Between theory and action: Assessing the transformative character of climate change adaptation in 51 cases in the Netherlands

作者：Dore Engbersen, Robbert Biesbroek, C.J.A.M. Termeer · 发表于：Global Environmental Change · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2024.102948 · 被引用次数：17 · 研究领域：Sustainability and Climate Change Governance、demographic modeling and climate adaptation、Climate change impacts on agriculture

• Operationalizing transformative adaptation demands a multidimensional perspective. • These dimensions are depth, scope, scale, pace, social and ecological vulnerability. • No single adaptation case excels in all dimensions of transformative adaptation. • Trade-offs can be identified between the six dimensions. • Governance arrangements should facilitate the continuous potential for transformation. Globally, researchers and policymakers are calling for transformative climate adaptation (TCA) to fundamentally change the attributes of social, economic, and ecological systems to deal with climate risks. However, attempts to conceptualize, assess, and implement TCA are limited and often result in vague and diffuse meanings, hindering transformative action. This study synthesizes existing literature to introduce a framework consisting of six dimensions for evaluating transformative climate adaptation actions: (1) depth, (2) scope, (3) scale, (4) speed, (5) social vulnerability, and (6) ecological vulnerability. We applied this framework to 51 climate change adaptation cases in the Netherlands. Our results show that no single case scored high on all dimensions, suggesting there are trade-offs between the six dimensions. Most trade-offs exist between depth, speed, and scale; however, they sometimes extend to the interplay between social and ecological vulnerability. We identify multiple clusters of cases that display varying degrees and characteristics of transformative change. Our...