COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Guidelines on developing adaptation strategies Accompanying the document COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS An EU Strategy on adaptation to climate change
Date: 2013-04-16
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: adaptation to climate change, common strategy, joint implementation, user guide

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 16.4.2013  
SWD(2013) 134 final 

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 

Guidelines on developing adaptation strategies 

Accompanying the document 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

An EU Strategy on adaptation to climate change 

{COM(2013) 216 final} 
{SWD(2013) 131 final} 
{SWD(2013) 132 final} 
{SWD(2013) 133 final} 
{SWD(2013) 135 final} 
{SWD(2013) 136 final} 
{SWD(2013) 137 final} 
{SWD(2013) 138 final} 
{SWD(2013) 139 final} 

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COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 

Guidelines on developing adaptation strategies 

Accompanying the document 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

An EU Strategy on adaptation to climate change 

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Table of Contents 

Background and introduction to the guidelines.......................................................................... 5 

Consultation process................................................................................................................... 5 

Current efforts in adaptation policy-making .............................................................................. 5 

Structure of the guidelines.......................................................................................................... 7 

The Guidelines ........................................................................................................................... 8 

Step 1: Preparing the ground for adaptation............................................................................... 8 

Step 1.a. Obtain high-level support ............................................................................................ 8 

Step 1.b. Set up the process ........................................................................................................ 9 

Step 1.c. Estimate human and financial resources needed and identify potential sources of 

funding for the long term ........................................................................................... 12 

Step 1.d. Collect information ................................................................................................... 12 

Step 1.e. Communicate and raise awareness ............................................................................ 15 

Concluding step: key principles for adaptation ........................................................................ 16 

Step 2. Assessing risks and vulnerabilities to climate change.................................................. 16 

Step 2.a. Analyse how past weather events have affected your country.................................. 17 

Step 2.b. Undertake a climate change risks and vulnerability assessment............................... 17 

Step 2.c. Take trans-boundary issues into account................................................................... 18 

Step 2.d. Develop an approach for addressing knowledge gaps and for dealing with 

uncertainties ............................................................................................................... 20 

Concluding step: Select your country’s main concerns and set your strategic direction ......... 20 

Step 3. Identifying adaptation options...................................................................................... 21 

Step 3.a. Collect appropriate adaptation options given your country´s main concerns ........... 21 

Step 3.b. Explore good practices and existing measures.......................................................... 22 

Step 3.c. Describe adaptation options in detail ........................................................................ 22 

Step 4. Assessing adaptation options........................................................................................ 22 

Step 4.a. Assess possible options in terms of time, cost, benefits and efforts.......................... 22 

Step 4.b. Assess cross-cutting issues, trade-offs and synergies of adaptation options............. 23 

Step 4.c. Prioritise adaptation options and select preferred ones ............................................. 23 

Concluding step: Prepare a strategy document and get political approval............................... 25 

Step 5: Implementation ............................................................................................................ 26 

Step 5.a. Identify and make use of entry points for adaptation into existing instruments 

and/or create new instruments for adaptation (Mainstreaming)................................. 27 

Step 5.b. Seek agreements with stakeholders responsible for implementation........................ 28 

Concluding step: Develop an action plan................................................................................. 28 

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Step 6: Monitoring and evaluation ........................................................................................... 29 

Step 6.a. Develop appropriate M&E provisions for both adaptation policy´s objectives 

and selected adaptation options.................................................................................. 29 

Step 6.b. Identify indicators...................................................................................................... 31 

How does the EU Support? ...................................................................................................... 33 

Knowledge base........................................................................................................................ 33 

Mainstreaming framework ....................................................................................................... 33 

Funding instruments and organisations .................................................................................... 33 

Annexes 36 

Annex 1 – Key principles for adaptation.................................................................................. 36 

Annex 2 - Self-check ................................................................................................................ 37 

Annex 3 - Further information sources .................................................................................... 40 

Annex 4 - References ............................................................................................................... 41 

Annex 5 - Glossary................................................................................................................... 42 

Annex 6 - Overview of available guidelines ............................................................................ 49 

An EU Strategy on adaptation to climate change 

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BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION TO THE GUIDELINES 

This document contributes to achieving the first objective of the EU Adaptation Strategy. 
It  provides  a  first  answer  to  identified  barriers  to  the  uptake  of  adaptation  strategies  at 
national level. It builds on and aims to make more operational the so-called Adaptation 
Support  tool1,  one  of  the  key  features  of  Climate-ADAPT.  This  tool  was  developed 
together  with  Member  States  and  other  stakeholders during  the preparation of  Climate-
ADAPT. 

Consultation process 

A  comparative  analysis  of  existing  national  adaptation  strategies  as  well  as  national 
adaptation  efforts  to  develop  policies  for  adaptation  has  been  conducted.  In  addition  to 
the  Adaptation  Steering  Group  meetings,  seven  workshops  were  organized  with 
representatives  from  Member  States  between  January  and  September  2012.2  These 
workshops aimed to inform the development of the EU Adaptation Strategy and offered 
an  arena  for  sharing  knowledge  and  experience  on  adaptation  policy  and  practice.  In 
particular,  they  were  used  to  discuss  needs  and  expectations  of  the  guidelines  on 
developing  adaptation  strategies.  The  meetings  were  structured  in  a  way  to  gain 
comparable  results  and  to  provide  good  coverage  for  feedback  on  the  needs  and 
expectations from Member States. 

This  document  takes  stock  of  and  can  be  complemented  with  the  various  guidance 
documents reported in Annex 6. They cover a wide spectrum of issues to be addressed 
when  developing  adaptation  policy-making,  from  local  adaptation  strategies  to  sectoral 
aspects,  but  they  also  show  a  gap,  as  no  resources  currently  target  adaptation  policy-
making for EU Member States.  

Hence,  building  on  the  state  of  the  art  in  adaptation  policy  development,  the  EU 
guidelines on developing adaptation strategies3 aim to support EU Member States in the 
process of developing, implementing and reviewing their adaptation strategies to be able 
to (better) cope with a changing climate.   

Current efforts in adaptation policy-making 

As of January 2013, 15 EU Member States have adopted a national adaptation strategy: 
Austria,  Belgium,  Denmark,  Finland,  France,  Germany,  Hungary,  Ireland,  Lithuania, 
Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK.  

Although there is no “one-size-fits-all” framework for adaptation in place, certain aspects 
of good adaptation are common. In particular:  

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http://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/web/guest/adaptation-support-tool/step-1  
EPA Interest Group Climate Change Adaptation (5th and 6th of March 2012 in Dessau/Germany 
and on 27th and 28th of August 2012 in Helsinki); EIONET Meeting in Brussels (22 and 23th of 
May  2012);  Member  State  Meeting  for  Southern  Europe  to  support  the  development  of  the  EU 
strategy (29th of May 2012 in Rome); CIRCLE 2 SHARE Workshop Supporting the development 
of the EU strategy for adaptation to climate change – Views and Challenges in Eastern Europe (27 
and  28th  of  June  2012  in  Vienna);  Second  Nordic  International  Conference  on  Climate  Change 
Adaptation from 29-31th of August in Finland; Joint EIONET and Member State Expert groups 
on  Maritime  Spatial  Planning  and  Integrated  Coastal  Zone  Management  from  11-12  September 
2012 in Copenhagen 
Strategies  shall  be  understood  in  this  document  as  an  umbrella  term  for  adaptation  policies 
(including strategies, action plan and potentially sectoral plans). 

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-  Sectoral  focus:  All  adaptation  strategies,  or  their  related  action  plan,  have  been 
developed  with  a  sectoral  focus,  reflecting  the  need  for  cross-government 
adaptation working groups to drive implementation; 

-  Mainstreaming:  Integrating  and  mainstreaming  adaptation  with  existing  national 

programmes and policies is central to all present adaptation strategies; 

-  Stakeholders'  involvement:  Varying  approaches  have  been  taken  on  stakeholder 
involvement  in  the  development  process  of  existing  adaptation  strategies,  from 
centralised  to  relatively  decentralised.  Centralised  approaches  have  involved  a 
small  core  group  of  administrations  only  while  decentralised  approaches  have 
engaged a wide range of state and non-state stakeholders;  

-  Communication  and  awareness-raising:  all  Member  States  acknowledge  that 
without  effective  communication  and  awareness-raising,  implementation  of  the 
adaptation strategy and associated actions will be very challenging;  

-  An evolving process: all adaptation strategies appear to be intended as evolving 
documents  which  will  be  reviewed  and  updated  to  take  account  of  advancing 
climate change science, research and technology. 

At the same time, some limiting factors for successful adaptation remain:  

-  Absence  of  considerations  for  cross-border  impacts:  only  one  Member  State, 
Belgium,  explicitly  considers  the  potential  cross-border  impacts  of  climate 
change and climate change adaptation.   

-  Further need for climate  change risks and vulnerability assessments: only a few 
Member States have engaged in the preparation of detailed risk and vulnerability 
assessments.  

-  Lack  of  action  plans:  Only  a  few  strategies  encompass  concrete  action  plans, 
namely Austria, Finland, Germany, Denmark, France, Malta and Spain. Much of 
the adaptation work undertaken to date can be summarised as awareness raising 
or preparing the ground for adaptation. 

-  Lack  of  monitoring  and  evaluation:  Monitoring  and  evaluation  (M&E)  and 
adaptation  indicators  remain  relatively  poorly  developed  in  most  countries. 
Nevertheless, the attention being paid to M&E is growing with the awareness to 
draw  on  sharing  lessons  learnt  and  existing  good  practice  in  other  areas  or 
domains; 

-  Lack  of  funding:  Few  of  the  strategies  define  funding  sources  for  adaptation 
action. This prerequisite for strategy implementation seems to be lacking in many 
countries together with establishing clear responsibilities for taking action. 

EU  Member  States  are  faced  with  a  number  of  barriers  which  might  hinder 
successful adaptation policy making and implementation. At the stakeholder meetings 
to  support  the  development  of  the  EU  Adaptation  Strategy,  participants  mentioned  the 
lack of human and financial resources and the lack of political commitment/will as key 
barriers.  Furthermore,  they  raised  the  issue  of  uncertainty  and  reported  that  the  lack  of 
dedicated research hinders the adaptation policy process. In addition, the communication 
of relevant information to decision-makers was named as a challenging task. This goes in 
line  with  the  need  to  create  a  common  understanding  for  adaptation  (e.g.  distinction 
between mitigation and adaptation) among all affected stakeholders.  

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Most  barriers  are  context-specific  and  process-dependent  so  that  well-designed  policy 
processes  and  targeted  interventions  might  help  to  avoid/overcome  barriers.  But  being 
aware  of  possible  barriers  and  looking  into  good  practice  examples  for  resolving  them 
may help to set specific actions in order to overcome them.  

The  guidelines  intend  to  advance  a  common  understanding  of  important  aspects 
relevant to any adaptation process and provide clear terms of reference on how to 
address  the  above-mentioned  barriers.  They  highlight  key  principles  for  successful 
adaptation  processes  and  deliver  a  common  basis  for  cooperative  adaptation  activities 
between  different  actors/stakeholders.  In  addition,  the  guidelines  present  various 
approaches taken by EU Member States in order to foster knowledge transfer and lessons 
learnt among them. To allow a wide uptake of the guidelines among national level policy 
and decision-makers in Europe, an easy to apply approach for adaptation is presented.  

Additional  information  on  barriers  in  adaptation  policy 
making  and  suggestions  on  how  to  overcome  them  can  be 
found in Clar et al. 20124 

Member  States  using  the  guidelines  will  be  reminded  of  the  main  gaps  currently 
identified  in  adaptation  policy-making,  as  well  as  of  successful  approaches  and  good 
practice  examples  that  address  those  gaps5.  Following  the  recommendations  of  the 
guidelines  would  facilitate  a  good  adaptation  process  including  proactively  removing 
barriers that might otherwise occur.   

Structure of the guidelines 

The guidelines are organized along the six steps of the adaptation support tool provided 
under CLIMATE-ADAPT6. Step 1 of the adaptation support tool must be understood as 
introducing key elements important to build the basis for a successful adaptation process. 
The  remaining  five  steps  of  the  adaptation  policy  process  should  be  considered  as 
iterative and closely interlinked phases.  

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http://www.adaptgov.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Clar-Barriers-guidelinesinadaptation-
policy-A86-Tscience.pdf  
Each  practical  example  presented  in  the  guidelines  was  discussed  with  and  drafted  by  Member 
States' representatives.  
http://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/web/guest/adaptation-support-tool/step-1  

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THE GUIDELINES 

Step 1: Preparing the ground for adaptation 

Following the guidelines mentioned in this step will help address:  

- the need to obtain and assure high level support; 

- the risk of inadequate coordination and clarity about roles and responsibilities; 

- the lack of funding, and its consequences during the implementation phase (see Step 5); 

- the inadequate use of already available information; 

- the lack of awareness or understanding of climate change issues.  

Step 1.a. Obtain high-level support 

High-level  support  can  be  triggered  by  recommendations  from  a  higher  level  of 
governance,  the  way  the  EU  Adaptation  Strategy  emphasizes  the  need  for  adaptation 
action at Member State level, or it could be triggered by legal obligations, even coming 
from  a  single  sector.  To  ensure  long  term  commitment  for  adaptation  from  political 
decision-makers  or  senior  public  management  (which  goes  beyond  the  legislative 
period), raising awareness might be necessary at first.  

Visit the European CLIMATE-ADAPT platform7 for relevant 
information on adaptation activities in European countries 

Practical example 1 

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http://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/web/guest/countries 

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Calling  for  the  preparation  of  national,  regional  and  local  adaptation  strategies  in 
Italy 

An event that was significant for early adaptation activities in Italy was a National Conference on Climate 
Change, which was organised by the Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea in September 2007. This 
event  involved  a  wide  range  of  stakeholders  at  the  national,  regional  and  local  level,  along  with 
representatives from government institutions and NGOs, with a special session devoted to young people. 
The  presence  of  the  President  of  the  Italian  Republic  and  the  participation  of  the  Prime  Minister  and 
various  Ministries  made  the  event  a  very  high  level  conference.  During  the  two-day  event,  the  most 
relevant national TV news and journals gave a wide coverage to the Conference.   

The Conference included a series of preliminary workshops focusing on the  most critical issues, such as 
desertification, erosion, coastal flooding, biodiversity loss, glaciers and snow cover loss, hydro-geological 
risk, health and the hydro-graphic area of the river Po. During the Conference, the problems concerning the 
changes in the level of vulnerability brought about by climate change and the available adaptation options 
were discussed. These led to final outcomes including a climate manifesto for sustainable adaptation and 
environmental safety, which called for the preparation of a National Adaptation Strategy and 13 actions for 
sustainable  adaptation,  including  the  improvement  of  monitoring,  research  and  knowledge  on  climate 
change impacts. 

The  Conference  represented  an  important  opportunity  for  collecting  and  organizing  the  most  relevant 
available  information  on  climate  change  and  its  impacts.  Information  is  already  available  on  specific 
vulnerable  sectors  such  as  health,  desertification,  glaciers  and  snow  cover,  and  hydro-geological  risk. 
Although  these  provide  a  good  starting  point  to  begin  the  process  of  developing  an  adaptation  strategy, 
many relevant knowledge gaps have been identified. 

Some arguments to make a good case for adaptation 

Climate change is no longer merely a future scenario; it is already in progress, and its effects are being felt 
in many locations. Examples include increasingly frequent heat waves and droughts, melting glaciers and 
permafrost,  increases  in  heavy  precipitation,  the  earlier  start  of  the  growing  season,  etc.  All  of  these  are 
indications of our changing climate. Adaptation to climate change must start now.  

In  the  coming  decades,  despite  all  our  efforts  and  achievements  in  climate  mitigation,  the  challenges 
involved  with  adaptation  to  climate  change  will  grow.  There  is  a  widespread  consensus  that  adaptation 
measures represent an indispensable complement to climate mitigation. 

Through  adaptation  measures,  the  adverse  impacts  of  climate  change  on  natural,  social,  and  economic 
systems can be reduced or avoided, thus minimising damages and costs. As climate change progresses, the 
opportunities for successful adaptation will shrink and the associated costs will increase. 

Adaptation has many points of contact with other strategies and is often closely linked to their objectives. 
Progress  in  adaptation  can  thus  achieve  a  variety  of  goals.  It  is  particularly  important  to  implement 
adaptation measures at the regional and local levels, where the effects of climate change are directly felt. 

The effects of climate change should not be seen exclusively as a burden. It is also important to identify 
potentially profitable opportunities in climate change.   

Because of the long life-spans of new construction projects, buildings, and infrastructure, it is important to 
take future climate change into account now, in the planning and development stages. 

