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There is growing recognition that implementation of low-carbon policies in urban passenger transport has near-term health co-benefits through increased physical activity and improved air quality. Nevertheless, co-benefits and related cost reductions are often not taken into account in decision processes, likely because they are not easy to capture. In an interdisciplinary multi-model approach we address this gap, investigating the co-benefits resulting from increased physical activity and improved air quality due to climate mitigation policies for three urban areas. Additionally we take a (macro-)economic perspective, since that is the ultimate interest of policy-makers. Methodologically, we link a transport modelling tool, a transport emission model, an emission dispersion model, a health model and a macroeconomic Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model to analyze three climate change mitigation scenarios. We show that higher levels of physical exercise and reduced exposure to pollutants due to mitigation measures substantially decrease morbidity and mortality. Expenditures are mainly born by the public sector but are mostly offset by the emerging co-benefits. Our macroeconomic results indicate a strong positive welfare effect, yet with slightly negative GDP and employment effects. We conclude that considering economic co-benefits of climate change mitigation policies in urban mobility can be put forward as a forceful argument for policy makers to take action.

A change in tree species composition in Central Europe to increase the resilience of forests when coping with climate change effects is imminent. We evaluated the present and expected future role of the European beech, (Fagus sylvatica L.), with respect to the expansion of its habitat and its stem. We assessed the current relevance of beech from data of the Austrian Forest Inventory 2007/09, and analyzed forest policies promoting the establishment of beech forests. We simulated forest growth with the model CALDIS, linked with the timber-market model FOHOW2. We used a business-as-usual (BAU) forest management strategy under moderate (RCP 4.5 BAU) or extreme (RCP 8.5 BAU) climate change. We also simulated an extreme climate change scenario with a forced change in the tree species composition (RCP 8.5 Change Species). Beech occurs in Austrian forests over the elevational gradient of 250 to 1600 m a.s.l. In low elevation, it forms beech-dominated forests, often for the supply of the domestic fuelwood demand. In mountain regions, beech enriches the diversity of Norway spruce, (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.)-dominated forests. In a BAU setting, the habitat of beech increases only slightly in both climate scenarios. The scenario 'RCP 8.5 Change Species' increases the habitat of beech in the next 60 years considerably. With progressing warming, other broadleaved tree species gain relevance. The vulnerability to drought and pathogens are limiting factors for Austrian beech forests. The future habitat depends on many factors such as the ability of forests to cope with climate change, the confidence to arising market opportunities of beech timber in the wake of technological progress, and financial and non-financial incentives for the implementation of adaptive forest management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is a challenge for society and the law. Whereas Austrian administrative law is slowly but increasingly establishing regulatory steps for both the mitigation of and adaptation to climate change, constitutional law in Austria seems to be silent on this subject. Since Austria is a federal state, the question arises whether the Land (the state) level or the federal level of government is competent to regulate climate change issues. In this paper, this question shall be answered. For that purpose, the Austrian federal system, especially the Bundesstaat (the federal state), and the distribution of competences will be explained. Then, the main challenges climate change poses for the federal system will be discussed. Special attention will be paid to the Austrian Climate Protection Act and its deficiencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Streamlining IA for low-carbon activities respectively to reach climate mitigation targets has become a new trend. In Austria and Germany, likewise in many other countries authorities and project developers discuss acceleration of impact assessment procedures looking particularly at public participation as one of the factors suspected to lead to prolongation of procedures. Additionally, also inspired by the EU provisions regarding climate change and renewable energies, experts discuss streamlining between regional and project level, thus between SEA and EIA. In this letter the authors look critically at the most recent developments related to the ambition to accelerate particularly the planning and commissioning of wind energy infrastructure and discuss both chances but also negative consequences and limitations. These are related to several factors such as the assessment at the appropriate planning level or the quality of data. The letter provides implications for IA practice and alternative suggestions which might support efficient impact assessment while maintaining or improving its quality particularly having in mind the various conflicting targets related to, i.e., biodiversity, human health and climate change mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To successfully battle climate change, it is crucial to reach people across political camps and national borders. Research from dual-party systems indicates that climate change communication is most effective when it addresses how climate action promotes recipients' political values. Yet, to our knowledge, there is no such evidence from multi-party systems. To fill this gap, we conducted three studies in two Central European, German-speaking countries: Germany and Austria. In Study 1, we framed conservative and liberal climate protection messages using values from Schwartz's Theory of Basic Human Values. Liberals agreed more with the liberally framed than with the conservatively framed climate protection message. In Study 2, we framed the climate protection message based on moral