest results on impacts of, and vulnerability to, climate change and which are appropriate for multi-scale spatially explicit impact studies. Indicator metrics, which translate the outputs from the integrated models into ecosystem services outcomes, will create a standardised approach across sectors ensuring comparability in quantifying impacts and vulnerability. The integrated assessment platform will use these metrics to identify hotspots of climate change vulnerability and provide the ability to assess adaptation strategies for reducing these vulnerabilities, in terms of their cost-effectiveness and cross-sectoral benefits and conflicts. Methods for reducing uncertainties and increasing the transparency of model and scenario assumptions will be implemented to inform the development of robust policy responses.

A series of professionally facilitated workshops will identify stakeholder needs and test an innovative methodology for participatory scenario development specifically geared towards interactive climate change impact and adaptation assessment. Two sets of three workshops at two levels (European and regional) will ensure that the CLIMSAVE methodologies work at different scales and provide for continuity of engagement and mutual learning.

Conclusions

  • CLIMSAVE