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IPCC Special Report: Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) - 9. Case Studies

Content Type
Author or Institution as Author
Virginia Murray (UK)
Co-authors

 Gordon McBean (Canada), Mihir Bhatt (India)

Date of publication
Institution
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Language
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Description/Abstract

In this chapter, case studies are used as examples of how to gain a better understanding of the risks posed by extreme weather and climate-related events while identifying lessons and best practices from past responses to such occurrences. Using the information in Chapters 1 to 8, it was possible to focus on particular examples to reflect the needs of the whole Special Report. The chosen case studies are illustrative of an important range of disaster risk reduction, disaster risk management, and climate change adaptation issues. They are grouped to examine representative types of extreme events, vulnerable regions, and methodological approaches.

Keywords
Climate Change
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Global Warming
Risk
Extreme Events
Disaster
Adaptation
Case Study
Contact name (for further information)
Virginia Murray (UK)
Contact institution (for further information)
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Citation

Murray, V., G. McBean, M. Bhatt, S. Borsch, T.S. Cheong, W.F. Erian, S. Llosa, F. Nadim, M. Nunez, R. Oyun, and A.G. Suarez, 2012: Case studies. In: Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation [Field, C.B., V. Barros, T.F. Stocker, D. Qin, D.J. Dokken, K.L. Ebi, M.D. Mastrandrea, K.J. Mach, G.-K. Plattner, S.K. Allen, M. Tignor, and P.M. Midgley (eds.)]. A Special Report of Working Groups I and II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, and New York, NY, USA, pp. 487-542.

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IPCC Special Report: Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) - 8. Toward a Sustainable and Resilient Future

Content Type
Author or Institution as Author
Karen O’Brien (Norway)
Co-authors

Mark Pelling (UK), Anand Patwardhan (India)

Date of publication
Institution
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC
Language
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Description/Abstract

This chapter focuses on the implications of changing climate extremes for development, and considers how disaster risk management and climate change adaptation together can contribute to a sustainable and resilient future. Changes in the frequency, timing, magnitude, and characteristics of extreme events pose challenges to the goals of reducing disaster risk and vulnerability, both in the present and in the future. Enhancing the capacity of social-ecological systems to cope with, adapt to, and shape change is central to building sustainable and resilient development pathways in the face of climate change. The concept for social-ecological systems recognizes the interdependence of social and ecological factors in the generation and management of risk, as well as in the pursuit of sustainable development. Despite 20 years on the policy agenda, sustainable development remains contested and elusive (Hopwood et al., 2005). However, within the context of climate change, it is becoming increasingly clear that the sustainability of humans on the Earth is closely linked to resilient social-ecological systems, which is influenced by social institutions, human agency, and human capabilities (Pelling, 2003; Bohle et al., 2009; Adger et al., 2011).

Keywords
Climate Change
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Global Warming
Risk
Extreme Events
Disaster
Adaptation
Resilience
Sustainability
Future
Contact name (for further information)
Karen O’Brien (Norway)
Contact institution (for further information)
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Citation

O’Brien, K., M. Pelling, A. Patwardhan, S. Hallegatte, A. Maskrey, T. Oki, U. Oswald-Spring, T. Wilbanks, and P.Z. Yanda, 2012: Toward a sustainable and resilient future. In: Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation [Field, C.B., V. Barros, T.F. Stocker, D. Qin, D.J. Dokken, K.L. Ebi, M.D. Mastrandrea, K.J. Mach, G.-K. Plattner, S.K. Allen, M. Tignor, and P.M. Midgley (eds.)]. A Special Report of Working Groups I and II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, and New York, NY, USA, pp. 437-486.

