Thesis Title:
To co-produce or not to co-produce? A critical examination of the translation of IPCC climate science into national adaptation policies
Abstract:
Commitments to reach net zero emissions by 2050, and keep temperature rise below 1.5 ºC, will only reduce the impacts of climate change, not stop them. We must adapt now. Information is needed on where, and who, will be affected and what should be done. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has sought to do this via its Assessment Reports. However, thirty years since the first report, progress on adaptation remains slow. More people are being put at risk as the gap between the level of risk we face and the level of adaptation underway widens.
Why some national policymakers fail to implement effective adaptation policies whilst other countries adopt ambitious adaptation strategies is not always clear. Inaction is often due to information failing to give decision-makers what they need. To resolve this, the IPCC increasingly involves scientists and policymakers in co-producing its climate science to improve the usability and use of that science. But there is a lack of data on whether this works, or even how the IPCC reports are used to inform adaptation decisions. Through an analysis of official documents, and expert interviews, this research is intended to give scholars, practitioners, and policymakers crucial insights into how to accelerate adaptation action. Given the policy-relevance of this research and commitment to impact; the project is in addition open to collaborative opportunities with: (i) public bodies and/or government officials working on national adaptation and/or climate science; and (ii) non-governmental organisations working at the interface between science-policy who are responsible for the translation of science into action.
Social media:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/silvana-rupprechter-878789177/
First Supervisor;
Dr James Porter
Pathway:
Pathway 9: Political Ecology, Energy & Environmental Health
Cohort:
2022-23
Publications:
Risikobarometer Radon 2021. AGES Österreichische Agentur für Gesundheit und Ernährungssicherheit GmbH. https://doi.org/10.23764/0024