Step 1.b. Set up the process 

(cid:206) Establish a core team for adaptation  

To sustain an adaptation process in the long term, a clear mandate for the management of 
the  adaptation  process  should  be  given  to  an  organisation  or  a  smaller  group  of  people 
employed  by  the  government.  The  precise  responsibilities  of  the  core  team  might  be 
context-specific  but  can  range  from  steering  the  process  within  the  public  authority  to 
formulating policy drafts, from acting as contact point for adaptation to communicating 
adaptation  internally  and  externally,  etc.  Members  of  the  core  team  should  have  long-

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standing experiences with weather/climate-related issues and should be qualified to cover 
a broad range of issues that might be relevant for the adaptation process.  

The  following  aspects  should  be  considered  when  establishing  a  core  team  for 
adaptation: 

-  Determine the members and obtain their consent 

-  Define the tasks of the group at the first meeting  

-  Agree  upon  the  structure  for  collaboration  (e.g.  frequency  of  meetings,  type  of 

communication within the core team, rules of cooperation) 

-  Create a schedule and set milestones 

- 

Identify cooperation needs with other administrative bodies and stakeholders 

-  Communicate,  both  internal  (management)  and  external  (public,  etc.)  and  with 

decision makers 

-  Organise a transparent documentation of all steps taken in the process 

Practical example 2  

Preparing the ground in Poland 

The  most  important  step  at  the  early  stages  of  adaptation  activity  in  2010  was  the  creation  of  a  group  of 
stakeholders responsible for decisions on adaptation strategy development. The group consisted of a Steering 
Committee and seven thematic working groups, including representatives from interested Ministries and their 
research institutes.   

Political commitment to adaptation was gained as a result of the government’s official adoption of the EC’s 
White  Paper  on  adaptation  in  April  2009.  Earmarking  financial  resources  for  adaptation  work  from  the 
ministerial or state budgets was the biggest challenge to launch work in key areas, which were identified by 
the working groups. Numerous experts were able to start work on developing an adaptation strategy as soon 
as the financial resources were available. 

(cid:206) Liaise with other relevant administrative bodies  

All  relevant  authorities  (e.g.  responsible  for  health,  civil  protection,  transport,  energy, 
economy,  finance,  education,  etc.)  need  to  be  informed  and  involved  in  the  adaptation 
process, receiving a clear mandate to take decisions in their fields of responsibility. This 
applies as well to the core team discussed above. 

Look at the PEER report8 for various institutional settings 
across Europe  

Their  degree  of  involvement  may  vary  from  providing  and  exchanging  information  to 
building  adaptive  capacity  or  to  taking  decisions  on  adaptation  within  their  sphere  of 
authority.  

It is also useful to make use of existing platforms and institutional set-ups. In particular, 
the national platforms for disaster risk reduction9, which many EU Member States have 
established,  provides  a  multi  sectoral  platform  that  could  facilitate  interaction  between 
disaster risk reduction and adaptation stakeholders. 

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http://www.peer.eu/fileadmin/user_upload/publications/PEER_Report1.pdf 
The Hyogo Framework for Action: Building resilience to disasters calls for the creation of such 
multi sectoral platforms as a main  mechanism for coordination and implementation of the disaster 
in  Europe  available  at 
risk  reduction  agenda.  See  Overview  of  National  Platforms 
http://www.unisdr.org/we/inform/publications/19617 

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Practical example 3 

Setting  up  an  inter-institutional  working  group  to  coordinate  the  development  of  a  National  Adaptation 
Strategy in Bulgaria 

For the Republic of Bulgaria, the first step in the process of preparing a National Adaptation Strategy (NAS) 
was  for  the  Ministry  of  Environment  and  Water  to  hold  an  initial  stock-taking  technical  workshop. 
Representatives  from  other  government  institutions,  the  Bulgarian  Academy  of  Sciences  and  non-
governmental organizations took part in the workshop. The main objective of the event was to determine the 
range of stakeholders who should be involved in the development of the Strategy.  

As  an  outcome  of  the  workshop,  an  inter-institutional  working  group  involving  representatives  of  all 
concerned stakeholders (government institutions, organizations, academics, NGOs) was established by order 
of  the  Minister  of  Environment  and  Water.  The  inter-institutional  working  group  has  the  responsibility  to 
assist and coordinate the development of a National Adaptation Strategy. 

(cid:206) Identify affected stakeholders and involve them in the adaptation process 

Cooperation  with  relevant  stakeholders,  including  interest  groups,  NGOs  or  those  from 
the  private  sector,  can  be  set  up  with  different  levels  of  involvement,  e.g.  access  to 
information,  consultation  on  specific  issues  of  concern  to  participatory  involvement 
throughout the whole process. The level of involvement can also change over the course 
of  the  adaptation  process  (e.g.  high  level  when  defining  objectives  vs.  low  level  when 
working on an evaluation scheme). But when starting the process, the aims of the process 
as well as the role of stakeholders need to be clear and communicated in order to manage 
expectations.  

Some key points when involving stakeholders should be taken into account: 

-  Every stakeholder involvement process is different and thus, a diversified skill set 
(e.g. moderation, mediation, adaptation related knowledge) is needed to deal with 
the various possible developments in the phases of involvement;  

-  Stakeholder involvement processes are resource intensive (e.g. human, financial) 
and thus, a clear process design should be available right from the start in order to 
calculate resources needed by stakeholders as well as the organization team;  

-  Short handouts about the process as well as minutes documenting the discussions 
and  key  results  within  the  process  should  be  prepared  in  order  to  guarantee  the 
continuous information exchange and transparency;  

-  Stakeholders need to be informed about the intended use of results and give their 

approval in case of planned publication.  

Practical example 4 

Engagement in the development of the Austrian National Adaptation Strategy 

Active  involvement  of  affected  actors  accompanied  the  development  of  the  Austrian  NAS  from  summer 
2008  until  summer  2011.  100  different  organisations  (e.g.  federal  and  provincial  ministries  or  related 
institutions  such  as  Railway  Austria;  interest  groups  such  as  the  Chamber  of  Agriculture;  and 
social/environmental NGOs) participated in the process which was split into two phases: 

- 

- 

Phase  I:  from  summer  2008  until  autumn  2010,  to  discuss  the  sectors  agriculture,  forestry, 
electricity, tourism and water;  

Phase  II:  from  autumn  2010  until  summer  2011,  to  examine  the  sectors  natural  hazards,  health, 
building/construction, biodiversity/ecosystems and transport infrastructure.  

Both  phases  were  initiated  and  performed  by  the  Environment  Agency  Austria  (EAA)  with  financial 
support  from  the  Climate-  and  Energy  funds.  Two  professional  external  moderators  provided  their 

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Practical example 4 

Engagement in the development of the Austrian National Adaptation Strategy 

expertise for the process design and chaired the meetings. 

The main aims of the broad involvement were the following: (i) to raise awareness for climate change and 
the need of adaptation among affected actors, (ii) to provide a platform to discuss opinions, experiences, 
needs,  preferences,  (possible)  conflicts  and  to  develop  balanced  solutions  (or  at  least  recommendations), 
(iii)  to  enhance  the  quality  of  the  NAS  by  including  knowledge  and  experience  of  affected  actors 
(particularly in regard to adaptation measures) and (iv) to increase the acceptance of NAS as well as the 
commitment for implementation.  

The original aims of the broad involvement process have been, to a large extent, successfully achieved. The 
experiences showed clearly that a cross-cutting and complex theme such as adaptation to climate change 
needs to be addressed with inter- and transdisciplinary approaches that allow to involve all affected actors.  

Step 1.c. Estimate human and financial resources needed and identify potential 
sources of funding for the long term 

Funding is available in several EU funding instruments, some national, regional and local 
funds,  as  well  as  from  some  international  financing  institutions,  such  as  the  European 
Investment Bank or the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Accessing 
and combining funding, especially from public and private sources below the EU level, is 
crucial.  EU  programmes  which  are  most  likely  to  provide  co-funding  under  shared 
management  for  adaptation  (many  already  do)  include:  the  CAP  (mainly  the  European 
Agricultural  Fund  for  Rural  Development);  the  Cohesion  fund;  the  European  Regional 
Development  Fund  (particularly  through  INTERREG);  Horizon  2020,  the  EU’s  new 
programme  for  research  and  innovation  which  aims  to  allocate  35%  to  climate-related 
expenditure; the European Social Fund; the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund. (See 
section on EU support for additional information) 

Other key sources of EU funding include the LIFE programme and the Competitiveness 
and Innovation Framework Programme, targeting mostly small and medium enterprises.   

When implementing adaptation action, mainstreaming that aims to create synergies and 
prevent  unnecessary  costs  will  become  crucial.  Adaptation  action  can  be  integrated  at 
low cost into existing instruments for sectoral policies.  

Step 1.d. Collect information 

(cid:206) Get a first overview on actual and potential future climate change related effects  

When  starting  the  process  of  climate  change  adaptation  planning,  a  first  screening  of 
existing work on possible climate change related effects in the short, medium and long 
term  should  be  done.  Several  sectors/themes  might  be  affected:  agriculture,  forestry, 
water management, fishery, biodiversity and ecosystem services, health, energy, tourism, 
transport,  construction/buildings,  economic/industry,  civil  protection/disaster  risk 
reduction, social issues. A broad first overview on possible climate change related effects 
will help to trigger the process and develop a case for adaptation and provides a basis for 
a more in-depth analysis at a later stage. In addition, it helps to foster the discussion on 
adaptation  policy  relevant  aspects  such  as  objectives,  priority  sectors,  vulnerable 
groups…  

Common concerns of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction 

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(cid:206) Identify ongoing activities with relevance for adaptation 

Adaptation  should  not  be  performed  in  isolation.  Relevant  instruments  and  ongoing 
adaptation actions (although possibly not carried out under the headline of “adaptation”) 
in  place  should  be  identified,  such  as  for  instance  disaster  risk  prevention,  biodiversity 
protection  or  land  use  planning  policies.  In  addition,  existing  sectoral  or  regional 
adaptation strategies/plans in the country should be identified.  

This can be done in close cooperation with colleagues from other authorities and affected 
stakeholders with the following guiding questions to help identifying ongoing activities 
relevant for adaptation: 

-  Have you ever been confronted with the topics of climate change or adaptation in 

your work? 

-  Have  projects  or  studies  on  the  effects  of  climate  change  been  conducted  on 

behalf of your organisation or department, or are such studies planned? 

-  Are you aware of studies or projects on the topic of climate change or adaptation 
from  other  sources  (universities,  other  research  institutions,  governmental 
ministries, other states, etc.) that are important for your field of work? 

-  Are  there  measures  already  in  place  that  contribute  to  adaptation  to  climate 

change, even if they are not specifically identified as adaptation measures? 

-  Have targeted adaptation measures already been implemented? 

-  Are there existing tools, strategies, processes, etc., that are important or could be 

used for adaptation to climate change? 

-  What networks or initiatives relevant to adaptation are already active or could be 

used for adaptation? 

Practical example 5 

Early adaptation activities in France 

There were three important events in France that provided the impetus to develop the National Adaptation 
Strategy  in  2006.  Firstly,  in  1999  a  fund  for  research  dedicated  to  climate  impacts  and  adaptation  was 
established.  The  research  programme  is  called  ‘Management  and  Impacts  of  Climate  Change’  (GICC  - 
Gestion  et  Impacts  du  Changement  Climatique)  and  aims  to  develop  the  knowledge  to  support  public 
policies  and  consider  climate  change  from  the  perspective  of  impacts  as  well  as  from  that  of  mitigation 

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Practical example 5 

Early adaptation activities in France 

measures and climate change adaptation measures. Secondly, the National Observatory for the Effects of 
Global  Warming  (ONERC)  was  created  by  law  in  2001,  tasked  specifically  with  adaptation  to  climate 
change. And thirdly, the severe heat wave of 2003 resulted in 14,000 deaths in France, providing a very 
real example of the impacts of climate change in France.   

Together  these  three  events  provided  sufficient  motivation  to  prompt  the  development  of  the  country’s 
Adaptation strategy. 

(cid:206) Explore good practices within or outside the country 

Adaptation  practices  that  work  well  in  one  area  can  usually  be  transferred  to  tackle 
similar situations in other areas. However, the performance of individual measures may 
depend on the scope of the problem and the specific scale of implementation. Making use 
of existing  information  on  good adaptation practices and experiences can also  optimise 
individual resource and effort management. 

Explore  the  case  studies  section  and  the  prevention  good 
practice inventory on the CLIMATE-ADAPT Platform10 as 
well as national databases.   

Practical example 6 

Bringing together scientists and policy makers to formulate an adaptation framework in Greece 

Although  the  concept  of  adaptation  was  already  familiar  to  the  Greek  scientific  community,  the  climate 
policy focus for many years was on mitigation as a result of the Kyoto Protocol ratification. However, one 
event  that  highlighted  the  adaptation  issue  and  moved  it  onto  the  political  agenda  in  Greece  was  the 
summer of 2007 with its record-breaking temperatures. Several impacts of the extremely hot weather had 
an immediate effect on the public and resulted in extended droughts, heat waves and devastating fires that 
caused biodiversity loss, property loss and loss of life. This event raised public awareness and prompted a 
number  of  ad-hoc  political  initiatives  which  concentrated  on  both  recovery  from  the  event  and  also  on 
possible ways to improve the country’s resilience and response to extreme weather events.  

Up  to  that  point  there  was  no  existing  overarching  adaptation  strategy  and  most  adaptation  measures 
adopted in Greece came as part of a broader network of existing policies that applied to the specific areas 
of identified vulnerabilities. In the recent years conversations have been mostly focused on the possibility 
of  adopting  a  more  adaptation-oriented  strategy,  in  which  the  existing  measures  would  officially  be 
considered as part of a comprehensive approach to prepare for the future climate. 

Two public events that took place in June 2011 have also contributed to this approach, bringing together 
scientists and policy makers: 

1. The ‘Adaptation to Climate Change in the Mediterranean Area’ workshop, held by the National Centre 
of  Environment  and  Sustainable  Development  (NCESD).  The  invited  speakers  were  from  political 
institutions,  research  organizations  and  the  public  sector.  The  presentations  were  organized  into  three 
categories:  the  ‘scientific  approach’,  the  ‘policies  and  institutions  approach’,  mainly  referring  to  the 
European  and  international  background,  and  the  ‘Priority  Sectors  in  Greece’  session.  At  the  end  of  the 
event, a very useful conversation took place on the topic of ‘Are the activity sectors prepared for climate 
change?’, bringing together all aspects of adaptation to climate change in Greece. 

2. A dissemination event was hosted jointly by the Bank of Greece and the Climate Change Impacts Study 
Committee  on  the  occasion  of  the  publication  of  the  ‘Environmental,  Economic  and  Social  Impacts  of 
Climate Change in Greece’ study. This study provided the first integrated approach to evaluating the future 
climate,  identifying  vulnerabilities  and  proposing  sectoral  adaptation  measures  based  on  a  cost-benefit 
analysis  conducted  for  three  scenarios  (‘Inaction  Scenario’,  ‘Mitigation  Scenario’  and  ‘Adaptation 

10 

http://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/sat 

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Practical example 6 

Bringing together scientists and policy makers to formulate an adaptation framework in Greece 

Scenario’). The innovative aspect of the study was that for the first time economic and social evaluations of 
the measures were provided together to form a good basis for policy makers. 

Both  events  helped  to  formulate  a  more  complete  framework  on  adaptation  to  climate  change  in  Greece 
and proposed a starting point for organizing the preparation of a National Adaptation Strategy. 

Step 1.e. Communicate and raise awareness 

(cid:206) Clarify the terminology  

When working with other services and stakeholders, but also when informing the general 
public on the issue of adaptation, important terms need to be clarified in order to build a 
common language and reach a common understanding. Agreed international definitions 
could  be  first  considered11  and  defining  key  terms  specific  to  the  local  characteristics 
could  then  be  a  task  for  the  core  team.  Once  agreed,  a  glossary  could  be  added  to  the 
adaptation policy documents.  

Check  the  Adaptation  glossary  (cf.  Annex  4)  and 
the CLIMATE-ADAPT glossary12  

(cid:206) Communicate climate change and the needs for adaptation 

This should be undertaken within and outside the responsible authorities in order to raise 
awareness,  enhance  acceptance  and  motivate  to  take  adaptation  actions.  Wirth  and 
Prutsch  (2013)  identify  several  aspects  to  be  taken  into  account  when  communicating 
climate change adaptation.  

Sharing  information  is,  among  others,  an  essential  pre-condition  for  good  adaptation. 
Information  on  climate  change,  impacts  and  possible  adaptation  actions  should  be 
bundled  and  refined  in  user-oriented  ways  to  reach  different  audiences.  Good  practice 
examples  from  other  countries  might  further  foster  the  adaptation  process  and  allows 
learning. 

Various  formats  for  communication  exist  and  can  prove  useful  such  as  personal 
consultations,  internet  communication/platforms  and  mass  media  to  spread  information 
on climate change, impacts and possible adaptation actions.  

