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Purpose This paper aims to present the “Vulnerability Sourcebook” methodology, a standardised framework for the assessment of climate vulnerability and risk in the context of adaptation planning. The Vulnerability Sourcebook has been developed for the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and has been applied in more than twenty countries worldwide. Design/methodology/approach It is based on a participative development of so-called climate impact chains, which are an analytical concept to better understand, systemise and prioritise the climate factors as well as environmental and socio-economic factors that drive climate related threats, vulnerabilities and risks in a specific system. Impact chains serve as the backbone for an operational climate vulnerability assessment with indicators based on quantitative approaches (data, models) combined with expert assessments. In this paper, the authors present the concept and applications of the original Vulnerability Sourcebook, published in 2015, which was based on the IPCC AR4 concept of climate vulnerability. In Section 6 of this paper, the authors report how this concept has been adapted to the current IPCC AR5 concept of climate risks. Findings The application of the Sourcebook is demonstrated in three case studies in Bolivia, Pakistan and Burundi. The results indicate that particularly the participative development of impact chains helped with generating a common picture on climate vulnerabilities and commitment for adaptation planning within a region. The mixed methods approach (considering quantitative and qualitative information) allows for a flexible application in different contexts. Challenges are mainly the availability of climate (change) and socio-economic data, as well as the transparency of value-based decisions in the process. Originality/value The Vulnerability Sourcebook offers a standardised framework for the assessment of climate vulnerability and risk in the context of adaptation planning.

Climate change vulnerability assessments are an essential instrument to identify regions most vulnerable to adverse impacts of climate change and to determine appropriate adaptation measures. Vulnerability assessments directly support countries in developing adaptation plans and in identifying possible measures to reduce adverse consequences of changing climate conditions. Against this background, this paper describes a vulnerability assessment using an integrated and participatory approach that builds on standardized working steps of previously developed &lsquo, Vulnerability Sourcebook&rsquo, guidelines. The backbone of this approach is impact chains as a conceptual model of cause&ndash, effect relationships as well as a structured selection of indicators according to the three main components of vulnerability, namely exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. We illustrate our approach by reporting the results of a vulnerability assessment conducted in Burundi focusing on climate change impacts on water and soil resources. Our work covers two analysis scales: a national assessment with the aim to identify climate change &lsquo, hotspot regions&rsquo, through vulnerability mapping, and a local assessment aiming at identifying local-specific drivers of vulnerability and appropriate adaptation measures. Referring to this vulnerability assessment in Burundi, we discuss the potentials and constraints of the approach. We stress the need to involve stakeholders in every step of the assessment and to communicate limitations and uncertainties of the applied methods, indicators and maps in order to increase the comprehension of the approach and the acceptance of the results by different stakeholders. The study proved the practical usability of the approach at the national level by the selection of three particularly vulnerable areas. The results at a local scale supported the identification of adaption measures through intensive engagement of local rural populations.

The paper aims to explore the gaps and overlaps between statements of intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) working at the intersection of climate change, sustainable energy, and industrial development regarding the role of Industry 4.0 for climate change mitigation and the scientific literature addressing the energy and resource efficiency of Industry 4.0. To fulfill this objective, we conduct a two-tier review of relevant literature from both IGOs as well as academia. The analysis of documents from IGOs shows that Industry 4.0 is strongly associated with energy efficiency potentials that could contribute to climate change mitigation and more sustainable energy use in the industrial sector. Based on a review of the scientific literature, however, the paper concludes that it is currently not possible to validate this assumption and provide concrete figures since analyses providing a more comprehensive picture of potential energy savings, including possible negative effects and rebounds, are lacking. We suggest that these issues be addressed in further research, e.g., through concrete case studies that go beyond the assessment of single Industry 4.0 technologies. Furthermore, efforts should be strengthened to communicate findings from technology-centered research into political strategy-building and decision-making processes and, at the same time, raise awareness in the technological domain for the information needs of policymakers.

Global climate and energy governance have led to the creation of a wide range of international and regional institutions, initiatives and financial mechanisms dedicated to fostering renewable energies. Furthermore, a low-carbon economy has evolved in recent years. The objective of this paper is to assess the potential benefits and merits of these institutions, initiatives and mechanisms from the perspective of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The central questions are if and how these organizations, initiatives and finance mechanisms could support a country from MENA in its efforts to implement large-scale capacities for renewable energy production. For this purpose, Morocco was chosen as a case study. The findings in this paper indicate that the existing institutions and financial mechanisms do not sum up to a coordinated governance approach, although the main needs of a country or region appear to be addressed. The existing institutions and financial mechanisms vary significantly in their ability to support countries, especially those taking the lead in renewable energy implementation.

Since the Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), there is little doubt left that anthropogenic climate change occurs (IPCC 2007). Several authors assume that in case of insufficient mitigation, climate change impacts could have severe implications for societies (Adger/Lorenzoni/O’Brien 2009). While AR4 only addressed issues of conflict to a limited extent, the next IPCC report will do so more directly. 2 A large number of approaches and methods have already been developed to seek an understanding of the links between climate change and conflict. Despite offering certain advantages in the understanding of this complex matter, the existing approaches have a variety of limitations. In addition, regional dynamics are often not included to a sufficient degree when sub-national conflict risks are analysed.

Ein frischer Wind weht durch den Finanzsektor. Auf Tagungen und Konferenzen diskutieren Vertreter von Banken, Versicherungen und anderen Finanzdienstleistern immer haufiger, welche Folgen der Klimawandel fur ihre Branchen haben wird und welche Moglichkeiten es gibt, damit verbundene Risiken zu minimieren und sich neu eroffnende Chancen zu nutzen. Verbande und Organisationen nachhaltiger Finanzanbieter, wie etwa der europaische Dachverband Eurosif2 und das Forum Nachhaltige Geldanlagen3, haben die Zeichen der Zeit erkannt und intensivieren den Dialog mit den Finanzunternehmen und der Politik. Denn eines steht fest: Der Klimawandel wird die Finanzbranche, einer der grosten weltweiten Wirtschaftssektoren mit einer globalen Marktkapitalisierung von rund sechs Billionen US-Dollar (Cogan 2008: i), nicht unberuhrt lassen. Innovative Strategien und Konzepte sind notwendig, damit sich die Finanzwirtschaft an neue Rahmenbedingungen und Erfordernisse im Zuge verstarkter Bemuhungen fur den Erhalt des Weltklimas effektiv anpassen kann.

In 1957 , W.M. Hirsch conjectured that every (convex) d -polytope with n facets has edge-diameter at most n−d . Recently, Holt and Klee constructed polytopes which meet this bound for a number of pairs (d,n) with d⩽13 and for all pairs (d,n) with d⩾14 . These constructions involve a judicious use of truncation, wedging, and blending on polytopes which already meet the Hirsch bound. In this paper we extend these techniques to construct polytopes of edge-diameter n−d for all (d,n) with d⩾8 . The improvement from d=14 to d=8 follows from identifying circumstances in which the results for wedging when n>2d can be extended to the cases n⩽2d .