foundations. Conservative participants agreed more with the conservatively framed climate protection message than with the liberally framed one. Study 3 integrated values from multiple frameworks, and ultimately conservatives as well as liberals agreed more to climate protection statements that touched on values reflecting their political ideology. Thus, empirical findings from dual-party systems hold for countries with more than two parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We combine farm accounting data with high‐resolution meteorological data, and climate scenarios to estimate climate change impacts and adaptation potentials at the farm level. To do so, we adapt the seminal model of Moore and Lobell (2014) who applied panel data econometrics to data aggregated from the farm to the regional (subnational) level. We discuss and empirically investigate the advantages and challenges of applying such models to farm‐level data, including issues of endogeneity of explanatory variables, heterogeneity of farm responses to weather shocks, measurement errors in meteorological variables, and aggregation bias. Empirical investigations into these issues reveal that endogeneity due to measurement errors in temperature and precipitation variables, as well as heterogeneous responses of farms toward climate change may be problematic. Moreover, depending on how data are aggregated, results differ substantially compared to farm‐level analysis. Based on data from Austria and two climate scenarios (Effective Measures and High Emission) for 2040, we estimate that the profits of farms will decline, on average, by 4.4% (Effective Measures) and 10% (High Emission). Adaptation options help to considerably ameliorate the adverse situation under both scenarios. Our results reinforce the need for mitigation and adaptation to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agriculture and food systems are central to managing biodiversity loss and climate change. Future changes in agriculture and food systems are highly uncertain and depend on underlying socio-economic developments. Scenarios allow scientists, policy and industry decision-makers to consider such uncertainties and describe a spectrum of plausible futures. The Shared Socioeconomic Pathways for European agriculture and food systems (Eur-Agri-SSPs) semi-quantitatively describe pathways along future challenges for climate change mitigation and adaptation. However, additional or adapted drivers (i.e. scenario elements), like national policies or adaptations of European policies, are relevant to frame plausible future developments at national scales. We aim to set the standard for developing country and sector-specific SSPs in a participatory process by developing and applying an eleven-step protocol and engaging a diverse group of stakeholders throughout the whole research process. By downscaling the Eu-Agri-SSPs to a national level, we contribute to improve their usability in academia, governments and industry. This is achieved by matching qualitative pathways with the needs of integrated land use models (used to simulate land use scenarios), and by quantifying selected drivers for future developments together with stakeholders. In particular, we estimate 20-year trends (2000–2019) and apply fuzzy set theory to quantify ten scenario elements, which are typically required in integrated land use models. The final scenarios describe the semi-quantitative development for 79 scenario elements along the five topics "Population and urbanization", "Economy", "Policy and institutions", "Technology", and "Environment and natural resources" for the five AT-Agri-SSPs. Exemplary results reveal that stakeholders expect payments for agri-environment-climate measures to increase to 1200 million € in AT-Agri-SSP1 or to decline to 267 million € in AT-Agri-SSP3, 4 and 5. For direct payments, a complete phase-out was specified for AT-Agri-SSP1 and an increase to 711 million € in AT-Agri-SSP3. We discuss 14 lessons learnt and recommendations for future scenario processes and participatory quantification. Recommendations include: tailoring the assignment of scenario elements for quantification to stakeholders' expertise, keeping survey complexity low, providing historical and relevant SSP data, and encouraging stakeholders to jointly quantify interdependent elements. The AT-Agri-SSPs can inform policy-making, decision-making in industry, and research on the agriculture and food systems. • We developed an eleven-step, iterative protocol to develop the AT-Agri-SSPs. • Austrian stakeholders were engaged in five of the eleven working steps. • We defined semi-quantitative development directions for 79 scenario elements. • We applied fuzzy set theory for the participatory quantification of 10 scenario elements. • We discuss lessons learnt for future scenario processes and participatory quantification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we argue against an all-too-easy 'climate bad guy' thesis, which holds that in right-wing populism climate change denialism or at least skepticism is one-dimensional, i.e. right-wing populist parties generally reject climate change mitigation. To this end, we present a revision of the 'populism as thin-centered ideology' approach and situate populist politics in the context of a process we refer to as devolution of democracy. We develop a heuristic list of distinct populist climate policy claims for empirical investigation and then apply a contextualist approach by examining differing right-wing populist party positions on climate change mitigation within a two-level framework that covers their positioning towards both the global climate agenda and domestic low-carbon policies. We substantiate our thesis that populist climate politics is retrograde as well as context-relative by drawing on empirical cases from Germany, Austria, and Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soils as key component of terrestrial ecosystems are under increasing pressures. As an advance to current static assessments, we present a dynamic soil functions assessment (SFA) to evaluate the current and future state of soils regarding their nutrient storage, water regulation, productivity, habitat and carbon sequestration functions for the case-study region in the Lower Austrian Mostviertel. Carbon