EconClim projects from A to Z

The innovative research project ACCREU brings together leading experts in climate science from 14 European research institutions. The aim is to improve knowledge on climate change risk and adaptation that can be directly used by stakeholders.

Funded by Horizon Europe (project no. 101081358).

Team (Wegener Center): Birgit Bednar-Friedl, Alexander Marbler, Nina Knittel, Eva Preinfalk, Alexandra Lehner

Climate change poses a double challenge on public budgets: first, ongoing climate change requires public funding of both damage alleviation at a growing scale and of adaptation to limit the materialization of future ones. Second, the globally agreed and nationally pursued greenhouse gas emission mitigation requires a broad set of policies, including public investment in particular in the transformation of infrastructure as well as fiscal instruments to create incentives for industries and private households to foster the low carbon transition at the required pace. In the aftermath of Corona and its budget demands, adequate prioritization in these public expenditures is particularly crucial. The here proposed project develops and applies a framework to evaluate consistent greenhouse gas mitigation pathways under a changing climate that informs for budget prioritization among the various options across mitigation and adaptation, while considering the rise in damage alleviation demands. These pathways are further explored as providing the framework for ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) monitoring schemes of companies and the finance sector, in particular for the adequate evaluation criteria for emission compensation elements. The project identifies whether and if so how the latter can be directed to enhance achieving net-zero emissions most efficiently.

Funded by the Austrian National Bank.

Team: Karl Steininger (lead), Gabriel Bachner, Birgit Bednar-Friedl, Nina Knittel, Eva Preinfalk, Laura Wallenko

Climate change is already leading to numerous risks for nature and society, which will intensify with increasing warming. In view of the abundance of adaptation measures listed, however, the question arises as to which measures or packages of measures should be prioritized for implementation because they are particularly effective (effective and fast in risk reduction) and feasible (financially, institutionally, in terms of natural space, etc.) and therefore have the greatest leverage. The aim of the A-LEVERS project is therefore to bridge the gap between science and practice in order to provide decision-makers in Austria with concrete support in implementing climate change adaptation in the best possible way and avoiding maladaptation.

Funded by the Austrian Climate and Energy Fund (project no. 48343189, ACRP15).

Team (Wegener Center): Birgit Bednar-Friedl, Viktoria Rohrer, Raphaela Maier

DeCO2 aims to promote a more climate friendly building sector, currently accounting for 40 % of energy use and 36 % CO2 emissions in Europe. Current practices consume vast raw materials and produce significant waste. Rising material extraction and reduced global circularity exacerbate these issues. DeCO2 aims to close this gap by advancing innovative technologies in building elements, materials, and products. The project seeks to establish strong partnerships across the value chain: targeting developers, policymakers, and the construction industry, DeCO2 aligns with the EU's sustainability goals, emphasizing health, wellbeing, and inclusivity.

Funded by Horizon Europe (project no. 101147781).

Team (Uni Graz): Andrea Jany (Wegener Center), Maria Bertel, Miriam Hofer, Negar Ghezel Sefloo (Institute of Public Law and Political Science)

The aim of DISCC-AT is to inform decision-makers in Austria about group-specific social vulnerabilities to the main climate risks - floods and heat-related health risks - as well as the distributional effects of climate change impacts and adaptation at the national level. This will enable the implementation of equitable and cost-effective adaptation measures, including strengthening adaptation capacities where they are most needed. To achieve this goal, DISCC-AT follows an inter- and transdisciplinary approach that combines qualitative and quantitative methods and is embedded in a broad stakeholder process.

Funded by the Austrian Climate and Energy Fund (project no. C264882, ACRP14).

Team (Wegener Center): Gabriel Bachner, Martin Jury, Nina Knittel, Eva Preinfalk, Alexander Marbler

The DISTENDER project develops actionable strategies for climate change mitigation and adaptation. The strategies result from the integration of climate change adaptation and mitigation measures with participatory approaches that bring together scientists, businesses, governments, policy makers and citizens. Five case studies at EU level(Austria) will test the holistic approach developed in the project with regard to specific climate risks, and six further case studies are planned for replication. Finally, a decision support system will be developed to help policy makers to make the best use of the knowledge, tools and recommendations and to disseminate them further.

Funded by Horizon Europe (project no. 101056836).

