After opening remarks by Gernot Wörther (Climate and Energy Fund), Elisabeth Bergler (BMK) and Simon Tschannett (CCCA Board, Weatherpark), the dialog kicked off with two short keynote inputs. Edith Zitz (inspire thinking) offered insights into gender mainstreaming and what can be learnt from it for climate change adaptation. Thomas Thaler (BOKU University) then spoke about enablers and barriers in the mainstreaming of climate change adaptation.
Small-group discussions were then held in two rounds at five different thematic tables.
To wrap up the event, all five groups had the chance to briefly present their key findings in plenary. Some of the main takeaways from the dialog were:
Overarching Recommendations
- Establishing a legal framework: An appropriate legal framework for climate change adaptation is needed to enable its systematic implementation. To this end, a national climate change adaptation act with binding targets, measures and responsibilities should be adopted. Germany's climate change adaptation act could serve as a model here. Achieving this goal will require extensive lobbying efforts, particularly from public administration, but also from NGOs and the scientific community.
- Establishing inter-ministerial working groups, climate councils and other bodies: Supporting bodies such as an inter-ministerial working group with members from all ministries, as well as climate councils at all political levels, can simplify or enable interdisciplinary, local and national decision-making processes.
- Improving data accessibility & creating additional data foundations: Making already available data accessible and easier to find. Generating new data where necessary, including through appropriate research calls.
- Education and communication: Integrating climate change adaptation into education systems, particularly for people working in public administration. New staff should complete climate change adaptation training courses right from the start of their employment, so they're equipped to engage with the topic from day one. It's also important to develop a target-group-specific communication strategy to ensure all stakeholders receive the information relevant to them.
- Financial incentives: Establishing funding models that make the implementation of climate change adaptation measures attractive and as straightforward as possible.
Concrete next steps that could be taken:
- Stakeholder analysis
- As a basis for all further steps
- Climate councils at all levels of territorial governance
- Establishment of a central national climate change adaptation hub
- Provides an overview of funding opportunities and information
- Serves as a point of contact for municipalities & the interested public
- Establishment of an inter-ministerial working group on climate change adaptation and/or climate change adaptation mainstreaming
- Establishment of a formal body for climate change adaptation, responsible for bringing together individual interests and best-practice examples
- Anchoring a mandatory climate risk analysis (e.g. natural hazard check) for KLAR regions
- Job rotation for administrative staff (ministries, municipalities, etc.)