A  national  web-portal  gathering  tailored  information  on  climate  change  and  climate 
change  adaptation  in  the  national  language  may  reveal  to  be  an  excellent  tool  for 
disseminating  relevant  information.  Such  platform  should  be  connected  with  other 
existing  portals  on  sectoral  policies  (e.g.  biodiversity,  water)  and  disaster  risk 
prevention/management. 

Find links to existing national web-portals in Annex 3  

11 

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as 

the  UNISDR 

Such 
risk 
http://www.unisdr.org/files/7817_UNISDRTerminologyEnglish.pdf 
http://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/glossary  

terminology 

disaster 

on 

reduction 

available 

at 

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Practical example 7 

Raising public awareness of adaptation in Slovenia 

Raising public awareness is an important first step, if not a prerequisite, prior to developing climate policy. 
In Slovenia, much of the credit for raising awareness of the importance of climate change can be given to 
Dr. Lučka Kajfež-Bogataj, Head of the Department of Agrometeorology at the Biotechnical faculty of the 
University of Ljubljana. Dr. Kajfež-Bogataj was the Vice-President of the IPCC WG2 from 2002 – 2008, 
during which  time  the  IPCC  produced  the Fourth  Assessment  Report  and was  awarded  a Nobel  Prize  in 
2007. Due to this high-level recognition of their work, Dr. Kajfež-Bogataj became very famous in Slovenia 
and used this influence to enhance the understanding of the causes of climate change and the impacts.  

The success of awareness-raising, alongside other elements, is evident in several surveys. Eurobarometer 
surveys  on  public  attitudes  towards climate  change  show that  Slovenians  are  among the  most  concerned 
Europeans  about  climate  change.  The  survey  “Europeans’  attitudes  towards  climate  change”  from  July 
2009 showed that people in Slovenia considered climate change the most serious problem the world was 
facing at the time. A significant proportion of Slovenia’s citizens said that they had taken some action to 
tackle climate change and, what is more, the survey conducted in Slovenia in 2009 and 2010 indicated that 
around three quarters of Slovene residents thought immediate action is required in order to tackle climate 
change.   

Concluding step: key principles for adaptation 

Following  the  key  principles  listed  in  Annex  1  and  tailoring  them  to  context‐specific 

conditions will most probably lead to good adaptation outcomes. As adaptation operates 
at  different  spatial  and  societal  scales,  success  should  be  evaluated  against  different 
criteria  at  these  different  levels.  Elements  of  effectiveness,  efficiency,  equity  and 
legitimacy are important in judging success. 

Key principles of adaptation (cf Annex 1)  
Guiding  principles13  for  adaptation  to  climate  change  in 
Europe, ETC/ACC 2010 

Step 2. Assessing risks and vulnerabilities to climate change 

Following the guidelines mentioned in this step will help address:  

- the lack of specific knowledge on climate change impacts and adaptation;  

- the insufficient coordination for knowledge exchange and dissemination;  

- the insufficient use of existing resources and available methodologies;  

- the absence of internalisation of cross-border considerations; 

- how to overcome uncertainty and knowledge gaps in order to avoid inaction.  

The  elements  presented  below  aim  to  develop  a  comprehensive  picture  of  current  and 
future climate change risks as well as further stress-factors to be expected. This can also 
help  to  identify  opportunities  arising  from  climate  change  and  provide  information  on 
how to cope with uncertainty.  

13 

http://acm.eionet.europa.eu/reports/ETCACC_TP_2010_6_guid_princ_cc_adapt 

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Step 2.a. Analyse how past weather events have affected your country  

Considering  past  weather  events  will  help  to  gain  a  better  understanding  of  how  a 
country  might  be  affected  by  climate  change  impacts  in  the  longer  term.  It  can  help  to 
determine a country’s sensitivity to current weather and thus, provide significant insight 
for adaptation needs. Relevant existing work, such as national risk assessments14, which 
many Member States have already carried out, can provide an excellent starting point for 
answering these questions.  

Information can be obtained from national Met Offices.  

Additional workshops with affected stakeholders might help 
get to insight from practitioners.  

Step 2.b. Undertake a climate change risks and vulnerability assessment   

As  a  first  step,  available  information  for  your  country’s  future  threats  (e.g.  sectoral 
vulnerability assessments) and opportunities should be collected and analysed. Relevant 
assessments  have  been  carried  out  for  most  European  countries  and  within  several 
research  projects15.  The  European  Environment  Agency  has  just  adopted  a  report  on 
climate  change  impacts  and  vulnerability  in  Europe16.  At  international  level,  the 
Intergovernmental  Panel  on  Climate  Change's  (IPCC)  5th  Assessment  Report  will  be 
adopted in 2014 and will provide the state of the art on expected impacts, adaptation and 
vulnerability  at  global  level.  In  addition,  the  Commission  proposal  for  Horizon  2020 
includes ambitious research objectives on climate change in general, and climate change 
adaptation in particular.  

If  the  available  information  base  is  not  sufficient  for  elaborating  adaptation  responses, 
additional  assessments  might  need  to  be  carried  out.  Various  approaches  for  risk 
assessments are available, e.g. from the UK17 and Germany. As a minimum request, the 
assessment should provide the following information: 

-  Trend of various climate variables (e.g. average temperature, heat days, intensive 
rainfall  events,  snow  cover),  based  on  one  or  ideally  on  a  range  of  different 
climate  scenarios,  for  instance  as  developed  in  the  Special  Report  Emission 
Scenarios (SRES) scenarios produced by the IPCC; 

-  Expected  (direct  and indirect)  impacts (threats, opportunities) by  identifying the 
most relevant hazards as well as the areas of the country, region or city that are at 
most  risk  given  an  overlay  of  spatial  distribution  of  total  population,  vulnerable 
populations, economic activities and economic value; 

-  Timescale,  with  differentiated  impacts  expected  in  the  short-term  (2020s), 

medium-term (2050s), and long-term (2080s/2100); 

-  An  indication  on  the  level  of  confidence  (e.g.  high,  medium,  low)  for  such 
impacts, with a view of facilitating the decision making process given the degree 
of uncertainty attached to the results; 

14 

15 
16 
17 

Based  inter  alia  on  the  Commission's  Risk  Assessment  and  Mapping  Guidelines  for  Disaster 
Management SEC(2010) 1626 final. 
http://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu 
EEA Report No 12/2012 
http://ccra.hrwallingford.com/CCRAReports/reportviewer.html?sector=intro&link=LinkTarget_1 

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-  Assessment  of  the  socio-economic  development  and  other  non-climatic  factors: 
Such  factors,  e.g.  megatrends  such  as  demographic  change,  use  of  resources, 
market trends, have a significant influence on a vulnerability to climate change.   

Check  the  CLIMATE-ADAPT  Platform  for  an  overview 
on  available  risk  assessments  for  countries18  and  across 
Europe19 as well as for relevant research projects20.  
The  UKCIP’s  Local  Climate  Impact  Profile21    tool 
(LCLIP) may be a useful reference 

Finally, it must be ensured that the climate risk assessment is tailored to policy-making 
needs. That is, it must be prepared introducing requirements for policy-relevant outcomes 
and  end-user  involvement.  Policy-science  interfaces  can  be  fostered  for  a  continuous 
dialogue on priority issues.  

Practical example 8 

UK Climate Change Risk Assessment 2012 

The UK’s Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA) was published on 25 January 2012, and is the first 
assessment of its kind for the UK and the first in a 5 year cycle. 

The  CCRA  presents  the  latest  evidence  on  the  risks  and  opportunities  of  climate  change  for  the  UK  to 
2100.  For  the  first  time,  it  provides  a  national  overview  of  potential  risks  based  primarily  on  the  UK 
Climate  Projections,  which  were  published  in  2009.  Its  findings,  particularly  related  to  those  risks  that 
require  early  action,  will  inform  the  development  of  adaptation  plans  by  the  UK  Government  and  the 
Devolved Administrations.  

The CCRA methodology is novel in that it has allowed for comparison of over 100 risks (prioritized from 
an  initial  list  of  over  700) from  a  number  of different  sectors based  on  the  magnitude  of  the  impact  and 
confidence in the evidence base. A key strength of this analysis involved using a consistent method and set 
of  climate  projections  to  look  at  current  and  future  risks  and  opportunities.  The  methodology  was 
developed through a number of stages involving expert peer review and is a repeatable methodology that is 
not dependent on changes in long term plans between the 5 year cycles of the CCRA. 

information 

More 
assessment/ 
http://ccra.hrwallingford.com/CCRAReports/reportviewer.html?sector=intro&link=LinkTarget_1  

is  available  at:  http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climate/government/risk-
and 

Step 2.c. Take trans-boundary issues into account 

Most  direct  and  indirect  impacts  of  climate  change  are  of  cross-border  nature.  Trans-
boundary issues create interdependencies between countries (e.g. hydrological, social and 
economic ones in the case of water).  

Thus,  a  country  should  seek  to  establish  contact  with  neighbouring  countries  to  inform 
about  the  adaptation  process  and  areas  of  concern  with  regard  to  cross-border  impacts 
and  identify  approaches  for  coordination  over  different  political,  legal  and  institutional 
settings. Joint adaptation and disaster risk management efforts might further need to be 
based  on  the  identification  of  common  threats  (e.g.  by  undertaking  mutual  risk 
assessments)  and  must  be  in  line  with  each  country´s  adaptation  objectives.  A  good 
starting  point  is  to  identify  areas  relevant  to  adaptation  action  in  which  there  has  been 

18 
19 
20 
21 

http://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/web/guest/countries 
http://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/web/guest/vulnerabilities-and-risks 
http://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/web/guest/research-projects  
www.ukcip.org.uk/lclip/  

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traditional transboundary cooperation (e.g. river basin management) and seek to involve 
the managing authorities in your adaptation policy.  

Investing  in  cross-border cooperation is also a way to minimize the costs of adaptation 
action and to maximize its benefits by developing synergies in adaptation measures and 
integrating consequences for neighborhood jurisdictions.  

Cross-border  activities  addressing  climate  change  and  jointly  developing  adaptation 
responses  are  already  taking  place  in  European  macro-regions  such  as  in  the  Alpine 
Space, the Carpathians, North West and South East Europe, the Baltic sea and under the 
Danube  strategy.  Another  transboundary  activity  at  regional  level  is  the  currently  on-
going development of an adaptation strategy for the Pyrenees.  

All  of  these  large-scale  activities  involving  several  countries  receive  funding  from  the 
EU. In addition, European policies already help address some of the transboundary issues 
associated  with  climate  change.  For  instance,  the  Floods  Directive  and  the  Water 
Framework  Directive  require  transboundary  cooperation  in  the  water  sector.  Also, 
European  and  pan-European  early  warning  and  detection  systems  for  weather-driven 
natural  disasters  exist  such  as  the  European  Flood  Awareness  System22,  the  European 
Forest  Fire  Information  System23  and  the  European  Drought  Observatory24.  The  Union 
Civil  Protection  Mechanism  also  provides  a  framework  for  reinforced  cooperation 
between  the  EU  Member  States  to  effectively  prevent,  prepare  for  and  respond  to  both 
natural  and  man-made  disaster  risks,  including  actions  such  as  risk  assessments  and 
planning,  exchange  of  good  practices,  improving  the  knowledge  base,  training  and 
exercises25. 

Examples  for  transnational  cooperation  can  be  found  on  the 
CLIMATE-ADAPT Platform26 

Practical example 9 

The Belgian approach to trans-boundary issues 

Belgium has a long tradition both in practical research as well as in fundamental science. Climate change is 
one  of  the  more  recent  research  subjects.  Therefore  the  Belgian  National  Climate  Change  Adaptation 
Strategy  mentions  national  (e.g.  CCI-Hydr,  CLIMAR,  CcASPAR)  and  international  projects  (e.g.  TIDE, 
SCALDWIN,  Future  Cities, AMICE,  CRUE-flooding,  IWRM-net-water-management,  Blast,  Past4future, 
CLICK-EU).  Joining  these  international  projects  helps  knowledge  sharing  between  Belgium  and  other 
European countries, helps building partnerships and enhances transboundary cooperation. 

For  this  international  research  the  different  scientific  institutions  contribute  to  the  projects.  European 
funding support enables these international projects (i.e. Interreg, Circle-2 and FP7).  

Research in Belgium is dispersed among a variety of institutions and partners with funding from different 
sources.  This  gives  the  advantage  to  be  very  concrete  and  helpful  but  there  is  a  danger  for  overlap  and 
inefficient  use  of  resources  or  fragmentation  of  the  funding.  Therefore  the  Belgian  National  Climate 
Change Adaptation Strategy and the national and regional working groups give a constant overview of the 
different  projects  running  in  Belgium,  be  it  at  local,  regional,  national  or  international  level  to  enhance 
knowledge sharing, coordination and dissemination. 

22 
23 
24 
25 
26  

www.efas.eu/ 
http://forest.jrc.ec.europa.eu/effis/ 
http://edo.jrc.ec.europa.eu/edov2/php/index.php?id=1000  
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/policies/prevention_preparedness/prevention_en.htm 
http://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/web/guest/transnational-regions 

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Step 2.d. Develop an approach for addressing knowledge gaps and for dealing 
with uncertainties 

Inherent  to  any  decision-making  process,  uncertainty  and  knowledge  gaps  are 
particularly emphasised as a challenge when working on climate change adaptation. Still, 
this  is  not  a  reason  for  inaction  as  event  under  those  conditions,  investing  in  flexible, 
low-regret adaptation action is in the self-interest of most public and private actors. There 
are ways to successfully address those challenges.  

First,  the  quality  of  the  information  on  which  the  assessments  are  based  as  well  as 
existing knowledge gaps need to be made explicit. Research, social learning, exchange of 
good  practice  and  stakeholder  cooperation  can  help  reduce  the  lack  of  knowledge  (e.g. 
regarding plausible climate change impacts).  

Second,  when  future  society  and  environment  might  undergo  rapid  and  unexpected 
change,  the  future  does  not  appear  to  be  predictable  through  simple  extrapolation  of 
historical  trends.  This  can  happen  in  the  case  of  climatic  developments  and  systems’ 
response  to  them,  but  also  in  terms  of  socio-economic  developments  (e.g.  economic 
crises,  unexpected  conflicts).  Therefore  it  is  important  that  the  development  of  an 
adaptation  policy  does  not  assume  a  single  future.  It  is  crucial  to  identify,  prepare  for, 
and practice actions under several future scenarios.  

The CLIMATE-ADAPT Platform provides comprehensive 
guidance on uncertainties in climate change.27 

Concluding  step:  Select  your  country’s  main  concerns  and  set  your  strategic 
direction  

The  strategic  direction  should  be  defined  in  terms  of  what  is  intended  to  be  achieved 
(short-term  by  the  2020s,  medium-term  by  the  2050s,  long-term  by  the  2080/2100s), 
based  on  climate  change,  socio-economic  development  and  other  non-climatic  factors.  
Main concerns may be impacts that: 

-  Are faced already today; 

-  Will increase due to climate change; 

-  Will  affect  systems  with  long  life  span  or  key  infrastructure  (e.g.  transport 

infrastructure);28 

-  Will affect systems irreversibly; 

-  Will  increase  due  to  additional  non-climate  drivers  (e.g.  problems  with  health 
issues  will  increase  due  to  climate  change  and  the  growing  group  of  vulnerable 
elderly).  

Practical example 10 

Identifying priority sectors and areas of vulnerability in Poland 

During  the  development  of  the  National  Adaptation  Strategy,  a  strategic  vision  was  elaborated  by  the 
Project  Manager  with  his  core  team  from  the  Institute  of  Environmental  Protection  –  National  Research 
Institute. Priority sectors were identified through evaluating responses to two questionnaires addressed to 
the  members  of  the  Working  Groups  and  the  Steering  Committee.  The  first  questionnaire  helped  to 
determine  the  most  important  climate  parameters  for  particular  economic  sectors  and  regions  of  Poland. 

27 
28 

http://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/web/guest/uncertainty-guidance-ai  
In that respect, please refer to the Commission Staff Working Document on adaptation to climate 
change and infrastructure (SWD(2013)137) 

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Practical example 10 

The  second  questionnaire  was  concerned  with  the  identification  of  elements  of  particular  vulnerability 
within  sectors  and physical  regions  relating  to  selected  climate  parameters  which  were  identified  earlier. 
The information from these questionnaires helped to identify and agree on priority sectors. 

Step 3. Identifying adaptation options 

Following the guidelines mentioned in this step will help address:  

-  the  lack  of  concrete  actions  often  observed  in  the  preparation  of  adaptation  policy-
making;  

- the difficulty in identifying relevant actions, and their potential co-benefits. 

