Major levers in climate change adaptation in Austria

The A-LEVERS project supports decision-makers in Austria in prioritizing and sequencing effective climate adaptation measures. It combines scientific synthesis with practical expertise and develops concrete adaptation pathways for regions.

Climate change is already causing numerous risks to nature and society, which will intensify as warming progresses. Over the past 20 years, decision-makers at EU, national, regional, and local levels have developed extensive adaptation strategies. Given the high number of measures (e.g., 136 in Austria’s national adaptation strategy), the key question is which actions or bundles of measures should be prioritized due to their high effectiveness (fast and strong risk reduction) and feasibility (financial, institutional, environmental, etc.). These high-leverage measures should be implemented first. It is also crucial to make use of opportunity windows—such as budget cycles or planning processes—consider lead times, and sequence measures appropriately. Furthermore, ineffective or infeasible measures must be replaced when adaptation limits are reached.Although adaptation research has expanded significantly in the past decade, many results remain too generic to address the concrete questions of “what,” “when,” and “how” faced by decision-makers. The project A-LEVERS aims to bridge the gap between science and practice, supporting Austrian decision-makers in implementing effective and forward-looking climate adaptation while avoiding maladaptation.A-LEVERS evaluates existing knowledge on climate change impacts and identifies Austria’s key risks. For these risks, adaptation measures and bundles are prioritized based on scientific evidence of effectiveness and feasibility. Adaptation pathways with sequenced measures are developed for three representative regions (Retzer Land, StadtLandSee Bruck/Kapfenberg/Tragöß/St. Lorenzen, and the city of Linz). These pathways will be made transferable to other Austrian regions, with hands-on guidance and policy recommendations developed.The project’s innovative methodological approach lies in combining a systematic literature synthesis with continuous expert dialogue between science and practice.

The main outputs include:

1. “burning ember” diagrams illustrating Austria’s key risks to support the 2nd Austrian Assessment Report (APCC),
2. a prioritized selection of adaptation measures and bundles,
3. concrete adaptation pathways for three pilot regions, and
4. a transferable guidance document for other regions.

Ines Omann