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IPCC Special Report: Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) - 7. Managing the Risks: International Level and Integration across Scales

Content Type
Author or Institution as Author
Ian Burton (Canada)
Co-authors

O. Pauline Dube (Botswana)

Date of publication
Institution
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Language
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Description/Abstract

A need to cope with the risks associated with atmospheric processes (floods, droughts, cyclones, and so forth) has always been a fact of human life (Lamb, 1995). In more recent decades, extreme weather events have increasingly come to be associated with large-scale disasters and an increasing level of economic losses. Considerable experience has accumulated at the international (as well as local and national) level on ways of coping with or managing the risks. The same cannot be said for the risks associated with anthropogenic climate change. These are new risks identified as possibilities or probabilities. Acceptance of climate change and its growing impacts has led to a stronger emphasis on the need for adaptation, as exemplified, for example, in the Bali Action Plan (adopted at the 13th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (UNFCCC, 2007a) and the Cancun Agreements of December 2010. The international community is thus faced with a contrast between a long record of managing disasters and the risks of ‘normal’ climate extremes, and the new problem of adaptation to anthropogenic climate change and its associated changes in variability and extremes. It has been asked how the comparatively new field of anthropogenic climate change adaptation (CCA) can benefit from the longer experience in disaster risk management (DRM). That question is a major focus of this Special Report.

Keywords
Climate Change
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Global Warming
Extreme Events
Risks
Disaster
Adaptation
International Level
Integration
Contact name (for further information)
Ian Burton (Canada)
Contact institution (for further information)
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Citation

Burton, I., O.P. Dube, D. Campbell-Lendrum, I. Davis, R.J.T. Klein, J. Linnerooth-Bayer, A. Sanghi, and F. Toth, 2012: Managing the risks: international level and integration across scales. In: Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation [Field, C.B., V. Barros, T.F. Stocker, D. Qin, D.J. Dokken, K.L. Ebi, M.D. Mastrandrea, K.J. Mach, G.-K. Plattner, S.K. Allen, M. Tignor, and P.M. Midgley (eds.)]. A Special Report of Working Groups I and II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, and New York, NY, USA, pp. 393-435.

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IPCC Special Report: Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) - 6. National Systems for Managing the Risks from Climate Extremes and Disasters

Content Type
Author or Institution as Author
Padma Narsey Lal (Australia)
Co-authors

Tom Mitchell (UK)

Date of publication
Institution
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Language
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Description/Abstract

This chapter assesses how countries are managing current and projected disaster risks, given knowledge of how risks are changing with observations and projections of weather and climate extremes, vulnerability and exposure, and impacts. It focuses on the design of national systems for managing such risks, the roles played by actors involved in the system, and the functions they perform, acknowledging that complementary  actions to manage risks are also taken at local and international level.

Keywords
Climate Change
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Global Warming
Risk
Disaster
Extreme Event
Adaptation
Contact institution (for further information)
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Citation

Lal, P.N., T. Mitchell, P. Aldunce, H. Auld, R. Mechler, A. Miyan, L.E. Romano, and S. Zakaria, 2012: National systems for managing the risks from climate extremes and disasters. In: Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation [Field, C.B., V. Barros, T.F. Stocker, D. Qin, D.J. Dokken, K.L. Ebi, M.D. Mastrandrea, K.J. Mach, G.-K. Plattner, S.K. Allen, M. Tignor, and P.M. Midgley (eds.)]. A Special Report of Working Groups I and II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, and New York, NY, USA, pp. 339-392.

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IPCC Special Report: Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) - 5. Managing the Risks from Climate Extremes at the Local Level

Content Type
Author or Institution as Author
Susan Cutter (USA)
Co-authors

Balgis Osman-Elasha (Sudan)

Date of publication
Institution
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Language
Gender marker
Youth marker
Description/Abstract

Disasters occur first at the local level and affect local people. These localized impacts can then cascade to have national and international ramifications. As a result, the responsibility for managing such risks requires the linkage of local, national, and global scales. Some disaster risk management options are bottom-up strategies, designed by and for local places, while other management options are products of global negotiations that are then implemented through national institutions to local levels. Institutions, actors, governance, and geographic units of analysis are not uniform across these scales. Even within each scale there are differences. While some communities are able to cope with disaster risks, others have limited disaster resilience and capacity to cope with present disaster risk let alone adapt to climate variability and extremes. This is the topic of this chapter: to present evidence on where disasters are experienced, how disaster risks are managed at present, and the variability in coping mechanisms and capacity in the face of climate variability and change, all from the perspective of local places and local actors.