Adaptation  options  aim  to  address  the  previously  identified  concerns  to  bring  negative 
impacts at an acceptable level. Further, adaptation options may allow taking advantage of 
any positive opportunities that arise from climate change. Adaptation options can range 
from  actions  that  build  adaptive  capacity  (e.g.  sharing  information,  creating  supportive 
institutional  framework)  to  concrete  adaptation  measures  (e.g.  technical  solutions, 
insurance mechanism). Once the main concerns have been identified, possible adaptation 
options shall be collected.  

Practical example 11 

Early adaptation measures in Italy 

Although  the  development  of  the  Italian  National  Adaptation  Strategy  (NAS)  is  at  a  very  initial  stage,  it’s 
important to highlight that selected adaptation measures have already been implemented. The Civil Protection 
Department  has  played  a  relevant  role  in  implementation.  It  is  the  operative  arm  of  the  President  of  the 
Council, tasked with the protection of the country’s people and goods, and consists of central and peripheral 
State administrations, regions, provinces, municipalities. The Department provides guidelines for legislation 
relating to risk prevention, manages information networks that are necessary for risk prevention, and produces 
and manages exceptional regulations. 

Step  3.a.  Collect  appropriate  adaptation  options  given  your  country´s  main 
concerns  

This compilation should focus on adaptation options which are able to accommodate the 
relevant main concerns that have been identified for the country. Adaptation options can 
be  retrieved  from  literature  review  (e.g.  CLIMATE-ADAPT  Platform,  project  results 
such  as  the  ADAM  Digital  Adaptation  Catalogue),  from  scientific  experts  and/or 
colleagues  from  other  authorities  as  well  as  through  stakeholder  involvement.  The 
collection  shall  encompass  a  wide  spectrum  of  adaptation  options, 
including 
informational,  organizational,  behavioural,  ecosystem  based  and 
technological, 

socio‐economic options at all levels, sectoral as well as cross‐sectoral. 

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Step 3.b. Explore good practices and existing measures 

Good  practice  examples  for  activities  and  measures  in  place  that  already  cope  with 
changing  climatic  conditions  (e.g.  temperature  rise,  changes  in  precipitation  patterns, 
extreme  weather  events)  should  be  considered  and  assessed  as  well.  They  can  provide 
insights into the adjustments/improvements that may be required to accommodate future 
climate  change.  Moreover,  it  becomes  obvious  where  gaps  are  and  which  barriers  may 
exist that hinder successful adaptation. 

The  CLIMATE-ADAPT 
a 
comprehensive  compilation  of  possible  adaptation  options 
for various fields. 

provides 

Platform29 

Step 3.c. Describe adaptation options in detail  

To  be  able  to  compare  and  prioritise  adaptation  options,  all  eligible  options  should  be 
characterized as concretely as possible. This will also provide an important basis for the 
implementation. Information should be provided for the following points, as far as this is 
feasible: 

-  General aim of the adaptation option 

-  Spatial scope 

-  Social, economic and ecological context 

-  Necessary steps of implementation and maintenance 

-  Responsible actors and supportive actors for the implementation  

-  Financial resources required 

-  Time frame for planning and implementing to be fully effective 

Step 4. Assessing adaptation options 

Following the guidelines mentioned in this step will help address:  

-  the  difficulties  in  assessing  the  costs  and  benefits  of  adaptation  action,  by  providing 
suggestions and methodologies; 

-  how  the  identification  of  relevant  measures  can  then  be  integrated  in  a  strategic 
document 

When adaptation options have been identified, the next steps are to assess and prioritize 
the compilation of options based on a detailed description and criteria. The selection of 
preferred adaptation options should be done in close interaction with all actors involved 
in the adaptation process. 

Step 4.a. Assess possible options in terms of time, cost, benefits and efforts  

When assessing appropriate responses to potential impacts from climate change, there is 
a hierarchy of measures reflecting time, cost, benefits and efforts needed. The assessment 
of possible options and their comparison should include: 

- 

identifying the risks the option addresses (i.e. each option may have an effect on 
or treat multiple risks) and by how much the option will likely reduce the risks;  

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- 

- 

- 

- 

considering  the  time  frame  to  implement  the  option  and  when  it  shall  become 
effective, reflecting identified risks and the range of urgency to act; 

addressing  direct  and  indirect  effects  of  the  option  in  economic,  environmental 
and  social  terms  (including  effects  on  climate  change  mitigation)  with  an 
emphasis on potential benefits; 

assessing costs and benefits to predict whether the benefits (e.g. avoided damage) 
of an option outweigh its costs, and by how much in relation to other alternatives 
(i.e.  one  can  rank  alternate  options  in  terms  of  the  cost-benefit  ratio).  All  costs 
and  benefits  should  be  quantified  where  this  is  possible  and  meaningful, 
otherwise a qualitative assessment shall be delivered;  

The  CLIMATE-ADAPT  Platform  provides  information 
and guidance for the costing of adaptation options30. 

considering the barriers to implementation of adaptation actions including budget 
required, the need of a policy change or introduction of legislation, the expected 
level  of  acceptance  to  stakeholders  as  well  as  the  extent  of  research  and 
development needed.  

Step  4.b.  Assess  cross-cutting  issues,  trade-offs  and  synergies  of  adaptation 
options 

Individual policy areas/sectors might follow different objectives leading to proposals for 
adaptive  actions  that  could  potentially  create  negative  side  effects  for  another  policy 
area/sector if not coordinated. Likewise, adaptation responses in distinct policy areas can 
potentially deliver synergies when mutually designed. There is, therefore, a clear need for 
coordination across a wide range of political, legal and institutional settings, as well as 
different information-management approaches and financial arrangements.  

Step 4.c. Prioritise adaptation options and select preferred ones  

Based  on  the  previous  assessment,  a  selection  of  suitable  adaptation  options  will  be 

possible and should be carried out. Most often a multi‐criteria analysis can prove useful 

for ranking and selecting preferred options. This analysis should include a set of criteria, 
such as: 

-  urgency with respect to already existing threats, 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

early preparatory action (to avoid future damage costs), 

range of effect (options covering multiple risks might be favoured), 

cost-benefit ratio, 

time-effectiveness, 

robustness under a broad range of likely future impacts,  

flexibility for adjustments or reversibility in case of diverging developments, 

-  political and cultural acceptability, 

30 

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- 

enhancement of learning and autonomous adaptive capacity, etc. 

When uncertainty could become a reason for inaction, applying the principles of adaptive 
management (e.g. focus on flexible solutions, win-win options, robust measures under a 
range of possible scenarios) will facilitate decision-making.  

Involving  affected  stakeholders  for  discussing  and  deciding  on  criteria  and  their 
weightings  for  the  prioritisation  and  selection  of  adaptation  options  can  be  useful  to 
identify an appropriate set of options with a high level of acceptance. 

Due  to  the  broad  range  of  potential  future  climate  change  impacts  and  their  implicit 
uncertainties,  multiple-benefits,  no-regret  and  low-regret  adaptation  options  should  be 
favoured  (for  key  principles  cf.  Annex  1).  Multiple-benefits  options  provide  synergies 
with  other  goals  such  as  mitigation,  disaster  risk  reduction  or  sustainability  (e.g. 
ecosystem  based  approaches).  Examples  include  water  saving  devices  in  regions 
experiencing  drought  or  insulation  of  buildings  in  regions  exposed  to  heat  waves. 
Insisting  on  options  with  multiple  benefits  can  also  facilitate  the  funding  of  related 
measures,  by  pulling  resources  and  putting  the  emphasis  on  shared  benefits  which 
outweigh the costs of investments.  

investments  climate 

The forthcoming "Guidelines for Project Managers: Making 
resilient31"  propose  a 
vulnerable 
methodology  to  assess  how  projects  can  be  affected  by 
climate  change  and  the  type  of  adaptation  options  to  be 
considered.  

Practical example 12 

Multi-criteria-analyses for the Netherlands 

In the Netherlands a ‘qualitative assessment’ of adaptation options was carried out to provide a Routeplanner 
to  2050.  The  project,  coordinated  and  executed  by  the  Environmental  Economics  and  Natural  Resources 
Group (Wageningen University), resulted in an inventory of adaptation options, a qualitative assessment of 
the effects of the adaptation options for the Netherlands in the long run, a database which allows to rank the 
various options according to a set of criteria and a relative ranking on the basis of these criteria. Finally the 
best available information on costs and benefits of various adaptation options is given. 

Well-informed decisions on how to adapt rely on having a full picture of the expected changes in climate but 
also  on  the  different  adaptation  options  and  their  related  effects  both  in  terms  of  costs  and  benefits.  The 
results  can  be  used  by  policy  makers  to  decide  which  adaptation  options  to  choose  from  a  socio-economic 
perspective  in  the  Netherlands.  The  Routeplanner  project  is  subdivided  in  several  subprojects.  In  the 
Routeplanner  3  project,  the  objective  was  to  review  the  literature  and  to  consult  stakeholders  to  provide  a 
systematic assessment and overview on adaptation options in the Netherlands, with special focus on spatial 
planning.  Adaptation  options  identified  include  financial  measures  (taxes  and  insurance  systems),  legal 
interventions  (spatial  planning,  command  and  control)  and  communication  tools.  The  sectors  (by  climate 
change impacts) for which adaptation options were assessed include: 

- 

Sea level rise 

-  River discharge 

-  Groundwater level 

- 

Storms 

-  Heat stress 

-  Drought stress 

31  

Available on http://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/adaptation/  

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Practical example 12 

Multi-criteria-analyses for the Netherlands 

-  Growth stress  

For more details on the project see the full report and peer reviewed paper here: 
http://www.enr.wur.nl/UK/Routeplanner+Report/  

Concluding step: Prepare a strategy document and get political approval 

Once the main concerns have been identified and preferred adaptation options have been 
selected a  strategic framework for adaptation (strategy) can be established. This should 
be a reference document, summarising from the previous steps the following points:  

-  General aim of adaptation and strategic direction 

-  Approach chosen to develop the strategy, including cooperation with authorities 

and other stakeholders (e.g. interest groups, NGOs, private sector) 

-  Knowledge base and good practices (if explored), including a gap analysis 

-  Main concerns caused by climate change and other influencing factors  

-  Uncertainties in climate change, future developments and adaptation 

-  Objectives for adaptation (for selected policy areas/sectors and/or themes) 

-  Framework for action, including: 

Provision for preparing an action plan and/or sectoral plans 

Setting a timeframe for developing concrete actions 

Determining responsibilities and resources needed 

Criteria for exploring, assessing and selecting adaptation options 

-  Coordination and synergies between national and sub-national as well as sectoral 
(e.g.  disaster  risk  prevention  and  management  plans  Member  States  are 
developing) and trans-boundary adaptation responses  

-  Activities  for  awareness  raising,  communication  on  adaptation  and  capacity 

building 

-  System  and  timeframe  for  revision  of  strategy,  including  provisions  for 

monitoring and evaluation (cf. recommendations under step 6)       

-  Outlook 

(cid:206) Get political approval 

When  the  documents  for  the  adaptation  strategy  are  on  the  table  and  a  (wider) 
consultation  has  been  carried  out,  the  political  approval  is  essential  for  having  a 
framework in place for implementing adaptation actions. So far, only few countries such 
as the UK and France use specific legislation for adaptation. Several countries are in the 
process of discussing or drafting new adaptation-related legislation (e.g. Slovenia). The 
EU Adaptation Strategy also provides political justification for adaptation action.  

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The  CLIMATE-ADAPT  Platform32  provides  an  overview 
on  adaptation  activities  of  EEA  member  countries  and  the 
political status  

Step 5: Implementation  

The guidelines included under this step provide:  

- suggestions on how to link adaptation strategies and action plans; 

-  concrete  recommendations  and  potential  instruments  to  mainstream  adaptation  into 
existing sectoral policies.  

Having  a  strategic  document  on  adaptation  adopted,  a  potential  next  step  to  implement 
the strategy is to prepare an action plan which sets out what needs to be done to convert 
adaptation  options  into  action,  specifying  by  whom  and  when  and  allocating  sufficient 
resources.  However,  it  should  be  noted  that  concrete  action  plans  and/or  sectoral  plans 
can  also  be  elaborated  as  an  integrated  part  of  the  national  adaptation  strategy  (cf. 
practical example 13). 

Practical example 13 

The Austrian National Adaptation Strategy with an integrated action plan 

The  Austrian  NAS  consists  of  two  parts:  Strategy  document  and  action  plan  for  14  sectors  (agriculture, 
forestry,  water,  tourism,  energy,  natural  hazards,  housing  and  construction,  civil  protection,  health, 
ecosystems and biodiversity, transport infrastructure, spatial planning, economy, and urban green spaces): 

Framework of NAS                                    Action plan: 

1. Introduction                                           a. Relevance of the sector 

2. Policy background                                 b. Sectoral vulnerability assessment 

3. Aims of NAS                                          c. Recommended adaptation options 

4. Approach in developing NAS 

5. Climate change in Austria 

6. Challenges of adaptation 

7. Social aspects of climate change 

8. Guiding principles for adaptation  

9. Criteria for priorisation of adaptation options  

10. Status-quo of adaptation in Austria 

11. Ongoing research on climate change adaptation and open research questions 

12. Good-practice examples 

13. Communication and education  

14. Global context of climate change  

15. Needed resources for future adaptation process 

16. Next steps 

The development of the strategy with its integrated action plan started in 2007 and was accompanied by a 
broad stakeholder involvement process (cf. practical example 4). In particular the action plan can be seen 
as a joint effort by renown scientific experts and relevant stakeholders complementing proposed adaptation 
options with  their knowledge  and  expertise.  The  Austrian NAS  has  been  adopted  on  the 23rd of  October 

32  

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Practical example 13 

The Austrian National Adaptation Strategy with an integrated action plan 

2012. 

Step  5.a.  Identify  and  make  use  of  entry  points  for  adaptation  into  existing 
instruments and/or create new instruments for adaptation (Mainstreaming) 

Adaptation should not be performed in isolation from existing policies (e.g. legislation, 
funding systems), management structures (e.g. networks) and processes (e.g. in decision 
making).  Thus,  to  allow  synergies,  instruments  in  place  with  relevance  for  adaptation 
should be reviewed and modified to cope with current and future impacts of climate, and 
including  via  better  considerations  for  disaster  risk  management  practices.  Integrating 
adaptation through reviewing and modifying existing instruments shall not be restricted 
to the environmental sector or to the public authority; it also refers to economic sectors 
and private organisations.  

(cid:206) Identify key instruments for integrating adaptation 

Key  instruments  to  serve  as  entry  points  for  integrating  adaptation  include,  inter  alia: 
legislation,  regulations,  existing  strategies,  standards,  planning  tools,  assessment 
frameworks, research and development programmes, networks and working groups. 

The starting basis for the identification of possible entry points are the characteristics of 
each adaptation option (cf. step 4.a.). As part of this screening, departments and experts 
with jurisdiction over each of the instruments should be consulted.  

(cid:206) Determine the need for action with respect to modifying existing instruments 

Based  on  the  screening,  all  identified  instruments  shall  be  assessed  in  terms  of  their 
suitability  to  integrate  adaptation  by  checking  the  instruments  against  preferred 
adaptation options (cf. step 4.d.) and answering the following questions: 

-  Which adaptation options are already covered by existing instruments and how? 
If  covered,  is  the  instrument  sufficiently  addressing  the  option´s  objective?  Are 
any modifications necessary? 

-  Which adaptation options could be covered by existing instruments if the aspect 
of  adaptation  was  added?  Who  needs  to  be  consulted  for  the  modification  and 
what efforts are needed? 

-  What  prevents/impedes  the  integration  of  adaptation  into  existing  instruments? 

How can these conflicts be resolved? 

-  Which  adaptation  options  cannot  be  implemented  through  existing  instruments 

and must be facilitated by establishing new instruments?  

(cid:206) Establish new instruments  

There may be cases where the modification of existing instruments alone is insufficient 
to handle the adaptation needs and new instruments for implementing adaptation must be 
developed. These might be of legislative, economic, informal or cooperative nature.  

Opportunities  will  emerge  under  the  next  Multi-annual  Financial  Framework  (2014-
2020), which includes a proposal for increasing the share of climate-related expenditure 

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(i.e. for climate change mitigation and adaptation as a whole) to at least 20% of the EU 
budget.  

Step 5.b. Seek agreements with stakeholders responsible for implementation 

To secure implementation of your strategic framework on adaptation, close collaboration 
and agreements will be needed with all affected stakeholders. This shall include: 

- 

Identifying and appointing roles and responsibilities for implementing selected 
adaptation options (including the private sector); 

-  Developing  and  agreeing  upon  a  detailed  timetable  for  action  including  a 

timeframe for revision; 

-  Estimating  resources  needed  for  implementation  and  seeking  to  allocate 

sufficient budget (if possible) within the chosen timeframe of the strategy. 