Team (Wegener Center): Karl Steininger, Gabriel Bachner, Nina Knittel, Anna Viktoria Rohrer, Samuel Duelli, Keith Williges, Martin Schlesinger

The project determines the emissions of the city of Linz in three partial balances, derives a production-based and a consumption-based greenhouse gas (GHG) budget for the city and translates it into possible reduction paths, and explains a three-stage emissions monitoring >> Report

Funded by the City of Linz.

Team: Karl Steininger, Stefan Nabernegg, Philipp Wilfinger, Holger Hoff

A sustainable transformation of the housing sector is crucial to achieving climate targets. Cohousing, community-based housing initiatives, have gained recognition in Europe and could play a key role in decarbonizing the sector. However, their results have not yet been adequately reflected in housing strategies, financing systems and decision-making processes. The GO4CO project aims to support Austrian decision-makers by providing scientific background knowledge for the implementation of cohousing strategies that promote a climate-friendly housing sector. The project will analyze case studies in three Austrian provinces, highlight governance practices and develop a policy roadmap to promote cohousing as a sustainable alternative and have a positive impact on the wider housing system.

Funded by the Austrian Climate Research Program (ACRP).

Project management: Andrea Jany

The iKlimEt research project is developing cutting-edge open-source simulation tools for integrated energy system planning, taking into account climate change impacts and extreme events.

Funded by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) (project no. 52874386).

Team (Wegener Center): Birgit Bednar-Friedl, Douglas Maraun, Keith Williges, Nicole Ritzhaupt

The INTEGRATE project analyzes various future visions of a climate-neutral economy and society in Austria by the middle of the century, with a focus on the industry, energy, transport and building sectors. To this end, various cross-sectoral net-zero emission scenarios are developed for Austria, which differ in terms of energy demand and Austria's integration into the international energy trading market. The analysis is carried out in a model network (energy system model coupled with macroeconomic model) and with the involvement of various stakeholders from science, business, politics and civil society.

Funded by the Austrian Climate and Energy Fund (project no. C264873, ACRP14).

Team: Karl Steininger, Holger Hoff, Stefan Nabernegg, Laura Wallenko, Stefan Nabernegg

The platform is intended to facilitate and stabilize cooperation between researchers at the University of Graz and Graz University of Technology. In addition to creating orientation knowledge for decision-makers at different levels, the aim is also to create an ethical frame of reference for thinking, discussing and acting that extends beyond science and technology and into social discussion and design practice.

• Mobility paths that move: Styrian access to people, goods and services in the context of global megatrends(Z-T-G 001)
• Hydrogen and Styria: Regional action paths in the context of international technology development (Z-T-G002)

• Carbon management in a circular economy: Potentials and future paths for Styria (Z-T-G003)

Funded by the Province of Styria.

Team (Wegener Center): Karl Steininger, Mariana Rivera Aguilar, Raphaela Maier, Nadja Leschka. Please refer to the individual project pages for contacts.

The main objectives of the TransFair project are to research the structure of negative social impacts caused by ambitious climate policies in Austria and to develop counter-strategies. The project goes beyond traditional financial considerations and explicitly takes non-financial impacts into account. Currently planned and discussed climate change measures are to be analyzed, vulnerable groups identified and negative side effects investigated. Methodologically, the project draws on methods from the economic and social sciences as well as philosophy (discourse analysis, CGE modeling, Q-sorting, discrete choice experiments, normative assessments).

Funded by the Austrian Climate and Energy Fund(project no. C163512, ACRP13).

Team: Thomas Brudermann; at the Wegener Center: Birgit Bednar-Friedl, Stefan Nabernegg, Teresa Lackner

The aim of AAR2 is to assess the state of knowledge on climate change in Austria and its consequences, as well as to identify mitigation potentials and strategies, adaptation options and transformation paths. Gaps in knowledge are to be closed in the interests of a climate-neutral society.

Chapter 4: Provision of goods and services in a climate-resilient economy through materials, labor and energy
This chapter is based on the idea that the economy is a "provisioning system": in order to ultimately promote prosperity, goods and services are provided to satisfy various final demands, such as energy or material services. These goods and services are associated with a certain resource requirement (in the form of materials, energy and labor). The economic system is both a source of greenhouse gas emissions and affected by climate and global change, and thus offers opportunities and challenges for climate protection and adaptation to climate change.

Funded by the Austrian Climate and Energy Fund.

Team: Karl Steininger, Anna Viktoria Rohrer