response functions simulating the development of regional soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks until 2100 are used to couple established indicator-based SFA methodology with two climate and three land use scenarios, i.e. land sparing (LSP), land sharing (LSH), and balanced land use (LBA). Results reveal a dominant impact of land use scenarios on soil functions compared to the impact from climate scenarios and highlight the close link between SOC development and the quality of investigated soil functions, i.e. soil functionality. The soil habitat and soil carbon sequestration functions on investigated agricultural land are positively affected by maintenance of grassland under LSH (20% of the case-study region), where SOC stocks show a steady and continuous increase. By 2100 however, total regional SOC stocks are higher under LSP compared to LSH or LBA, due to extensive afforestation. The presented approach may improve integrative decision-making in land use planning processes. It bridges superordinate goals of sustainable development, such as climate change mitigation, with land use actions taken at local or regional scales. The dynamic SFA broadens the debate on LSH and LSP and can reduce trade-offs between soil functions through land use planning processes. • Dynamic soil functions assessment through simulation of SOC changes until 2100. • Land use change has a stronger effect on soil functionality than climate change. • By 2100, SOC stocks are higher under a land sparing than under a land sharing scenario. • Soil functions are sensitive to changes in SOC. • The approach enables soil-sensitive ex-ante evaluation of land use scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the mitigation of climate change becomes critical, the public perception of wood as a sustainable building material that can facilitate the shift towards a bio-based economy is crucial to consider. This study aimed to explore the attitudes towards timber construction among young millennials in Austria, a cohort that in the coming years will increasingly occupy decision-making positions and gain purchasing power. A representative online survey (quota sample, n = 757) was conducted to explore the attitudes of 20 to 29-year-olds towards timber construction and the forest-based sector. In general, timber construction was described positively in comparison to other construction methods, in particular, it was considered aesthetically appealing and ecologically advantageous. Indecisiveness prevailed regarding the role of wood in climate change mitigation. The industry's current approach to advertising does not attract much attention. Doubts were expressed about the sustainability of sourcing wood as a building material and certain physical characteristics for building were perceived as a disadvantage. Four distinct market segments were then identified by means of exploratory factor analysis and a cluster analysis using Timber Construction Affinity and Opinion Leadership Wood as categorization factors. Two segments are essential for future marketing measures: Passive Preservers showed the most negative view of the industry, its practices and its offerings, while Active Supporters were in favor of increased wood use and actively promoted timber constructions among peers. Subsequently, marketing implications were given to develop "preserving" into "supporting" clusters and to further involve Active Supporters in the communication of wood and timber construction related topics. [Display omitted] • The attitude of 20- to 29-year-olds towards timber construction and the forest-based sector in Austria was examined (n = 757). • In general timber construction was viewed positively, especially as aesthetical and ecologically advantageous. • Respondents were concerned about building physics and the sustainability of wood sourcing. • Four distinct market segments were identified using Timber Construction Affinity and Opinion Leadership Wood. • Recommendations for communication measures were given to address this future customer group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is supposed to exacerbate conflicts arising from resource scarcity and contrasting objectives. Some European authors highlighted already the need to look at conflicting interests when elaborating and applying adaptation and mitigation strategies. This study analysed the level of consideration of these emerging topics arising through increased competition of resources, contrasting interests, climate change adaptation as well as mitigation measures for Austria and Southern Germany in detail. Furthermore, it surveyed the application of possible approaches for conflict prevention and mitigation in an international perspective and additionally examined the particular role of SEA as one of the instruments to cope with conflicts related to climate change. The results express the strong need to look at emerging conflicts in cross-sectoral and sectoral adaptation early enough and a strategic perspective. Based on the content analysis of the Austrian and German adaptation and mitigation documents, expert interviews as well as the international literature review, a rather low consideration of these emerging topics as well as approaches to cope with them became evident. In response to these deficiencies, the paper introduces a first framework to identify and tackle emerging and exacerbated conflicts related to climate change. This novel framework is internationally applicable. In the final step of the framework approaches to prevent and minimize conflicts are the key topic. Among these approaches, SEA could take a leading role in case mandatory planning instruments cover the topics related to potential or existing exacerbated fields of conflicts. Overall a mix of formal and informal instruments and a more cross-sectoral perspective seems necessary. To this aim, the paper introduces four main guiding principles to consider and minimize up-coming conflicting topics. • Consideration of cc related conflicts is very diverse in adaptation documents. • A more strategic view of emerging conflicts is of particular importance. • This paper presents a novel framework to identify and tackle conflicts. • SEA can partly address these conflicting topics depending on its role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]