Society has been facing many compounding impacts from extreme events related to natural and geo-hazards (storms, floods, droughts, volcanic eruptions, landslides, forest fires, etc.) that occur simultaneously or in succession. Ongoing societal, environmental, and political crises (such as the COVID19 pandemic and armed conflicts) provide additional challenges, reducing our capacity to deal with these compounding hazards and potentially impacting our ability to manage them in the future with resources, policies, and attention being redirected. With climate change likely to exacerbate the compounding impacts of these extreme events, this symposium asks whether we have the capacity to predict them in advance and reduce ecological, social, and economic damages. Knowing how science is used during extreme events, societal crises and subsequent policy discussions is key to understanding the role that researchers and the scientific community can play in providing evidence and support during pivotal moments.

This symposium will address how Europe can more effectively address multihazards and compounding impacts from extreme events through ongoing societal crises. It will outline the policy pathways and key legislation, such as the Sustainable Development Goals and European Green Deal, that are needed to frame common goals and how our current geopolitical crises will impact them. It will use specific examples, such as recent European droughts, current energy shortage, and potential food insecurity, to discuss how scientific evidence has been used to steer decisions and how these challenges could be used to boost technical developments and future initiatives. The panel will also discuss the need to create pre-emptive strategies and frameworks that minimize the impact of compounding natural disasters, unexpected societal crises, and resource shortages.