Concluding step: Develop an action plan 

It  should  summarise  the  selected  adaptation  options  and  instruments  and  provide  a 
roadmap for implementation. The following issues should be addressed:  

-  Preferred adaptation options (cf. suggestions under steps 3.a. and 3.b.) and ways 
for implementation (mainstreaming into existing instruments and/or creating new 
instruments, c.f. step 5.a.) including opportunities and synergies;  

-  Roles  and  responsibilities,  explicitly  considering  the  need  for  coordination 

between authorities at all levels; 

-  Detailed timetable for implementation and provisions for revision; 

-  Estimation of human and financial resources needed; 

-  Funding possibilities;  

-  Open research questions and ways to close knowledge gaps; 

-  Potential barriers to action and mechanisms to overcome these; 

-  Mechanisms to monitor and evaluate the implementation success. 

Overview of possible instruments for adaptation 
Instruments 

Strong 

Legal instruments (laws, 
regulations, policies, 
decrees) 

Strong and rapid controlling 
effect 
Effective achievement of 
objectives 

Economic instruments 
(taxes, fees, tax incentives, 
grants, interest-free loans, 
public procurement) 

Informational instruments 
(studies, brochures, 
websites, campaigns, events, 
labels, etc.) 

Partnership instruments 
(voluntary agreements 
among companies, 
partnerships, collaborative 

Behaviour control through 
economic incentives rather 
than bans/requirements 
Makes use of market 
mechanisms, flexible in 
implementation 
Apolitical, unproblematic 
because of cost-effectiveness 
and limited interference in 
personal freedoms 
Fosters awareness and 
individual responsibility 
Politically unproblematic 
because not mandatory  
Pools resources of several 
actors 

Weak 
Unpopular/ politically risky 
Inflexible in achieving 
objectives, requires 
monitoring 
Often complicated and 
expensive to implement (for 
the regulators and the 
regulated) 
Unpopular (taxes) or 
expensive (grants) 
Achievement of objectives is 
not always ensured because 
behaviour changes are 
uncertain 

Only indirect and frequently 
weak or uncertain effects 
Effectiveness is difficult to 
assess 

Ideal for 

Ensuring a minimum 
standard 
Emergency situations 

Fostering innovation 
Creation of niche markets 
Alternative to legal 
instruments 

New problems whose 
resolution is in the self-
interest of individuals 
Promoting awareness 

Complex process (high 
transaction costs)  
Achievement of objectives 
uncertain 

Problems that one actor 
alone cannot solve because 
of a lack of resources (e.g. 
money, knowledge, contacts) 

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projects, etc.)  

Hybrid planning/strategic 
instruments (plans, 
strategies, action plans, 
programmes, etc.)  

Cost-efficient for the public 
sector   
Facilitates a holistic view  
Presents an overview and 
establishes connections 
Combines several instruments, 
exploiting their strengths and 
avoiding their weaknesses  

Often ineffective 

Implementation is often 
difficult (due to low levels of 
political interest over longer 
periods)  
Requires the cooperation of 
several actors  

Systematic approach to the 
solution of complex 
problems  

Step 6: Monitoring and evaluation 

The guidelines included under this step provide:  

- concrete suggestions to plan an effective monitoring and evaluation process, an element 
currently missing in most adaptation strategies; 

- suggestions on the type of indicators to be considered.  

As  governments  increasingly  invest  in  adaptation  it  becomes  essential  to  ensure  the 
effectiveness,  efficiency  and  equity  of  adaptation  interventions.  Yet  we  are  still  at  an 
early stage in understanding how best to adapt to future climate change, how risks can be 
most effectively reduced and resilience enhanced, and what the characteristics of a well-
adapting society might be. Learning what works well (or not) in which circumstances and 
for what reasons is critical (Anderson 2011). The development of an adaptation strategy 
presents an opportunity to consider how to best monitor and evaluate adaptation progress 
and performance.  

Monitoring  and  evaluation  of  adaptation  requires  pragmatism  (what  is  possible  to 
monitor and evaluate at the level concerned?) and a clear sense of purpose (what do we 
hope  to  achieve  through  this  process?).  For  national-level  M&E  approaches  it  is 
important that they ‘look’ both downwards and upwards, so that national level decisions 
are  informed  by  sub-national  experiences  and nations  are  able  to  share  their  adaptation 
progress effectively with the wider international community.    

The  delivery  of  an  adaptation  strategy  and/or  action  plan  provides  a  useful  focus  for 
monitoring  and  evaluating  progress 
to  climate  change.  However, 
implementing  an  adaptation  strategy  will  involve  numerous  stakeholders,  sectors  and 
communities  working  at  a  range  of  spatial  scales  and  over  differing  periods  of  time, 
adding  complexity  to  monitoring  and  evaluation  processes.  Furthermore,  autonomous 
adaptation will be occurring alongside planned efforts, which need to be anticipated and 
taken into account as well.  

in  adapting 

See  UKCIP’s  ‘AdaptME’  Toolkit33  for  further  information 
on how to overcome adaptation M&E challenges 

Step  6.a.  Develop  appropriate  M&E  provisions  for  both  adaptation  policy´s 
objectives and selected adaptation options  

Successful  implementation  must  be  supported  by  appropriate  arrangements  to  monitor 
and evaluate whether the adaptation policy is “on track” and is achieving its objectives 
and to learn how future adaptation efforts might be enhanced. M&E arrangements for the 
implementation  process  should  focus  on  two  key  questions:  ‘Are  we  doing  the  right 
things?’  and  ‘Are  we  doing  things  right?’  In  answering  these  questions,  it  will  be 
important to ensure that relevant stakeholders are engaged and emphasis is placed on a 
process of continuous learning. 

33  

http://www.ukcip.org.uk/adaptme-toolkit/ 

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Provisions  to  monitor  and  evaluate  selected  adaptation  options  need  to  focus  on  the 
outcomes  of  implemented  adaptation  activities,  i.e.  how  effectively  they  respond  in 
practice  to  reduce  identified  risks  and  enhance  climate  resilience.  Monitoring  and 
evaluating responses are also important to avoid potential maladaptive developments. 

The process for M&E can be made manageable through careful preparation. Thus, it is 
important to put the emphasis on: 

-  Tailoring the M&E approach to the type and scale of the activity: While for 
some objectives and adaptation options core indicators (for process and outcome) 
can  be  established,  it  might  be  appropriate  for  others  to  focus  on  an  aggregate 
assessment. For risk reduction measures, an overall risk assessment may be more 
suited than, for example, for measures aimed at increasing people’s awareness. 

-  Acknowledging  trade-offs:  M&E  approaches  need  to  be  proportionate  to  the 
investment.  Recognise  and  reflect  on  the  trade-offs  in  the  design  of  the  M&E 
approach and consider whether these can these be justified.  

-  Defining  clearly  the  baselines  as  reference  for  M&E:  Carefully  defined 
baselines  are  essential  in  order  to  measure  what  has  been  achieved  through 
implementation.  Baselines  need  to  be  defined  for  all  components  of  M&E, 
including  assumptions  for  autonomous  adaptation  taking  place  without  any 
intervention.    

-  Considering  the  unintended  and  unexpected:  The  M&E  approach  should  not 
simply  consider  ‘did  we  do  what  we  said  we  would  do?’  but  be  sufficiently 
flexible  to  explore  the  unintended  and  unexpected.  This  may  be  where  some  of 
the most important adaptation lessons can be learnt.   

Practical example 14 

Evaluation of the Implementation of Finland’s National Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change (2008-
09) 

Finland  is  one  of  the  few  European  Countries  to  have  already  undertaken  an  evaluation  of  its  National 
Adaptation Strategy. The main objective of the evaluation of the Adaptation Strategy was to determine the 
progress  made  in  different  sectors  since  the  strategy  came  out  in  2005.  The  approach  employed  was  to 
compare the adaptation measures identified in the Strategy to measures launched in different sectors. This 
was achieved through survey of stakeholders to determine whether and how the measures presented in the 
strategy have been launched in different sectors. A preliminary indicator of the level of adaptation attained 
was developing using    five steps each of which incorporate a statement describing adaptation progress. 
This  approach  enabled  evaluators  to  compare  progress  across  15  sectors  and  a  number  of  cross-cutting 
themes.  

Further detailed on the approach and results from this study can be found here: http://climate-
adapt.eea.europa.eu/viewaceitem?aceitem_id=408  

-  Communicating and agreeing on the purpose for monitoring and evaluating:  
There  are  numerous  reasons  that  might  drive  M&E  efforts,  including  a  need  to 
account for public funds; to learn what works (or not) and why; to track progress; 
ensure  equity  and  social  justice;  or  to  measure  efficiency  and  effectiveness.  All 
are  equally  valid,  but  it  is  important  to  acknowledge  the  tensions  and  synergies 
between these purposes. 

-  Engaging and involving affected stakeholders: All stakeholders with a role and 
responsibility for implementation need to be part of the M&E process. Early on 
stakeholder  involvement  will  ensure  continuous  monitoring  of  their  own 

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adaptation  activities  throughout  the  implementation  phase.  Engagement  with 
stakeholders can also help with gathering relevant data for M&E. 

Practical example 15 

Measuring progress – emerging lessons from the UK 

The Adaptation Sub-Committee (ASC) to the UK’s Committee on Climate Change (CCC) was established 
under  the  Climate  Change  Act  2008  to  advise  Government  on  its  work  on  the  national  Climate  Change 
Risk  Assessment,  and  ensure  that  the  Government’s  Adaptation  Programme  enables  England  to  prepare 
effectively  for  the  impacts  of  climate  change.  Previous  ASC  work  identified  the  key  components  for 
assessing  preparedness  for  climate  change.  Drawing  on  this  analysis  and  work  by  other  countries  on 
measuring  progress,  the  ASC  recently  developed  an  adaptation  assessment  toolkit.  The  ASC  assessment 
toolkit has two main components:  

1. Monitoring changes in climate risks using indicators. These fall into three broad categories i) indicators 
of risk, ii) indicators of adaptation action, and iii) indicators of climate impact. 

2.  Evaluating  preparedness  for  future  climate.  This  involves  analyzing  decision-making  to  assess  if  the 
amount  of  adaptation  occurring  is  sufficient  to  address  climate  risks,  now  and  in  the  future.  As 
acknowledged in previous ASC reports, early adaptation efforts to address priority climate risks should i) 
promote the uptake of low-regret adaptation options that deliver benefits whatever future climate unfolds, 
and  ii)  ensure  that  decisions  with  long-lasting  or  systemic  consequences  take  future  climate  change  into 
account. 

The  ASC’s  work  has  identified  a  number  of  evidence  gaps  that  need  to  be  filled  to  allow  for  a  more 
comprehensive  assessment.  Working  with  the  Government  and  its  delivery  partners,  the  Committee  will 
continue to refine and improve its suite of adaptation indicators. This work will inform the Committee’s 
first statutory assessment of how the National Adaptation Programme is addressing the risks from flooding 
and water scarcity over time, due in 2015. 

Further information is available in the ASC progress report: 
http://www.theccc.org.uk/reports/adaptation/2012-progress-report  

Step 6.b. Identify indicators 

Performance  indicators  often  play  a  critical  role  within  M&E  systems.  Measurable 
indicators  are  attractive  to  policy  and  decision  makers  as  they  provide  quantifiable, 
seemingly  unambiguous  ‘evidence’  of  progress  and  performance.  When  identifying 
appropriate  indicators  both  for  monitoring  and  evaluating  the  process  and  the 
outcomes, take account of the following: 

-  Do  not  reinvent  the  wheel:  Many  indicators  of  adaptation  performance  may 
already be measured through existing processes, while existing M&E systems can 
be adjusted to better account for adaptation; 

-  Recognise  that  M&E  systems  are  dependent  on  proxy  indicators  which  are  also 
subject  to  a  range  of  other  influences,  i.e.  achievements  can  often  not  solely  be 
attributed  to  sound  adaptation  practice  but  can  be  a  result  of  other  influencing 
factors; 

-  Develop  a  combination  of  process  and  outcome  indicators,  recognising  that  in 

some cases adaptation outcomes cannot be determined for many years; 

- 

Indicators must serve a clear purpose and should be relevant. Another important 
factor  in  choosing  indicators  is  whether  data  can  be  collected  effectively  and 
efficiently;  collecting  data  should  not  be  more  costly  than  the  value  of  the 
information they provide. 

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Quantitative indicators are a useful evaluation tool however a single indicator is just one 
measure of performance; it does not provide the full picture. Using indicators alongside 
data  from  other  evaluation  methods  such  as  interviews,  focus  groups  or  expert 
solicitation can provide a richer picture of performance. 

Practical example 16 

Developing national adaptation indicators in Germany 

Following the adoption of the DAS (German Strategy for the Adaptation to Climate Change), the Federal 
Environment Agency (UBA) designed a comprehensive set of tools to support the DAS. An integral part of 
this was an Indicator System to aid adaptation. The DAS Indicator System and the Adaptation Report are 
being developed in a multi-stage process on behalf of the BMU. In terms of the DAS, the Indicator System 
is primarily a tool employed at the Federal level. Its purpose is to facilitate the process of implementing the 
DAS and to facilitate recording the success or failure of adaptation measures taken.  

The  Consultation  Project  entitled  ’Indicators  for  the  German  Adaptation  Strategy’  was  initiated  in 
December 2008 and completed in March 2010. It resulted in an initial set of indicators for adaptation at the 
Federal level and a structure for the Report on Indicators. This set of indicators will be consolidated in an 
R&E  project  that  was  scheduled  to  run  from  the  beginning  of  2010  until  the  beginning  of  2011.  As  the 
work  on  indicators  progresses,  the  task  will  be  to  find  additional  indicators  able  to  reflect  the  political 
progress in the process of adapting to climate change in the whole of Germany. In this context, one of the 
most  important  questions  will  be  whether  the  Federal  Government  is  creating  the  appropriate  regulatory 
framework to support adaptation. 

Further details on the approach can be found here: http://www.umweltdaten.de/publikationen/fpdf-
l/4031.pdf  

Practical example 17 

Linking implementation monitoring indicators to the French Adaptation Plan 

In France, every  measure detailed in the Adaptation Plan is associated with at least one indicator. These 
indicators  are  used  to  monitor  the  implementation  and  sometimes  the  impacts  of  an  adaptation  measure. 
The Adaptation Plan was adopted in July 2011, but evaluation is still at the early stages because most of 
the adaptation measures are not yet finished, even if more than 80% of actions have started. 

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HOW DOES THE EU SUPPORT?  

Knowledge base 

The European Climate Adaptation Platform34 contains information and various tools for 
the process of adaptation, including: 

-  Database on FP4 to FP7 RTD, ESPON and Interreg/ETC projects  

-  Risks  and  vulnerability  assessments  (including  maps)  from  European,  national 

and international organisations 

-  Guidelines (regional and sectoral level) 

-  EU  or  pan-European  databases  of  case  studies  and  implemented  measures 

collected at EU and national levels. 

-  Decision-support tools (e.g. Quick-scan) 

-  Means of exploring data bases of key reports from EC’s service contracts and key 

organisations in the EU working on adaptation 

-  Key stakeholders, implementing organisations (e.g. EIB) and counterparts at EU 

and national levels 

-  Country information and case studies that allow to learn from other initiatives  

-  Climate change impacts and vulnerability indicators and assessments 

-  Frameworks for developing adaptation indicators 

The EU is also active via the European Environment Agency´s work on climate change35 
and the Climate Change research at Joint Research Centre36.  

Mainstreaming framework 

Mainstreaming climate change adaptation in EU policies is a particularly active pillar in terms of 
adaptation  policy  making  at  EU  level.  The  European  Climate  Adaptation  Platform  (Climate-
ADAPT)  provides  an  up-to-date  overview  and  state-of-play  of  initiatives  and  main  policy 
developments  to  integrate  adaptation  into  EU  sector  policies.  The  key  policy  initiatives  for 
mainstreaming adaptation are listed in Table 3.1 of the EEA report on adaptation in Europe37  in 
connection with 9 key sectors: water management, marine and fisheries, coastal areas, agriculture 
and forestry, biodiversity, infrastructure, finance and insurance, disaster risk reduction and health. 
These  initiatives  consider  in  turn  the  most  vulnerable  areas  in  Europe  (e.g.  mountains,  coastal 
areas, river flood prone areas, the Mediterranean, and the Arctic). 

Funding instruments and organisations  

The Commission is proposing to allocate at least 20% of the EU budget to climate action 
in the coming budget period, 2014-2020. 

A  sizeable  share  of  the  EU  budget  will  be  implemented  by  the  Member  States  and 
regions though shared management with the European Commission. Shared management 
involves  the  five  EU  funds  mentioned  below.  These  funds  will  be  implemented  on  the 
basis of programmes drawn up by the Member States and agreed with the Commission. 

