Exploring Institutional Transformations to Address High-End Climate Change in Iberia

Joan David Tàbara, Francesc Cots, Simona Pedde, Katharina Hölscher, Kasper Kok, Anastasia Lovanova, Tiago Capela Lourenço, Niki Frantzeskaki and John Etherington
Additional contact information
Joan David Tàbara: Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallés, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
Francesc Cots: Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallés, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
Simona Pedde: Soil Geography and Landscape Group, Wageningen University and Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 3, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
Katharina Hölscher: Dutch Research Institute for Transitions, Faculty of Social Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Burgemeester Oudlaan 50, 3062 PA Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Kasper Kok: Soil Geography and Landscape Group, Wageningen University and Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 3, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
Anastasia Lovanova: Potsdam Institute of Climate Change Impact Research, Telegraphenberg, A31, 14437 Postdam, Germany
Tiago Capela Lourenço: Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Facultade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
Niki Frantzeskaki: Dutch Research Institute for Transitions, Faculty of Social Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Burgemeester Oudlaan 50, 3062 PA Rotterdam, The Netherlands
John Etherington: Department of Political Sciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallés, 08193 Barcelona, Spain

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-22

Abstract: Either meeting the UNFCCC Paris agreement to limit global average warming below the 2–1.5 °C threshold, or going beyond it entails huge challenges in terms of institutional innovation and transformation. This research describes a participatory integrated assessment process aimed at exploring the options, opportunities, necessary capacities and implications for institutional co-operation and innovation in the Iberian Peninsula under High-End Climate Change (HECC). Using in-depth interviews and a novel participatory research approach, different scenario narratives and pathways about the future of Iberia have been identified using Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs). Special attention is given to the knowledge and policy options needed to implement cross-border organizational changes and co-operation mechanisms that would support the Integrated Climate Governance of the Tagus and Guadiana river basins. We show that a wealth of institutional innovation pathways and specific options and solutions exist not only to reduce GHG emissions (mitigation) and the negative impacts of climate change (adaptation), but, above all, to generate new forms of social-ecological system interactions aligned with sustainability (transformation). In particular, and depending on which scenario contexts unfold in the future in Iberia, different kinds of institutional and governance capacities and clusters of solutions may be needed in order to achieve transformation.

Keywords: institutional transformation; high-end climate change; Shared Socio-economic Scenarios (SSPs); Iberia; transboundary rivers; cross-border cooperation; participatory research appraisal; Integrated Climate Governance (ICG) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/1/161/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/1/161/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:1:p:161-:d:126485

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().