Missed our webinar on the impacts of climate change on Europe? Here are some highlights.

More than 65 scientists and policy makers came together on Wednesday 14 April 2021. They attended a webinar organized by the H2020 funded projects RECEIPT and CASCADES and hosted by DG CLIMA and EASME. The projects have reflected on the impacts of global change on Europe.

While the comparison may surprise a few, the webinar started with drawing a parallel between the global climate crisis and the ongoing pandemic:

  • Both originate from a remote trigger that has propagated rapidly, affecting Europe.
  • Their effects come from direct impacts and societal responses.
  • Their impacts trickle down into every sector of society, making them multi-layer risks.

Five researchers from RECEIPT and CASCADES then presented a snapshot of the topics they are exploring in their work, introducing case studies and policy analyses.

The first pitch was given by Anders Levermann who is RECEIPT’s work on trade and supply chains. Anders investigates the effects of climate change on trade. He took us through how hurricanes affect the trade balance between the US, Europe and China. Economic damages from extreme weather events such as supply chain interruptions caused by hurricanes are transmitted around the world.

Irene Monasterolo focuses on the financial sector for CASCADES. Her pitch explored how exposed the European private and public financial sector is to remove climate events. Irene showed the regional distribution of the EU portfolio investments. Adjusting the value of stocks and bonds to climate risk scenarios, researchers are assessing the losses that portfolios could face.

Climate disasters can undermine international policies on development efforts and humanitarian aid. That’s what RECEIPT’s Jaroslav Mysiak showed in his pitch. Using the INFORM Global Risk index, our researchers are modelling the pathways and causal loops of climate disruptions.

Paula Kivimaa studies policy coherence for CASCADES. She explored the consistency and lack of contradictions between policy processes and policy inputs between climate adaptation policies, and policies for trade or finance, for instance.

The last pitch was given by Reinard Mechler and asked what indicators of resilience can reflect the complex interconnectivity of the world. Reinard shared RECEIPT’s insights from a resilience survey and introduced the triple dividends framework for decision-making.

The pitches were followed by a 30-minute questions and answers session that enables policy makers and scientists to exchange in more depth on the topics addressed.

RECEIPT and CASCADES are will be presenting some of these topics during the 5th European Climate Change Adaptation Conference (ECCA 2021), between 25 May 2021 and 22 June 2021. Register here to attend.

Published on : 15 April 2021