34  
35  
36  
37  

http://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/ 
http://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/climate 
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/jrc/index.cfm?id=2290 
http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications#c14=&c12=&c7=en&c9=all&c11=5&b_start=0  

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The  Member  States  will  include  climate  action  in  the  programmes  and  report  on  the 
implementation and climate related expenditure. 

During the programming it is important to provide information and communication and 
raise  the  awareness  of  possible  climate  action,  both  mitigation  and  adaptation  actions, 
among  authorities,  beneficiaries  and  other  stakeholders,  including  also  training  and 
specialised  expertise.  Investments  in  climate  adaptation  and  disaster  risk  management 
should be encouraged. 

Furthermore,  the  Member  States  will  address  the  required  administrative  capacity  of 
authorities and beneficiaries to ensure the efficient implementation of the funds including 
on climate action. 

The  Partnership  Agreement  will  set  out  the  Member  State's  approach  to  integrated 
territorial  development,  which  will  ensure  the  coordination  of  priority  interventions 
supported by all CSF Funds including support of urban, rural, coastal and fisheries areas 
as  well  as  areas  with  particular  territorial  features.  The  territorial  perspective  is  an 
opportunity to address climate change impacts, which naturally have important territorial 
effects. 

Large scale infrastructure projects may require dedicated climate and disaster proofing to 
ensure  the  resilience  to  the  adverse  impacts  of  climate  change  and  to  minimise  the 
emissions of greenhouse gases during its lifespan; and this should be addressed through 
e.g.  the  cost-benefit  analysis,  environmental  impacts  assessment  (EIA),  and  where 
relevant  strategic  impact  assessment  (SEA),  as  well  as  through  support  such  as 
JASPERS. 

Suitable indicators are needed in addition to the tracking of climate related expenditure to 
assess the impacts of climate actions and support monitoring and evaluation. 

The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) will among others promote energy 
efficiency in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), housing and public buildings; 
production and distribution of renewable  energy; low-carbon strategies for urban areas; 
and resilience to climate change and extreme weather events. 

The  ERDF  will  support  European  Territorial  Cooperation  (ETC),  for  example  cross-
border  co-operation  between  Member  States,  including  climate  action  in  the  fields 
covered in national programmes by ERDF and ESF. 

The Cohesion Fund will among other support the shift towards a low-carbon economy in 
all  sectors,  climate  change  adaptation  and  risk  prevention  and  management,  and  may 
pursue climate action in relation to transport and environmental investments. 

Climate change may lead to a range of adverse impacts such as coastal and river flooding 
of buildings; extreme weather events (heat waves, storms) and shortage of cooling water 
(due  to  drought)  affecting  energy  production  and  infrastructure;  temperature  extremes 
and  fires  may  impact  on  human  health;  changes  in  winter  conditions  and  snowfall  will 
impact  winter  tourism  while  temperature  extremes  and  fires  may  impact  tourism  in  the 
south; all transport modes will be affected by e.g. flooding, storms, winter extremes, heat 
waves, and soil erosion; and the water sector may be affected by flooding, water scarcity 
and changes in water quality and salinity,  

The  European  Social  Fund  (ESF)  will  among  other  support  the  shift  towards  a  low-
carbon and climate-resilient economy through reform of education and training systems, 
adaptation of skills and qualifications, as well as up-skilling of the labour force. 

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The European Agricultural Rural Development Fund (EAFRD) will among other support 
climate  action  in  relation  to  forest  area  development,  establishment  of  agro-forestry 
systems,  investments  improving  the  resilience  and  environmental  value  of  forest 
ecosystems, organic farming, Natura 2000 and Water management. 

The European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) will among other promote climate 
action in relation to the energy efficiency of fishing vessels as well as energy audits and 
schemes, insurance of aquaculture stock with regard to extreme weather events, and the 
implementation of local development strategies including operations to mitigate climate 
change. 

Common Provisions Regulation for the five funds (ERDF, ESF, CF, EAFRD, EMFF) 
The  proposal  for  the  Common  Provisions  Regulation  (CPR)38  governing  the  five  funds 
stipulates,  in  article  8  on  Sustainable  Development,  that  climate  change  mitigation  and 
adaptation  shall  be  promoted  in  the  preparation  and  implementation  of  Partnership 
Agreements  and  programmes  for  the  five  funds,  and  that  Member  States  shall  provide 
information on the support for climate change objectives using the methodology adopted 
by the Commission. 
The  Common  Provisions  Regulation  defines  eleven39  thematic  objectives  including: 
(4) supporting the shift towards a low-carbon economy in all sectors and (5) promoting 
climate  change  adaptation,  risk  prevention  and  management.  Hence,  the  overall 
framework for the five funds includes climate change mitigation and adaptation. 

38   CPR: 

39   The 

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:52012PC0496:EN:NOT 
Amended  proposal  for  a  REGULATION  OF  THE  EUROPEAN  PARLIAMENT  AND  OF  THE 
COUNCIL  laying  down  common  provisions  on  the  European  Regional  Development  Fund,  the 
European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and 
the  European Maritime  and Fisheries  Fund  covered by  the  Common  Strategic  Framework  and  laying 
down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and 
the Cohesion Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 

and 

and 

eleven 

research, 

objectives 

development 

the  EAFRD) 

thematic 
technological 

are: 
(1)  strengthening 
innovation; 
(2)  enhancing  access  to,  and  use  and  quality  of,  information  and  communication  technologies; 
(3)  enhancing  the  competitiveness  of  small  and  medium-sized  enterprises,  the  agricultural  sector 
the  EMFF); 
(for 
fisheries 
(for 
in 
sectors; 
all 
a 
(4)  supporting 
and  management; 
adaptation, 
(5)  promoting 
efficiency; 
and 
(6)  protecting 
(7)  promoting  sustainable  transport  and  removing  bottlenecks  in  key  network  infrastructures; 
mobility; 
(8)  promoting 
poverty; 
(9)  promoting 
learning; 
education, 
(10)  investing 
(11)  enhancing institutional capacity and an efficient public administration. 

and 
low-carbon 
risk 

labour 
combating 
lifelong 

change 
environment 

employment 
social 

economy 
prevention 

the 
climate 
the 

and 
inclusion 

the 
towards 

aquaculture 

supporting 

promoting 

resource 

sector 

skills 

shift 

and 

and 

in 

EN 

35 

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ANNEXES 

Annex 1 – Key principles for adaptation 

Adaptation  to  climate  change  refers  to  adjustments  in  natural  and  human  systems  in 
response to actual or expected climate change impacts, which moderate harm or exploit 
beneficial opportunities (Adger et al., 2007). 

Adaptation is a complex task: it affects all levels of decision-making, all regions as well 
as  most  sectors.  Adaptation  needs  to  be  structured  as  a  cross-sectoral,  multi-level  and 
inter-regional  activity  bringing  together  actors  with  different  knowledge,  interests  and 
values (Grothmann, 2011; Lebel et al., 2010).  

Several  principles  in  the  adaptation  policy  process  are  commonly  recognized  as  key 
factors for good adaptation. These principles (based on UKCIP, 2005; Adger et al. 2005; 
Prutsch et al. 2010; Brown et al. 2011) are:  

1.  Adaptation  needs  to  be  sustainable  –  adaptation  responses  should  not  add  to 
climate  change  or  limit  the  mitigation  efforts.  In  addition,  it  should  not  cut  the 
ability of other parts of the natural environment, society or business to carry out 
adaptation elsewhere (e.g. using ground water for irrigation in dry regions which 
causes a decreasing groundwater level and limits the available amount of drinking 
water).  Where  possible,  foster  adaptation  efforts  that  enhance  the  capacity  of 
natural systems to boost resilience by buffering climate risks. 

2.  Work in partnership – identify and engage with affected actors (e.g. from public 
authorities,  NGOs,  business)  at  all  relevant  levels  and  ensure  they  are  well 
informed and encouraged to work on adaptation. 

3.  Adaptation needs to be evidence‐based – making full use of the latest research, 

data  and  practical  experience  so  that  decision‐making  is  well‐supported  and 

informed. 

4.  Manage  climate  and  non-climate  risks  using  a  balanced  approach  –  climate 
change is only one aspect of multiple stresses that influences social, natural and 
economic  development.  Thus,  adaptation  must  take  a  holistic  approach  that 
includes managing both, climate and non-climate risks. 

5.  Address  risks  associated  with  past  and  current  climate  variability and  weather 
extremes  –  this  should  be  the  starting  point  for  anticipatory  actions  to  address 
risks and opportunities associated with longer-term climate change. It is important 
to 
risk 
close 
reduction/management  

synergies  with  disaster 

coordination 

ensure 

and 

6.  The response to climate impacts should be prioritised – for example, by focusing 
more attention on sectors that are most affected by the weather and climate, those 
which  have  long-term  lifetimes  or  implications,  where  significant  investment  is 

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involved  or  high  values  are  at  stake,  or  where  support  for  critical  national 
infrastructure is involved. 

7.  Adaptation must be tailored to the scale required by the climate change challenge 
(e.g. national/sectoral/cross-border) - solutions need to be modified for individual 
situations, also addressing responsibilities and financing.  

8.  Adaptation should be flexible - although there is still uncertainty over the future 
climate,  we  should  consider  options  now  in  certain  fields  (e.g.  in  sectors  with 
long-term  planning  horizons)  and  make  decisions  that  can  be  adjusted  easily. 
Thus, the value of no/low regrets and win-win adaptation options in terms of cost-
effectiveness and multiple benefits should be recognized as well as the value of a 
phased approach to adaptation.  

9.  Adaptation  needs  to  be  transparent  -  fully  communicate  the  effects  of  various 
adaptation options, both in the near and long term and providing as much detail as 
possible.  Adaptation  decisions  are  also  value-laden,  e.g.  regarding  the  level  of 
risk to be accepted. Thus, it is vital that decisions are made transparent in order to 
be able to agree on solutions that are fair and balanced.  

10.  Review  the  effectiveness,  efficiency,  equity  and  legitimacy  of  adaptation 
decisions  continuously  in  order  to  gradually  improve  them  according  to  the 
evolution  of  evidence  and  knowledge  on  climate  change  impacts.  This  requires 
monitoring and re-evaluations of risks. 

Annex 2 - Self-check  

Preparing the ground for adaptation 

(cid:133)  Support for adaptation guaranteed at high level 

(cid:133)  A core team on adaptation in place 

(cid:133)  Institutional cooperation set up 

(cid:133)  All affected stakeholders involved  

(cid:133)  Human and financial resources secured in the long term  

(cid:133)  A first overview on climate-related impacts gained  

(cid:133)  Ongoing activities with relevance for adaptation identified 

(cid:133)  Common understanding on climate change adaptation gained  

(cid:133)  Overview on relevant information gained and access provided 

(cid:133)  Target group-specific formats for awareness raising carried out  

(cid:133)  Potential barriers identified and ways explored how to address them 

(cid:133)  An approach on how to deal with uncertainties developed  

Assessing risks and vulnerabilities to climate change 

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(cid:133)  A systematic overview on past weather events, their consequences and response 

actions in place 

(cid:133)  Understanding of future climate change gained  

(cid:133)  Non-climatic stress factors identified and considered 

(cid:133)  Main concerns are identified that require an adaptation response 

(cid:133)  Transboundary issues taken into account 

(cid:133)  Knowledge  gaps  and  uncertainties  in  climate  change  summarized  and  made 

explicit  

Identifying adaptation options 

(cid:133)  Gaps  and  barriers  that  hindered  an  adequate  response  in  the  past  identified  and 

understood    

(cid:133)  A full portfolio of adaptation options considered 

(cid:133)  Suitable adaptation options were described in detail 

Assessing adaptation options 

(cid:133)  A  prioritisation  system  of  adaptation  options  developed  in  cooperation  with 

stakeholders 

(cid:133)  Possible synergies and conflicts identified and taken into account 

(cid:133)  Cost-benefits of options assessed  

(cid:133)  Preferred adaptation options selected for implementation  

(cid:133)  Adaptation strategy developed and politically adopted 

Implementation 

(cid:133)  Action plan developed 

(cid:133)  Steps for implementation set  

Monitoring and evaluation 

(cid:133)  Appropriate  M&E  provisions  for  both  your  adaptation  policy´s  objectives  and 

selected adaptation options developed 

(cid:133)  Appropriate indicators developed  

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EN 

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Annex 3 - Further information sources 

-  Database on European research projects:  

-  CIRCLE-2 Info Base  

-  FP7 on Climate change  

-  Cordis on FP4 to FP7 projects  

- 

 National web-portals (in english)  

-  Austria (in German) 

-  Cyprus (in Greek) 

-  Denmark  

-  Finland 

-  France  

-  Germany (KomPass will be available in english in late 2012) 

- 

Ireland 

-  Lithuania   

-  Netherlands 

-  Norway 

-  Portugal (in Portuguese)  

-  Slovenia 

-  Spain   

-  Sweden (in Swedish) 

-  UK   

-  Online adaptation-toolkits 

-  UK: Adaptation Wizard  

-  Scotland: Climate change adaptation Toolkit  

-  Norway: Guide to climate change Adaptation  

-  Germany: KlimaLotse (german) 

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Annex 4 - References 

The core of the guideline is based on the following work:  

ETC/ACC (Prutsch, A., Grothmann, T., Schauser, I., Otto, S. & S. McCallum) (2010): 
Guiding principles for adaptation to climate change in Europe. Technical paper 2010/6.  

Prutsch, A., Felderer, A., Balas, M., König, M., Clar, C. & R. Steurer (planned for 2013): 
Methods and tools for adaptation to climate change. Environment Agency Austria, 
Vienna. (Publication in German language).  

Pringle,  P.  (2011):  AdaptME:  Adaptation  monitoring  and  evaluation  toolkit.  UKCIP, 
Oxford, UK. 

UKCIP (2010): The UKCIP Adaptation Wizard V 3.0, UKCIP, Oxford  

Further references:  

Adger, W.N., Vincent, K., 2005. Uncertainty in adaptive capacity. External Geophysics, 
Climate and Environment 337(4), 399-410. 

Adger, W.N., Agrawala, S., Mirza, M.M.Q., Conde, C., O’Brien, K., Pulhin, J., Pulwarty, 
R.,  Smit,  B.,  Takahashi,  K.,  2007.  Assessment  of  adaptation  practices,  options, 
constraints  and  capacity.  Climate  Change  2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. 
In:  M.L.  Parry,  O.F.  Canziani,  J.P.  Palutikof,  P.J.  van  der  Linden,  C.E.  Hanson  (Eds.), 
Contribution  of  Working  Group  II 
the 
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (pp. 717–743). Cambridge University Press, 
Cambridge, UK. 

the  Fourth  Assessment  Report  of 

to 

Anderson,  S.  (2011):  Assessing  the  effectiveness  of  climate  adaptation.  Lessons  from 
adaptation in practice, IIED. 

Brown,  A.,  Gawith,  M.,  Lonsdale,  K.,  Pringle,  P.,  2011.  Managing  adaptation:  linking 
theory and practice. UKCIP, UK.  

Grothmann,  T.,  2011.  Governance  recommendations  for  adaptation  in  European  urban 
regions:  Results  from  five  case  studies  and  a  European  expert  survey.  In  K.  Otto-
Zimmermann  (ed.),  Resilient  Cities  -  Cities  and  Adaptation  to  Climate  Change  - 
Proceedings of the Global Forum 2010 (pp. 167-175). Hamburg: Springer. 

Lebel,  L.,  Grothmann,  T.,  Siebenhüner,  B.,  2010.  The  role  of  social  learning  in 
International  Environmental 
adaptiveness: 
Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, 10 (4), 333-353. 

from  water  management. 

insights 

UKCIP, 2005. Identifying Adaptation Options. UK Climate Impacts Programme, Oxford. 

Wirth.  V.  &  Prutsch,  A.,  2013.  Communicating  climate  change  adaptation.  Lessons 
learned from 10 OECD countries. Environment Agency Austria, Vienna. (Publication in 
German language). 

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Annex 5 - Glossary 

This glossary provides common  definitions of the  terms used frequently by  the climate 
change  community.  It  was  taken  from  the  European  Climate  Adaptation  Platform.  The 
Platform compiled the most relevant terms from various reports, including the IPCC's 4th 
assessment reports of the different working groups (Working Group I, II and III) and the 
UN ISIDR. 

Abrupt climate change  

The  nonlinearity  of  the  climate  system  may  lead  to  abrupt  climate  change,  sometimes 
called rapid climate change, abrupt events or even surprises. The term abrupt often refers 
to time scales faster than the typical time scale of the responsible forcing. However, not 
all  abrupt  climate  changes  need  be  externally  forced.  Some  possible  abrupt  events  that 
have  been  proposed  include  a  dramatic  reorganisation  of  the  thermohaline  circulation, 
rapid  deglaciation  and  massive  melting  of  permafrost  or  increases  in  soil  respiration 
leading  to  fast  changes  in  the  carbon  cycle.  Others  may  be  truly  unexpected,  resulting 
from a strong, rapidly changing forcing of a nonlinear system. 

