Gaps in Adaptation: Research and policy

Lecturer: Sirkku Juhola, PhD - Professor of urban environmental policy, University of Helsinki, Finland

Abstract:
Adaptation research has advanced tremendously in the last two decades, advancing our understanding of the formation of climate risk to society and also what policies and measures need to be taken to adapt. As new assessments of global adaptation and progress in policy are about to be published, it is worth asking what gaps there are in terms of the questions we are asking in adaptation research, and where gaps are in policy. This presentation discusses these questions in relation to recent publications and policy processes, touching on issues such as the role of societal development in the creation of climate risk, and the challenges associated with identifying the impacts of policy across scales.


Bio:
Sirkku Juhola is professor of urban environmental policy in University of Helsinki, and a guest professor at Linköping University in Sweden and at Western Norway Research Centre, Norway. In Helsinki, she leads the multidisciplinary Urban Environmental Policy (@UEP_group) research group which focuses on climate issues. She is a contributing author in the IPCC 6th Assessment Report (Ch6 Cities) and a lead author in the Third Assessment Report on Climate Change and Cities, UCCRN. She is also a member of the Finnish Climate Change Panel that advices the Finnish Government on climate policy with specific focus on adaptation policy.