The chapter explores three themes:

  • how disaster risks are managed at present;
  • how the impact of climate extremes threatens human security at the local level;
  • and the role of scale and context in shaping variability in vulnerability, coping, adaptive capacity, and the management of disaster risks and climate extremes at the local level.
Keywords
Climate Change
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Global Warming
Extreme Events
Disaster
Risk
Local Level
Adaptation
Contact name (for further information)
Susan Cutter (USA)
Contact institution (for further information)
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Citation

Cutter, S., B. Osman-Elasha, J. Campbell, S.-M. Cheong, S. McCormick, R. Pulwarty, S. Supratid, and G. Ziervogel, 2012: Managing the risks from climate extremes at the local level. In: Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation [Field, C.B., V. Barros, T.F. Stocker, D. Qin, D.J. Dokken, K.L. Ebi, M.D. Mastrandrea, K.J. Mach, G.-K. Plattner, S.K. Allen, M. Tignor, and P.M. Midgley (eds.)]. A Special Report of Working Groups I and II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, and New York, NY, USA, pp. 291-338.

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IPCC Special Report: Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) - 4. Changes in Impacts of Climate Extremes: Human Systems and Ecosystems

Content Type
Author or Institution as Author
John Handmer (Australia)
Co-authors

Yasushi Honda (Japan), Zbigniew W. Kundzewicz (Poland/Germany)

Date of publication
Language
Description/Abstract

Chapter 3 evaluates observed and projected changes in the frequency, intensity, spatial extent, and duration of extreme weather and climate events. This physical basis provides a picture of climate change and extreme events. But it does not by itself indicate the impacts experienced by humans or ecosystems. For example, for some sectors and groups of people, severe impacts may result from relatively minor weather and climate events. To understand impacts triggered by weather and climate events, the exposure and vulnerability of humans and ecological systems need to be examined. The emphasis of this chapter is on negative impacts, in line with this report’s focus on managing the risks of extreme events and disasters. Weather and climate events, however, can and often do have positive impacts for some people and ecosystems

Keywords
Climate Change
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Global Warming
Extreme Events
Disaster
Impact
Adaptation
Human Systems
Natural Ecosystems
Contact name (for further information)
John Handmer (Australia)
Contact institution (for further information)
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Citation

Handmer, J., Y. Honda, Z.W. Kundzewicz, N. Arnell, G. Benito, J. Hatfield, I.F. Mohamed, P. Peduzzi, S. Wu, B. Sherstyukov, K. Takahashi, and Z. Yan, 2012: Changes in impacts of climate extremes: human systems and ecosystems. In: Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation [Field, C.B., V. Barros, T.F. Stocker, D. Qin, D.J. Dokken, K.L. Ebi, M.D. Mastrandrea, K.J. Mach, G.-K. Plattner, S.K. Allen, M. Tignor, and P.M. Midgley (eds.)]. A Special Report of Working Groups I and II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, and New York, NY, USA, pp. 231-290.

