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Regional Futures under the Microscope: Regional Challenges in Upper Austria (AT), Lower Austria (AT),Styria (AT) and Kassel (DE)

Project Leader: Lindenthal Thomas, Project Leader

Duration:: 20.02.2011-31.12.2013

Programme:: Klima- und Energiefonds

Type of Research: Applied Research

Project partners: Austrian Institute for Regional Studies and Spatial Planning, Franz-Josefs Kai 27, 1010 Wien, Austria.
Function of the Project Partner: Partner; Austrian Society for Environment and Technologie, Hollandstraße 10/46, 1020 Wien, Austria.
Function of the Project Partner: Partner; University of Kassel, Institute for urban processes, Mönchebergstraße 19, 34109 Kassel, Germany.
Function of the Project Partner: Partner; Wegener Zentrum für Klima und Globalen Wandel, Leechgasse 25, 8010 Graz, Austria.
Function of the Project Partner: Partner

Staff: Penker Marianne, Project Staff; Enengel Barbara, Project Staff (bis 28.02.2015); Aversano-Dearborn Matthew, Project Staff (bis 23.05.2013)

BOKU Research Units: Centre for Global Change and Sustainability; Institute of Meteorology and Climatology; Institute of Safety and Risk Sciences; Institute of Sustainable Economic Development

Subproject(s):
Subproject(s):

Funded by: Klima- und Energiefonds, Leopold-Ungar-Platz 2 / Stiege 1 / 4.OG / Top 142, 1190 Wien, Austria

Abstract: In the course of an ongoing EU project to map vulnerabilities at the NUTS2 level vis-à-vis five major global challenges (climate change, sustainable and competitive energy, globalization, demographic change and social polarization) a number of questions emerged regarding the efficacy of the project’s top-down approach to addressing such multifaceted issues. The ACRP “Regional Futures” project aims to improve the methodology based on an in-depth study of the vulnerabilities of four regions in Austria and Germany, with a focus on the climate change and energy challenge. Thus the project will improve the understanding of the robustness of results achieved under the constraints of the EU study and provide valuable information on exposure, sensitivity, adaptive capacity and vulnerability in the five regions for a spectrum of future scenarios.

Although all five challenges will be included in the study, special emphasis will be put on the climate and the energy challenges. In the study of future developments the consequences of prioritizing climate and energy strategies will receive special attention.

Thus, the objectives of the project are:

- To contribute to the theoretical discussion surrounding the appropriateness and applicability of top-down versus bottom-up approaches for the assessment of vulnerabilities;

- To improve the methodologies of vulnerability assessments, taking account of typical constraints in EU studies

- To contribute to scientific advancement in the vulnerability concept, particularly regarding climate change and energy, as vulnerabilities will be analysed with special regard to climate change adaptation and mitigation measures

- To develop region-specific indicators for assessing vulnerabilities towards the five challenges (and identified sub-challenges) in four selected regions: Upper Austria (AT), Lower Austria (AT), Styria (AT) and Kassel (DE);

- To assess vulnerabilities towards the five challenges and their respective sub-challenges in the four regions with special emphasis on climate change and energy; and

- To provide valuable information to Austrian and German stakeholders at both the regional and national levels, on exposure, sensitivity, adaptive capacity and vulnerability in order to inform policy-making.

Keywords: bioclimatology; Global warming; environmental research; environmental protection; risk analysis; Civil defence and disaster control; Nutritional sciences; energy research; renewable energy; agricultural ecology; general social research; environmental research; social geography; environmental protection;; bottum up; demography; energy; society; globalisation; climate change; Polarisation; Vulnerability;