622
H. Pundt and A. Heilmann
1 Introduction
Climate change occurs since planet earth exists. However, due to scientific measurements during the foregoing decades it is very likely, if not sure, that current
climate change is at least accelerated by human activity, foremost the emission of
gases that increase the warming up of the lower layers of the atmosphere, such as
CO 2 , but also N 2 O, CH 4 or gaseous H 2 O. The achievement of a low carbon, resilient
and sustainable future as a reaction to climate change, is increasingly recognized
by most nations. The Sustainable Development Goal 13—Climate Action addresses
mitigation and adaptation activities (United Nations 2018).
The adaptation to climate change is one of the crucial areas which have been
and are addressed. The UNFCCC stated that “Adaptation, in the simplest terms,
refers to the actions that countries will need to take to respond to the impacts of
climate change that are already happening, while at the same time preparing for
future impacts. Successful adaptation activities also call for the effective engagement of stakeholders—including national, regional, multilateral and international
organizations, the public and private sectors, and civil society and the management
of knowledge for adaptation at each step” (UNFCCC 2017).
The citation addresses clearly the need for globally harmonized actions. Apart
from global agreement, the concrete consequences of climate change take place on a
regional, or local level. Flooding, heat waves, erosion or other events affect specific
regions, or local places (UKCAS 2018; Brebbia 2017; van Oosterom et al. 2005).
The measures to mitigate negative implications require communication between different actors in particular. Acting collectively to achieve sound solutions concerning
climate change adaptation is strongly dependent on an effective dialogue among
academics and practitioners, aiming at dealing with the issues, matters and problems
in a coordinated way. The actors that have to be included vary and increasingly it is
observed that only a commonly coordinated course of action on the local scale helps
to accomplish sustainable results. Such actors can be responsible persons from local
administrations, NGOs, other organizations, enterprises, research institutes and the
public. The people to be involved can have very different tasks, perspectives, and
their contexts can be diverse. Rainfall, for instance, can have impacts that “(…) are
not only related to precipitation itself, but also the socioeconomic aspects of the
population involved” (de Araujo Moreira et al. 2017, p. 169). To coordinate diverse
actors in a common network that is aimed at reducing harmful implications of climate
change, universities can play a crucial role.
On a local level, tangible measures can be developed and implemented to achieve
mitigation. Administrations, as well as organisations and companies on the local
level, are faced with a bulk of new challenges in view of climate change. Additionally,
the inclusion of citizens into decision making procedures has been identified as
being important when dealing with problems that possibly could be solved more
sustainably if knowledge of local people can be included. In such a sense, climate
change adaptation becomes a field of very different, complex problems and issues
that can only be solved if all concerned actors are included in an intertwined decision
H. Pundt and A. Heilmann
1 Introduction
Climate change occurs since planet earth exists. However, due to scientific measurements during the foregoing decades it is very likely, if not sure, that current
climate change is at least accelerated by human activity, foremost the emission of
gases that increase the warming up of the lower layers of the atmosphere, such as
CO 2 , but also N 2 O, CH 4 or gaseous H 2 O. The achievement of a low carbon, resilient
and sustainable future as a reaction to climate change, is increasingly recognized
by most nations. The Sustainable Development Goal 13—Climate Action addresses
mitigation and adaptation activities (United Nations 2018).
The adaptation to climate change is one of the crucial areas which have been
and are addressed. The UNFCCC stated that “Adaptation, in the simplest terms,
refers to the actions that countries will need to take to respond to the impacts of
climate change that are already happening, while at the same time preparing for
future impacts. Successful adaptation activities also call for the effective engagement of stakeholders—including national, regional, multilateral and international
organizations, the public and private sectors, and civil society and the management
of knowledge for adaptation at each step” (UNFCCC 2017).
The citation addresses clearly the need for globally harmonized actions. Apart
from global agreement, the concrete consequences of climate change take place on a
regional, or local level. Flooding, heat waves, erosion or other events affect specific
regions, or local places (UKCAS 2018; Brebbia 2017; van Oosterom et al. 2005).
The measures to mitigate negative implications require communication between different actors in particular. Acting collectively to achieve sound solutions concerning
climate change adaptation is strongly dependent on an effective dialogue among
academics and practitioners, aiming at dealing with the issues, matters and problems
in a coordinated way. The actors that have to be included vary and increasingly it is
observed that only a commonly coordinated course of action on the local scale helps
to accomplish sustainable results. Such actors can be responsible persons from local
administrations, NGOs, other organizations, enterprises, research institutes and the
public. The people to be involved can have very different tasks, perspectives, and
their contexts can be diverse. Rainfall, for instance, can have impacts that “(…) are
not only related to precipitation itself, but also the socioeconomic aspects of the
population involved” (de Araujo Moreira et al. 2017, p. 169). To coordinate diverse
actors in a common network that is aimed at reducing harmful implications of climate
change, universities can play a crucial role.
On a local level, tangible measures can be developed and implemented to achieve
mitigation. Administrations, as well as organisations and companies on the local
level, are faced with a bulk of new challenges in view of climate change. Additionally,
the inclusion of citizens into decision making procedures has been identified as
being important when dealing with problems that possibly could be solved more
sustainably if knowledge of local people can be included. In such a sense, climate
change adaptation becomes a field of very different, complex problems and issues
that can only be solved if all concerned actors are included in an intertwined decision