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IPCC Special Report: Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) - 3. Changes in Climate Extremes and their Impacts on the Natural Physical Environment

Content Type
Author or Institution as Author
Sonia I. Seneviratne (Switzerland)
Co-authors

Neville Nicholls (Australia)

Date of publication
Institution
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Language
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Description/Abstract

This chapter addresses changes in weather and climate events relevant to extreme impacts and disasters. An extreme (weather or climate) event is generally defined as the occurrence of a value of a weather or climate variable above (or below) a threshold value near the upper (or lower) ends (‘tails’) of the range of observed values of the variable. Some climate extremes (e.g., droughts, floods) may be the result of an accumulation of weather or climate events that are, individually, not extreme themselves (though their accumulation is extreme). As well, weather or climate events, even if not extreme in a statistical sense, can still lead to extreme conditions or impacts, either by crossing a critical threshold in a social, ecological, or physical system, or by occurring simultaneously with other events. A weather system such as a tropical cyclone can have an extreme impact, depending on where and when it approaches landfall, even if the specific cyclone is not extreme relative to other tropical cyclones. Conversely, not all extremes necessarily lead to serious impacts.

Keywords
Climate Change
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Global Warming
Extreme Events
Disaster
Adaptation
Environment
Contact name (for further information)
Sonia I. Seneviratne (Switzerland)
Contact institution (for further information)
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Citation

Seneviratne, S.I., N. Nicholls, D. Easterling, C.M. Goodess, S. Kanae, J. Kossin, Y. Luo, J. Marengo, K. McInnes, M. Rahimi, M. Reichstein, A. Sorteberg, C. Vera, and X. Zhang, 2012: Changes in climate extremes and their impacts on the natural physical environment. In: Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation [Field, C.B., V. Barros, T.F. Stocker, D. Qin, D.J. Dokken, K.L. Ebi, M.D. Mastrandrea, K.J. Mach, G.-K. Plattner, S.K. Allen, M. Tignor, and P.M. Midgley (eds.)]. A Special Report of Working Groups I and II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, and New York, NY, USA, pp. 109-230.

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IPCC Special Report: Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) - 2. Determinants of Risk: Exposure and Vulnerability

Content Type
Author or Institution as Author
Omar-Dario Cardona (Colombia)
Co-authors

 Maarten K. van Aalst (Netherlands)

Date of publication
Institution
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Language
Gender marker
Youth marker
Description/Abstract

Many climate change adaptation efforts aim to address the implications of potential changes in the frequency, intensity, and duration of weather and climate events that affect the risk of extreme impacts on human society. That risk is determined not only by the climate and weather events (the hazards) but also by the exposure and vulnerability to these hazards. Therefore, effective adaptation and disaster risk management strategies and practices also depend on a rigorous understanding of the dimensions of exposure and vulnerability, as well as a proper assessment of changes in those dimensions. This chapter aims to provide that understanding and assessment, by further detailing the determinants of risk as presented in Chapter 1.

Keywords
Climate Change
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Global Warming
Risk
Exposure
Vulnerability
Extreme Events
Disaster
Adaptation
Contact name (for further information)
Omar-Dario Cardona (Colombia)
Contact institution (for further information)
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Citation

Cardona, O.D., M.K. van Aalst, J. Birkmann, M. Fordham, G. McGregor, R. Perez, R.S. Pulwarty, E.L.F. Schipper, and B.T. Sinh, 2012: Determinants of risk: exposure and vulnerability. In: Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation [Field, C.B., V. Barros, T.F. Stocker, D. Qin, D.J. Dokken, K.L. Ebi, M.D. Mastrandrea, K.J. Mach, G.-K. Plattner, S.K. Allen, M. Tignor, and P.M. Midgley (eds.)]. A Special Report of Working Groups I and II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, and New York, NY, USA, pp. 65-108

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IPCC Special Report: Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) - 1. Climate Change: New Dimensions in Disaster Risk, Exposure, Vulnerability, and Resilience

Content Type
Author or Institution as Author
Allan Lavell (Costa Rica)
Co-authors

Michael Oppenheimer (USA)

Date of publication
Institution
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Language
Gender marker
Youth marker
Description/Abstract