Adaptation  

Adaptation  is  an  adjustment  in  natural  or  human  systems  in  response  to  actual  or 
expected  climatic  stimuli  or  their  effects,  which  moderates  harm  or  exploits  beneficial 
opportunities.  Various  types  of  adaptation  can  be  distinguished,  including  anticipatory, 
autonomous and planned adaptation. There are different ways in which adaptation can be 
framed;  an  inventory  has  been  made  by  the  Dutch  Climate  Changes  Spatial  Planning 
research programme. 

Adaptive capacity (in relation to climate change impacts)  

Adaptive capacity describes the ability of a system to adjust to climate change (including 
climate  variability  and  extremes)  to  moderate  potential  damages,  to  take  advantage  of 
opportunities,  or  to  cope  with  the  consequences.  Adaptive  capacity  can  be  framed  in 
many different ways; an inventory has been made by the Dutch Climate Changes Spatial 
Planning research programme. 

Baseline/reference  

The baseline (or reference) is the state against which change is measured. It might be a 
'current baseline', in which case it represents observable, present-day conditions. It might 
also  be  a  'future  baseline',  which  is  a  projected  future  set  of  conditions  excluding  the 
driving factor of interest. Alternative interpretations of the reference conditions can give 
rise to multiple baselines. 

Climate  

Climate in a narrow sense is usually defined as the 'average weather', or more rigorously, 
as  the  statistical  description  in  terms  of  the  mean  and  variability  of  relevant  quantities 
over  a  period  of  time  ranging  from  months  to  thousands  or  millions  of  years.  These 
quantities are most often surface variables such as temperature, precipitation, and wind. 
Climate  in  a  wider  sense  is  the  state,  including  a  statistical  description,  of  the  climate 
system. The classical period of time is 30 years, as defined by the World Meteorological 
Organization (WMO). 

Climate change  

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Climate  change  refers  to  any  change  in  climate  over  time,  whether  due  to  natural 
variability  or  as  a  result  of  human  activity.  This  usage  differs  from  that  in  the  United 
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which defines 'climate 
change'  as:  'a  change  of  climate  which  is  attributed  directly  or  indirectly  to  human 
activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to 
natural climate  variability observed over comparable time periods'. Climate  change can 
be framed in different ways; an inventory has been made by the Dutch Climate Changes 
Spatial Planning research programme. 

Climate (change) scenario  

A  plausible  and  often  simplified  representation  of  the  future  climate,  based  on  an 
internally  consistent  set  of  climatologically  relationships  and  assumptions  of  radiative 
forcing, typically constructed for explicit use as input to climate change impact models. 
A 'climate change scenario' is the difference between a climate scenario and the current 
climate. 

Climate sensitivity  

In  IPCC  reports,  equilibrium  climate  sensitivity  refers  to  the  equilibrium  change  in  the 
annual  mean  global  surface  temperature  following  a  doubling  of  the  atmospheric 
equivalent  carbon  dioxide  concentration.  Due  to  computational  constraints,  the 
equilibrium  climate  sensitivity  in  a  climate  model  is  usually  estimated  by  running  an 
atmospheric  general  circulation  model  coupled  to  a  mixed-layer  ocean  model,  because 
equilibrium climate sensitivity is largely determined by atmospheric processes. Efficient 
models can be run to equilibrium with a dynamic ocean. The effective climate sensitivity 
is a related measure that circumvents the requirement of equilibrium. It is evaluated from 
model output for evolving non-equilibrium conditions. It is a measure of the strengths of 
the climate feedbacks at a particular time and may vary with forcing history and climate 
state. The climate sensitivity parameter (units: °C (W m–2)–1) refers to the equilibrium 
change  in  the  annual  mean  global  surface  temperature  following  a  unit  change  in 
radiative  forcing.  The  transient  climate  response  is  the  change  in  the  global  surface 
temperature, averaged over a 20-year period, centred at the time of atmospheric carbon 
dioxide  doubling,  that  is,  at  year  70  in  a  1  %  yr–1  compound  carbon  dioxide  increase 
experiment  with  a  global  coupled  climate  model.  It  is  a  measure  of  the  strength  and 
rapidity of the surface temperature response to greenhouse gas forcing. 

Climate system  

The  climate  system  is  defined  by  the  dynamics  and  interactions  of  five  major 
components: atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, land surface, and biosphere. Climate 
system  dynamics  are  driven  by  both  internal  and  external  forcing,  such  as  volcanic 
eruptions,  solar  variations,  or  human-induced  modifications  to  the  planetary  radiative 
balance,  for  instance  via  anthropogenic  emissions  of  greenhouse  gases  and/or  land-use 
changes. 

Climate variability  

Climate  variability  refers  to  variations  in  the  mean  state  and  other  statistics  (such  as 
standard  deviations,  the  occurrence  of  extremes,  etc.)  of  the  climate  on  all  spatial  and 
temporal  scales  beyond  that  of  individual  weather  events.  Variability  may  be  due  to 
natural internal processes within the climate system (internal variability), or to variations 
in natural or anthropogenic external forcing (external variability). 

Cost-benefit analysis  

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Monetary  measurement  of  all  negative  and  positive  impacts  associated  with  a  given 
action.  Costs  and  benefits  are  compared  in  terms  of  their  difference  and/or  ratio  as  an 
indicator of how a given investment or other policy effort pays off seen from the society's 
point of view. 

Disaster  

A serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society involving widespread 
human,  material,  economic  or  environmental  losses  and  impacts,  which  exceeds  the 
ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources. Comment: 
Disasters are often described as a result of the combination of: the exposure to a hazard; 
the conditions of vulnerability that are present; and insufficient capacity or measures to 
reduce or cope with the potential negative consequences. Disaster impacts may include 
loss  of  life,  injury,  disease  and  other  negative  effects  on  human  physical,  mental  and 
social  well-being,  together  with  damage  to  property,  destruction  of  assets,  loss  of 
services, social and economic disruption and environmental degradation.  

There are different ways in which disasters can be framed. See for example an inventory 
made for the disaster reduction community. 

Disaster risk  

The  potential  disaster  losses,  in  lives,  health  status,  livelihoods,  assets  and  services, 
which could occur to a particular community or a society over some specified future time 
period. Comment: The definition of disaster risk reflects the concept of disasters as the 
outcome  of  continuously  present  conditions  of  risk.  Disaster  risk  comprises  different 
types  of  potential  losses  which  are  often  difficult  to  quantify.  Nevertheless,  with 
knowledge of the prevailing hazards and the patterns of population and socio-economic 
development, disaster risks can be assessed and mapped, in broad terms at least. 

Disaster risk management  

Disaster  risk  management  stands  for  a  systematic  process  of  using  administrative 
directives,  organizations,  and  operational  skills  and  capacities  to  implement  strategies, 
policies and improved coping capacities in order to lessen the adverse impacts of hazards 
and the possibility of disaster. Comment: This term is an extension of the more general 
term  "risk  management"  to  address  the  specific  issue  of  disaster  risks.  Disaster  risk 
management  aims  to  avoid,  lessen  or  transfer  the  adverse  effects  of  hazards  through 
activities and measures for prevention, mitigation and preparedness. There are different 
ways  in  which  risk  management  can  be  framed.  See for  example  inventories  made  for 
the disaster  reduction  community or  for  the Dutch  Climate  Changes  Spatial  Planning 
Programme. 

Disaster risk reduction 

The concept and practice of reducing disaster risks through systematic efforts to analyse 
and  manage  the  causal  factors  of  disasters,  including  through  reduced  exposure  to 
hazards, lessened vulnerability of people and property, wise management of land and the 
environment, and improved preparedness for adverse events. 

Emission scenario  

An emission scenario is a plausible representation of the future development of emissions 
of  substances  that  are  potentially  radiatively  active  (e.g.  greenhouse  gases,  aerosols), 
based  on  a  coherent  and  internally  consistent  set  of  assumptions  about  driving  forces 
(such as demographic and socioeconomic development, technological change) and their 

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key relationships. Concentration scenarios, derived from emission scenarios, are used as 
input  to  a  climate  model  to  compute  climate  projections.  In  IPCC  (1992)  a  set  of 
emission scenarios was presented which were used as a basis for the climate projections 
in  IPCC  (1996).  These  emission  scenarios  are  referred  to  as  the  IS92  scenarios.  In  the 
IPCC Special Report on Emission Scenarios (Nakienovi and Swart, 2000) new emission 
scenarios,  the  so-called  SRES  scenarios,  were  published,  some  of  which  were  used, 
among others, as a basis for the climate projections presented in TAR-IPCC (2001) and 
4AR-IPCC (2007). 

Extreme weather event  

An extreme weather event is an event that is rare at a particular place and time of year. 
Definitions of rare vary, but an extreme weather event would normally be as rare as or 
rarer  than  the  10th  or  90th  percentile  of  the  observed  probability  density  function.  By 
definition, the characteristics of what is called extreme weather may vary from place to 
place in an absolute sense. Single extreme events cannot be simply and directly attributed 
to anthropogenic climate change, as there is always a finite chance the event in question 
might have occurred naturally. When a pattern of extreme weather persists for some time, 
such as a season, it may be classed as an extreme climate event, especially if it yields an 
average or total that is itself extreme (e.g. drought or heavy rainfall over a season). 

Global warming  

Global  warming  refers  to  the  gradual  increase,  observed  or  projected,  in  global  surface 
temperature,  as  one  of  the  consequences  of  radiative  forcing  caused  by  anthropogenic 
emissions. 

Greenhouse effect  

Greenhouse  gases  effectively  absorb  thermal  infrared  radiation,  emitted  by  the  Earth's 
surface,  by  the  atmosphere  itself  due  to  the  same  gases,  and  by  clouds.  Atmospheric 
radiation  is  emitted  to  all  sides,  including  downward  to  the  Earth's  surface.  Thus, 
greenhouse  gases  trap  heat  within  the  surface-troposphere  system.  This  is  called  the 
greenhouse  effect.  Thermal  infrared  radiation  in  the  troposphere  is  strongly  coupled  to 
the  temperature  of  the  atmosphere  at  the  altitude  at  which  it  is  emitted.  In  the 
troposphere,  the  temperature  generally  decreases  with  height.  Effectively,  infrared 
radiation emitted to space originates from an altitude with a temperature of, on average, – 
19  °C,  in  balance  with  the  net  incoming  solar  radiation,  whereas  the  Earth's  surface  is 
kept  at  a  much  higher  temperature  of,  on  average,  +  14  °C.  An  increase  in  the 
concentration  of  greenhouse  gases  leads  to  an  increased  infrared  opacity  of  the 
atmosphere, and therefore to an effective radiation into space from a higher altitude at a 
lower  temperature.  This  causes  a  radiative  forcing  that  leads  to  an  enhancement  of  the 
greenhouse effect, the so-called enhanced greenhouse effect. 

Greenhouse gas (GHG)  

Greenhouse  gases  are  those  gaseous  constituents  of  the  atmosphere,  both  natural  and 
anthropogenic,  that  absorb  and  emit  radiation  at  specific  wavelengths  within  the 
spectrum  of  thermal  infrared  radiation  emitted  by  the  Earth's  surface,  the  atmosphere 
itself,  and by  clouds. This property causes the greenhouse effect.  Water vapour (H2O), 
carbon  dioxide  (CO2),  nitrous  oxide  (N2O),  methane  (CH4)  and  ozone  (O3)  are  the 
primary  greenhouse  gases  in  the  Earth's  atmosphere.  Moreover,  there  are  a  number  of 
entirely  human-made  greenhouse  gases  in  the  atmosphere,  such  as  the  halocarbons  and 
other  chlorine-  and  bromine-containing  substances,  dealt  with  under  the  Montreal 

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Protocol.  Beside  CO2,  N2O  and  CH4,  the  Kyoto  Protocol  deals  with  the  greenhouse 
gases  sulphur  hexafluoride  (SF6),  hydrofluorocarbons  (HFCs)  and  perfluorocarbons 
(PFCs). 

Hazard 

A dangerous phenomenon, substance, human activity or condition that may cause loss of 
life,  injury  or  other  health  impacts,  property  damage,  loss  of  livelihoods  and  services, 
social and economic disruption, or environmental damage. 

Likelihood  

The likelihood is described as an occurrence, an outcome or a result, where this can be 
estimated probabilistically. 

Maladaptation 

Action  or  investment  that  enhances  vulnerability  to  climate  change  impacts  rather  than 
reducing them. E.g. in the face of rising sea-levels it would be maladaptive to build new 
key infrastructure on a shallow coastline (UKCIP). 

Measures  

Adaptation measures are technologies, processes, and activities directed at enhancing our 
capacity to adapt (building adaptive capacity) and at minimising, adjusting to and taking 
advantage of the consequences of climatic change (delivering adaptation).  

Mitigation  

An anthropogenic intervention to reduce the anthropogenic forcing of the climate system; 
it includes strategies and measures to reduce greenhouse gas sources and emissions and 
enhancing greenhouse gas sinks. Examples of mitigation measures are renewable energy 
technologies,  waste  minimization  processes  and  public  transport  commuting  practices, 
etc. 

Natural hazard 

Natural  process  or  phenomenon  that  may  cause  loss  of  life,  injury  or  other  health 
impacts,  property  damage,  loss  of  livelihoods  and  services,  social  and  economic 
disruption, or environmental damage. 

Prevention 

Prevention is an outright avoidance of adverse impacts of hazards and related disasters. 
Comment:  Prevention  (i.e.  disaster  prevention)  expresses  the  concept  and  intention  to 
completely  avoid  potential  adverse  impacts  through  action  taken  in  advance.  Examples 
include dams or embankments that eliminate flood risks, land-use regulations that do not 
permit any settlement in high risk zones, and seismic engineering designs that ensure the 
survival  and  function  of  a  critical  building  in  any  likely  earthquake.  Very  often  the 
complete avoidance of losses is not feasible and the task transforms to that of mitigation. 
Partly  for  this  reason,  the  terms  prevention  and  mitigation  are  sometimes  used 
interchangeably in casual use. 

Projection  

The potential evolution of a quality or set of quantities, often computed with the aid of a 
model.  Projections  are  distinguished  from  predictions  in  order  to  emphasise  that 
projections involve assumptions — concerning, for example, future socio-economic and 

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technological developments, that may or may not be realised — and are therefore subject 
to substantial uncertainty. 

Resilience  

Resilience  describes  the  ability  of  a  social  or  ecological  system  to  absorb  disturbances 
while  retaining  the  same  basic  structure  and  ways  of  functioning,  the  capacity  for  self-
organisation, and the capacity to adapt to stress and change. There are different ways in 
which  resilience  can  be  framed;  an  inventory has  been  made  by  the  Dutch  Climate 
Changes Spatial Planning research programme.   

Risk  

Risk  is  a  combination  of  the  probability  of  an  event  and  its  negative  consequences. 
Comment:  This  definition  closely  follows  the  definition  of  the  ISO/IEC  Guide  73.  The 
word  "risk"  has  two  distinctive  connotations:  in  popular  usage  the  emphasis  is  usually 
placed  on  the  concept  of  chance  or  possibility,  such  as  in  "the  risk  of  an  accident"; 
whereas  in  technical  settings  the  emphasis  is  usually  placed  on  the  consequences,  in 
terms  of  "potential  losses"  for  some  particular  cause,  place  and  period.  It  can  be  noted 
that  people  do  not  necessarily  share  the  same  perceptions  of  the  significance  and 
underlying  causes  of  different  risks.  There  are  different  ways  in  which  risk  can  be 
framed.  See  for  example  inventories  made  for  the  disaster  reduction  community or  for 
the Dutch Climate Changes Spatial Planning Programme. 

Scenario  

A plausible and often simplified description of how the future may develop, based on a 
coherent  and  internally  consistent  set  of  assumptions  about  driving  forces  and  key 
relationships.  Scenarios  may  be  derived  from  projections,  but  are  often  based  on 
additional  information  from  other  sources,  sometimes  combined  with  a  narrative 
storyline. 

Socio-economic scenarios  

Scenarios  concerning  future  conditions  in  terms  of  population,  gross  domestic  product 
and  other  socio-economic  factors  relevant  to  understanding  the  implications  of  climate 
change. 

Threshold  

A threshold is a level of magnitude of a system process at which sudden or rapid change 
occurs. A  point or level at which  new  properties  emerge  in an ecological,  economic or 
other system, invalidating predictions based on mathematical relationships that apply at 
lower levels. 

Uncertainty  

An expression of the degree to which a value (e.g. the future state of the climate system) 
is unknown. Uncertainty can result from lack of information or from disagreement about 
what is known or even knowable. It may have many types of sources, from quantifiable 
errors  in  the  data  to  ambiguously  defined  concepts  or  terminology,  or  uncertain 
projections of human behaviour. Uncertainty can therefore be represented by quantitative 
measures, for example, a range of values calculated by various models, or by qualitative 
statements, for example, reflecting the judgement of a team of experts. 

