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The UNFCCC Paris Agreement, entered into force on 4 November 2016, represents a step forward in involving all countries in mitigation actions, even though it is based on a voluntary approach and lacks the active participation of some major polluting countries. The underinvestment in mitigation actions depends on market and policy failures and the absence of price signals internalizing the economic losses due to climatic damage. This contributes to underestimating potential benefits from global action. In this paper we discuss how crucial is the assessment of the vulnerability of a country to climate change in defining the threat and action strategies. A dynamic climate-economy CGE model is developed that includes a monetary evaluation of regional damages associated with climate change. By considering alternative damage profiles, results show that internalizing climatic costs might change the bargaining position of countries in climate negotiations. Consequently, damage costs should be given greater importance when defining the implementation of a global climate agreement. © 2018, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Transdisciplinary knowledge integration and cross-scale management remain challenges in coastal management after several decades of research and experience with integrated and sustainable coastal management. The aim of this paper is to identify requirements for knowledge integration and development of multi-scale approaches to coastal management through reviewing and re-analysing three Swedish-European research projects: the SUCOZOMA project about sustainable coastal zone management, the FRAP project about conflicts between coastal fishery and species protection, and the SECOA project about solutions to contrasts in coastal metropolitan areas. The strategy of adaptive governance is considered in the light of its ability to assess knowledge requirements for sustainable resource management under conditions of climate change.