Climate change, an alteration in the state of the climate that can be identified by changes in the mean and/or the variability of its properties, and that persists for an extended period, typically decades or longer, is a fundamental reference point for framing the different management themes and challenges dealt with in this Special Report. Climate change may be due to natural internal processes or external forcings, or to persistent anthropogenic changes in the composition of the atmosphere or in land use [...]. Anthropogenic climate change is projected to continue during this century and beyond. This conclusion is robust under a wide range of scenarios for future greenhouse gas emissions, including some that anticipate a reduction in emissions (IPCC, 2007a). The report draws on current scientific knowledge to address three specific goals:

1) To assess the relevance and utility of the concepts, methods, strategies, instruments, and experience gained from the management of climate-associated disaster risk under conditions of historical climate patterns, in order to advance adaptation to climate change and the management of extreme events and disasters in the future.

2) To assess the new perspectives and challenges that climate change brings to the disaster risk management field.

3) To assess the mutual implications of the evolution of the disaster risk management and adaptation to climate change fields, particularly with respect to the desired increases in social resilience and sustainability that adaptation implies.

Keywords
Climate Change
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Global Warming
Disaster risk
Exposure
Vulnerability
Resilience
Contact name (for further information)
Allan Lavell (Costa Rica)
Contact institution (for further information)
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Citation

Lavell, A., M. Oppenheimer, C. Diop, J. Hess, R. Lempert, J. Li, R. Muir-Wood, and S. Myeong, 2012: Climate change: new dimensions in disaster risk, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience. In: Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation [Field, C.B., V. Barros, T.F. Stocker, D. Qin, D.J. Dokken, K.L. Ebi, M.D. Mastrandrea, K.J. Mach, G.-K. Plattner, S.K. Allen, M. Tignor, and P.M. Midgley (eds.)]. A Special Report of Working Groups I and II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, and New York, NY, USA, pp. 25-64.

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IPCC Assessment Report 5: The Physical Science Basis (Working Group I) - 3. Oceans

Content Type
Author or Institution as Author
Monika Rhein (Germany)
Co-authors

Stephen R. Rintoul (Australia)

Date of publication
Institution
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Language
Gender marker
Youth marker
Description/Abstract

The ocean influences climate by storing and transporting large amounts of heat, freshwater, and carbon, and by exchanging these properties with the atmosphere. About 93% of the excess heat energy stored by the Earth over the last 50 years is found in the ocean (Church et al., 2011; Levitus et al., 2012). The ability of the ocean to store vast amounts of heat reflects the large mass and heat capacity of seawater relative to air and the fact that ocean circulation connects the surface and interior ocean. More than three quarters of the total exchange of water between the atmosphere and the Earth’s surface through evaporation and precipitation takes place over the oceans (Schmitt, 2008). The ocean contains 50 times more carbon than the atmosphere (Sabine et al., 2004) and is at present acting to slow the rate of climate change by absorbing about 30% of human emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from fossil fuel burning, cement production, deforestation and other land use change (Mikaloff-Fletcher et al., 2006; Le Quéré et al., 2010). Changes in the ocean may result in climate feedbacks that either increase or reduce the rate of climate change. Climate variability and change on time scales from seasons to millennia is therefore closely linked to the ocean and its interactions with the atmosphere and cryosphere. The large inertia of the oceans means that they naturally integrate over short-term variability and often provide a clearer signal of longer-term change than other components of the climate system. Observations of ocean change therefore provide a means to track the evolution of climate change, and a relevant benchmark for climate models.

Keywords
Climate Change
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Assessment Report (AR5)
Global Warming
The Physical Science Basis
Oceans
Contact name (for further information)
Monika Rhein (Germany)
Contact institution (for further information)
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Citation

Rhein, M., S.R. Rintoul, S. Aoki, E. Campos, D. Chambers, R.A. Feely, S. Gulev, G.C. Johnson, S.A. Josey, A. Kostianoy, C. Mauritzen, D. Roemmich, L.D. Talley and F. Wang, 2013: Observations: Ocean. In: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA

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