Vulnerability  

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Vulnerability is the degree to which a system is susceptible to, and unable to cope with, 
adverse  effects  of  climate  change,  including  climate  variability  and  extremes. 
Vulnerability  is  a  function  of  the  character,  magnitude,  and  rate  of  climate  change  and 
variation to which a system is exposed, its sensitivity, and its adaptive capacity. There are 
different ways in which vulnerability can be framed; an inventory has been made by the 
Dutch Climate Changes Spatial Planning research programme.  

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48 

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1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

Annex 6 - Overview of available guidelines 

Multi-level 
IPCC 

technical 
for 
climate 
impacts 

guidelines 
assessing 
change 
and adaptations 

on 
Handbook 
for 
Methods 
Climate 
Change 
Impact  Assessment 
and 
Adaptation 
Strategies 

1994 

1998 

T., 
Carter, 
Parry, 
M., 
Harasawa,  H. 
& S. Nishioka 

Feenstra,  J.F., 
I., 
Burton, 
Smith,  J.B.  & 
R.S.J. 
Tol  
(Eds.) 

Intergovernmental  Panel  on 
Climate Change (IPCC) 

Not 
defined 

No 
specific 
sector 

United 
Nations 
Development  Programme 
(UNDP) 

Not 
defined 

No 
specific 
sector 

2003  Willows, R. & 

R. Connell 

Climate 

UK 
Programme 

Impacts 

Not 
defined 

adaptation. 
uncertainty 
decision-

Climate 
Risk, 
and 
making 
Adaptation 

Policy 
for 

Frameworks 
Climate Change 

Preparing  for  Climate 
A 
Change: 
Guidebook 
for 
Local,  Regional, 
State 
and 
Governments 

6 

Climate 

change 
action 

adaptation 
plan guidance 

7 

8 

Compendium 

on 
methods  and  tools 
to evaluate impacts 
and 
of, 
and 
vulnerability 
adaptation 
to 
climate change 

Designing 

climate 
change  adaptation 
initiatives 

9 

Klimalotse:  Leitfaden 
zur  Anpassung  an 
den  Klimawandel 
(online,  but  also  a 
document 
available) 
10  Managing  adaptation: 
linking  theory  and 
practice 

2004 

2007 

2008 

2008 

2010 

2010 

2011 

11  Climate  change  guide 

2011 

(online) 

Nations 
United 
Development  Programme 
(UNDP) 

Multi-
level 

Climate 
The 
Group,  King 
Washington, ICLEI 

Impacts 
County, 

Multi- 
level 

No 
specific 
sector 

No 
specific 
sector 

No 
specific 
sector 

grabs project 

United  Nations  Framework 
Convention 
on  Climate 
Change (UNFCCC) 

Multi- 
level 

Multi-
level 

No 
specific 
sector 
No 
specific 
sector 

United 
Nations 
Development  Programme 
(UNDP) 
Adelphi, Umweltbundesamt  Not 

Multi- 
level 

defined 

Multi- 
level 

Climate 

UK 
Programme (UKCIP) 

Impacts 

Climate 
Programme 

Adaptation 

Local 
level 

No 
specific 
sector 
No 
specific 
sector 

No 
specific 
sector 

No 
specific 
sector 

Lim  B.  &  E. 
Spanger-
Siegfried 
(Eds.) 
Snover,  A.K., 
L.  Whitely 
J. 
Binder, 
E. 
Lopez, 
J. 
Willmott, 
Kay,  Howell 
D. 
J. 
  & 
Simmonds 
grabs project 

Pinto, 
Erica 
Robert 
C. 
Kay,  Ailbhe 
Travers 

Lafontaine, 
A., Vergara, C 
& G. Quesne 
Christian 
Kind, 
Mohns 

Till 

Brown, 
A., 
Gawith,  M., 
Lonsdale,  K. 
& P. Pringle 
Climate 
Adaptation 
Programme 
Norway 

EN 

49 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
Multi-
level 

No 
specific 
sector 

Local 
level 

No 
specific 
sector 

for 
Department 
Environment,  Food 
and 
Rural  Affairs  (DEFRA)  and 
Climate 
three 
Change Group 

Regions 

Local 
level 

Build 
environ
ment 

2005  Alexander, 

Espace 

12  Climate 

Change 

? 

adaptation toolkit 

Scottish 
Government 

Local level 

13  How 

local 

can 
authorities 
stimulate & support 
behavioural  change 
in 
to 
response 
climate change? 

2006 

14  Adapting 

to  climate 
change  impacts  -  a 
good practice guide 
sustainable 
for 
communities 

2007 

15  Adapting 

a 

to  climate 
change: 
case 
study companion to 
the  checklist 
for 
development 

& 

Ballard 
Associates 
with  Rosslyn 
Research Ltd 

Land 
Use 
Consultants  in 
association 
with  Oxford 
Brookers 
University, 
CAG 
Consultants 
and  Gardiner 
& Theobald 
Three  Regions 
Climate 
Change Group 

Government  Office 
London 

for 

Local 
level 

2008 

ICLEI 
Oceania 

Local  Governments 
Sustainability 
(ICLEI) 

for 
Oceania 

Local 
level 

2008  Bizikova,  L., 
Neale,  T.  &  I. 
Burton 

Environment 
Adaptation 
and 
Research Division 

Canada’s 
Impacts 

Local 
level 

2008 

Parzen, 
(Eds) 

J. 

Chicago Climate Task Force  Local 
level 

No 
specific 
sector 

No 
specific 
sector 

No 
specific 
sector 

No 
specific 
sector 

16  Local 

government 
change 

climate 
adaptation toolkit 

17  Canadian 

communities 
guidebook 
adaptation 
climate change 

for 
to 

18  Chicago Area Climate 
Quick 
Change 
Guide:  Adapting  to 
the 
Physical 
Impacts  of  Climate 
Change 

19 

Preparing  for  Climate 
Change.  A  guide 
for 
local 
government in New 
Zealand 

2008  Mullan, 

B., 
D., 
Wratt, 
Dean, 
S., 
Hollis,  M., 
S., 
Allan, 
Williams,  T., 
& G. Kenny 
Espace 

Ministry 
Environment New Zealand 

for 

the 

Espace 

20  Climate 

Change 
Impacts and Spatial 
Planning.  Decision 
Support Guidance 

2008 

21  A  guidance  Note  for 
local 
Scotland’s 
authorities 

2009 

Local  Climate 
Impact  Profile 
(LCIP) 

Local 
Profile (LCIP) 

Climate 

Impact 

22  Climate 

Change 

2009 

Adaptation 
Strategies for Local 

Red 
/  Red 

IFRC, 
Cross 
Crescent 

International  Federation  of 
Red Cross and Red Crescent 
Societies (IFRC) 

Local 
level 

No 
specific 
sector 

Multi- 
level 

Local 
Level 

Local 
Level 

Spatial 
plannin
g 

No 
specific 
sector 

No 
specific 
sector 

EN 

50 

   EN 

 
 
 
Impact 

23  Climate 

Change 
and 

for 
and 

Change 
for 

A 

Emergencies 
European 
Municipalities: 
Guidelines 
Adaptation 
Response 

Information 
Effective 
Adaptation 
Practioner‘s 
Manual 

24  Climate 

25  Elaborer 

plan 
aux 

un 
d’adaptation 
changements 
climatiques :  guide 
destiné  au  milieu 
municipal 
québéquois 
an 
(« Elaborating 
adaptation  plan  to 
change : 
climate 
guideline 
for 
Quebec 
municipalities ») 

26 

Stadtklimalotse 
(online) 

27  Villes et adaptation au 
changement 
climatique  (« cities 
and  adaptation  to 
climate change ») 

28  Adapting 
change. 
introduction 
Canadian 
Municipalities 

to  climate 
An 
for 

29  Assessing  the  climate 
change  fitness  of 
spatial  planning.  A 
for 
guidance 
planners.  
Regional level 

Climate 
Centre,  Ken 
Westgate 

2009 

Langlais,  R. 
(Eds.) 

Nordic  Center  for  Spatial 
Development (NordRegio) 

Local 
level 

No 
specific 
sector 

2010  Kropp, 

J., 

Scholze, M.,  

Deutsche Gesellschaft für 
Technische  Zusammenarbeit 
(GTZ) 

Local 
level 

No 
specific 
sector 

Ouranos 

2010  Caroline 
Larrivée, 
Impacts 
adaptation, 
Ouranos 

et 

Local 
level 

No 
specific 
sector 

2011  Greiving et al.   Federal 

Institute 

of 
Ministry 
Transport,  Building 
and 
Urban Development  and the 
Federal 
for 
Research on Building, Urban 
Affairs 
Spatial 
and 
Development  
Observatoire  National  sur 
les  Effets  du  Réchauffement 
Climatique (ONERC) 

Local 
level 

No 
specific 
sector 

Local 
level 

No 
specific 
sector 

2010 

Février 
Elvyne, 
Garnaud 
Benjamin, 
Hallegatte 
Stéphane, 
Viguié 
Vincent 
2010  Bano  Mehdi 
(Eds.) 

Natural Resources Canada, 

Local  

2011 

Pütz, 
Kruse, 
Butterling 

M., 
S., 

Projekt  CLISP,  ETC  Alpine 
Space Programm 

Multi-
level 

No 
specific 
sector  

No 
specific 
sector 

30  Changement 

2007 

Climatique 

: 

Emmanuel 
RONDIA, 

Rhônalpénergie-
Environnement 

Region
al level 

No 
specific 

EN 

51 

   EN 

 
 
 
sector 

No 
specific 
sector 

No 
specific 
sector 

Geological 
Finland, Espoo. 

Survey 

of 

Region
al level 

European Commission (EC)  Region
al level 

Sabrine 
BERTHAUD, 
Laurent 
COGERINO, 
Aude 
MATRAS, 
Claire 
MORAND 

2007  Hilpert,  K., 
F., 

Mannke, 
Schmidt-
Thomé 
2009  Ribeiro, 

M.M., 
Losenno,  C., 
Dworak,  T., 
E. 
Massey, 
Swart, 
R., 
Benzie,  M.  & 
C. Laaser 

2011  Van  Oostrom 
et al. 

Interreg project CPA 

2010  UKCIP 

UKCIP 

Region
al level 

No 
specific 
sector 

Nationa
l level 

No 
specific 
sector 

Comment s’adapter 
en  Rhônes-Alpes 
(« Climate 
Change :  How 
adapt 
Alpes ») 

to 
in  Rhône-

31  Towards 
Change 
Adaptation 

Climate 

in 

the 

Baltic Sea Region 

32  Design  of  guidelines 
for  the  elaboration 
of  regional  climate 
change  adaptation 
strategies 

33  Adaptation  toolkit  for 
Sea 
the  North 
Region 
a 
changing climate 

in 

National level 

34  UKCIP  Adaptation 
Wizard (online, but 
document 
also 
available) 
Sectoral issues 

Water 

United  Nations  Economic 
Commission 
for Europe (UNECE) 
European Commission (EC)  Nationa
l level 

Multi- 
level 

Water 

Water 

National 
Research 
Programme  Knowledge  for 
Climate 
Japan 
Cooperation Agency 

International 

Not 
defined 

Not 
defined 

Water 

Water 

35  Guidance  on  water 
and  adaptation  to 
climate change 

2009  UNECE 

Water 

2009 

EC 

36  River 

basin 
management 
in  a 
changing  climate  – 
a 
Guidance 
Document 

37  Climate  Change 

in 
Water Management 

2010 

Ludwig,  F.  & 
R. Swart 

2010 

Japan 
International 
Cooperation 
Agency 

38  Handbook  on  Climate 
Change  Adaptation 
in 
the  Water 
Sector.  A  Resilient 
that 
Approach 
Integrates  Water 
Management 
and 
Community 
Development 

39  Climate 

Change 
Handbook 
for 
Regional  Water 
Planning 

2011 

Schwarz et al.  US 

Environmental 
Protection  Agency  Region  9 
and  California  Department 
of Water Resources 

Region
al level 

Water 

EN 

52 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Coastal and marine issues 

40  Local  strategies 

for 
addressing  Climate 
Change 

41  Climate 

Change 

2009  NOAA 
Coastal 
Services 
Center 
Johnson, T. 

2011 

Oceanic 

and 
National 
Atmospheric  Administration 
(NOAA)  Coastal  Services 
Center 
Alaska  Sea  Grant  Marine 
Advisory Program 

Local 
level 

Multi-
level  

Coastal 
Service
s 

No 
specific 
sector 

2003  Kovats, 

S., 
Ebi, K.L. & B. 
Menne 

World  Health  Organization 
(WHO) 

Multi-
level 

Health 

43  Climate  change  and 

2010 

Lingren  E.  & 
K. L. Ebi 

European Centre for Disease 
Prevention 
and  Control 
(ECDC) 

Nationa
l level 

Health 

2010 

Sinisi, L. & R. 
Aertgeerts 

World  Health  Organization 
(WHO) 

Region
al level 

Health 

2008  Risse, N. & N. 
Brooks 

Organisation  for  Economic 
Co-operation 
and 
Development (OECD) 

Nationa
l level 

SEA 

Organisation  for  Economic 
and 
Co-operation 
Development (OECD) 

Not 
defined 

EIA 

2010 

Shardul 
Agrawala, 
Arnoldo 
Matus 
Kramer, 
Guillaume 
Prudent-
Richard 
Marcus 
Sainsbury 

and 

Adaptation 
Planning  Manual 
Coastal 
For 
Alaskans 
and 
Marine  Dependent 
Communities 

Health  

42  Methods  of  assessing 
health 
and 
health 
to 

human 
vulnerability 
public 
adaptation 
climate change 

communicable 
diseases  in  the  EU 
States. 
Member 
Handbook 
for 
national 
vulnerability, 
impact 
adaptation 
assessments 
44  Guidance  on  water 
and 
supply 
sanitation 
in 
extreme  weather 
events 
EIA/SEA 

and 

45 

Strategic 

46 

and 
to 

Environmental 
Assessment 
Adaptation 
Climate Change 
Incorporating  Climate 
impacts 
Change 
and  adaptation  in 
environmental 
impact 
assessments: 
Opportunities  and 
challenges 

Nature conservation 

47  Conservation  Action 
Planning 
Guidelines 

for 

2009  Nature 

Conservancy’s 
Central 

Nature 
Central Science Division 

Conservancy’s 

Multi-
level 

Nature 
conserv
ation 

EN 

53 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
Developing 
Strategies 
the 
Face  of  Climate 
Change 

in 

Business sector 

Science 
Division 

48  Adapting  to  Climate 
change:  A  Guide 
for  Businesses 
in 
Scotland 
Development 

2010 

Lorraine 
FitzGerald, 
Julian 
Holbrook 

Scottish  Climate  Change 
Impacts Partnership (SCCIP) 

Nationa
l level 

Busines
s 

49  Adapting 

to  climate 
variability 
and 
change. A guidance 
manual 
for 
development 
planning 

50  Climate Guide 

51  Climate 

change. 
and 
in 

Adaptation 
mitigation 
development 
programs 

52 

Integrating 

climate 
change  adaptation 
into  development 
co-operation. 
Policy Guidance 

2007  Anderson,  G. 
(Eds.)3 

United  States  Agency  for 
International  Development  
(USAID) 

Not 
defined 

No 
specific 
sector 

2007  Red 

Cross/Red 
Crescent 
Climate 
Centre 
2008  Mani, 

Markandya, 
A. & V. Ipe 

2009  OECD 

Red  Cross/Red  Crescent 
Climate Centre 

Not 
defined 

No 
specific 
sector 

M., 

World Bank 

Not 
defined 

No 
specific 
sector 

OECD’s 
Environment 
Policy  Committee  (EPOC) 
and Development Assistance 
Committee (DAC) 

Multi- 
level 

No 
specific 
sector 

Specific elements of an adaptation policy framework 

53  Climate  Vulnerability 
Capacity 

and 
Analysis. 
Handbook 

2009  Daze, 

A., 
Amrose,  K.  & 
C. Ehrhart 

Cooperative  for  Assistance 
and  Relief 
Everywhere 
(CARE) 

Local 
level 

54 

Shaping 

climate-

2009 

ECA 

resilient 
development: 
framework 
decision-making 

a 
for 

55  AdaptME:  Adaptation 
monitoring 
and 
evaluation 

2011 

Pringle, P. 

of 
Economics 
Adaptation (ECA) 

Climate 

Multi- 
level 

Climate 

UK 
Programme (UKCIP) 

Impacts 

Multi-
level 

No 
specific 
sector 

No 
specific 
sector 

No 
specific 
sector 

EN 

54 

   EN