Living with sea-level rise in North-West Europe: Science-policy challenges across scales

Bart van den Hurk*, Alexander Bisaro, Marjolijn Haasnoot, Robert J. Nicholls, Katrin Rehdanz, Dana Stuparu

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Sea-level rise (SLR) confronts coastal societies and stakeholders with increasing hazards and coastal risks with large uncertainties associated to these changes. Adaptation to SLR requires societal and policy decision-making to consider these changing risks, which are in turn defined by socio-economic development objectives and the local societal context. Here, we review some of the key challenges facing governments, stakeholders and scientists in adapting to SLR, and key aspects of successful adaptation, by exploring different approaches to SLR and coastal adaptation planning in three western European countries, the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom. Several common challenges of SLR adaptation emerge across the different settings, including the inherent uncertainty regarding future conditions, the significant social and socio-economic consequences, the consideration and distribution of (residual) risk over communities, and the long legacy of present-day decisions that affect future risk and management options supporting future generations. These challenges are addressed differently in the three countries, e.g. in the governance level at which adaptation is initiated, although common elements also emerge. One common emerging element is adaptive pathways planning, which entails dynamic decision-making that breaks uncertain decisions into manageable elements or steps over time, while keeping options for the future. Another common element is the development of effective local science-policy interfaces, as engagement of local decision-makers and citizens is essential to manage conflicting interests. Lastly, we find that social and communication sciences have great potential to support effective science-policy interfaces, e.g. though identifying societal tipping points. Yet, in decisions on SLR adaptation, insights from these fields are rarely used to date. We conclude that supporting science-policy interactions for adaptation decision-making at relevant (inter)national to local scales through tailored multi-disciplinary scientific assessments is an important way forward for SLR adaptation in Europe.

Original languageEnglish
Article number100403
Pages (from-to)1-11
Number of pages11
JournalClimate Risk Management
Volume35
Early online date25 Jan 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The webinar “Living with sea Level Rise” at the ECCA21 conference and this manuscript have been supported by the conference secretariat and by the project RECEIPT (REmote Climate Effects and their Impact on European sustainability, Policy and Trade) which received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant agreement No. 820712 . It was also supported by the research project GoCoase, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany , grant number 1LA1812A/C and the research project CoCliCo (Coastal Climate Core Service) which received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant agreement No. 101003598. We are grateful for the contribution of Jacobus Hofstede (Ministry of Energy, Agriculture, the Environment, Nature and Digitalization of Schleswig-Holstein) and Annemiek Roeling (manager of Dutch ministry of infrastructure Knowledge Program on Sea Level Rise) for their contributions to the webinar. Also three anonymous reviewers are acknowledged for their constructive comments on earlier versions of this manuscript.

Funding Information:
The webinar ?Living with sea Level Rise? at the ECCA21 conference and this manuscript have been supported by the conference secretariat and by the project RECEIPT (REmote Climate Effects and their Impact on European sustainability, Policy and Trade) which received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant agreement No. 820712. It was also supported by the research project GoCoase, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany, grant number 1LA1812A/C and the research project CoCliCo (Coastal Climate Core Service) which received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant agreement No. 101003598. We are grateful for the contribution of Jacobus Hofstede (Ministry of Energy, Agriculture, the Environment, Nature and Digitalization of Schleswig-Holstein) and Annemiek Roeling (manager of Dutch ministry of infrastructure Knowledge Program on Sea Level Rise) for their contributions to the webinar. Also three anonymous reviewers are acknowledged for their constructive comments on earlier versions of this manuscript.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022

Funding

The webinar “Living with sea Level Rise” at the ECCA21 conference and this manuscript have been supported by the conference secretariat and by the project RECEIPT (REmote Climate Effects and their Impact on European sustainability, Policy and Trade) which received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant agreement No. 820712 . It was also supported by the research project GoCoase, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany , grant number 1LA1812A/C and the research project CoCliCo (Coastal Climate Core Service) which received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant agreement No. 101003598. We are grateful for the contribution of Jacobus Hofstede (Ministry of Energy, Agriculture, the Environment, Nature and Digitalization of Schleswig-Holstein) and Annemiek Roeling (manager of Dutch ministry of infrastructure Knowledge Program on Sea Level Rise) for their contributions to the webinar. Also three anonymous reviewers are acknowledged for their constructive comments on earlier versions of this manuscript. The webinar ?Living with sea Level Rise? at the ECCA21 conference and this manuscript have been supported by the conference secretariat and by the project RECEIPT (REmote Climate Effects and their Impact on European sustainability, Policy and Trade) which received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant agreement No. 820712. It was also supported by the research project GoCoase, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany, grant number 1LA1812A/C and the research project CoCliCo (Coastal Climate Core Service) which received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant agreement No. 101003598. We are grateful for the contribution of Jacobus Hofstede (Ministry of Energy, Agriculture, the Environment, Nature and Digitalization of Schleswig-Holstein) and Annemiek Roeling (manager of Dutch ministry of infrastructure Knowledge Program on Sea Level Rise) for their contributions to the webinar. Also three anonymous reviewers are acknowledged for their constructive comments on earlier versions of this manuscript.

FundersFunder number
Ministry of Energy, Agriculture, the Environment, Nature and Digitalization of Schleswig-Holstein
Horizon 2020 Framework Programme
Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung1LA1812A/C, 101003598
Horizon 2020820712

    Keywords

    • Climate adaptation
    • Coastal management
    • Sea Level Rise

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Living with sea-level rise in North-West Europe: Science-policy challenges across scales'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this