Organizing adaptation to climate change in Europe: can models and premises for increased adaptive capacity be identified?

Climate change will pose major challenges for adaptation generally in Europe. However, while predictions on the risks climate change is likely to result in are fairly well developed, there exists less research on how incidents similar to those projected for climate change actually impact societies, and on the possibilities and obstacles actors see for further adaptation. This project aims to analyse the adaptive capacity, defined as all economic and behavioural adjustments that reduce the vulnerability of society to climate change, among stakeholders and governance in case study areas in seven European states: the UK, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Italy and Russia. Utilising interviews and newspaper and literature surveys, the project will analyse what stakeholders see as their possibilities of adapting to climate change, how the structures and perceived requirements for adaptation in the different countries compare, and whether models and requirements for successful adaptive capacity development can be identified.