Climate change and urbanisation increase climate risks and the negative consequences of extreme events. For instance, floods cost billions of euros of losses and result in thousands of fatalities every year. Accelerated adaptation by societies, including governments, insurance companies, households and others is urgently required. However, there are limits to the adaptability of societies. For instance, social vulnerability factors (e.g. income, education, etc.) may reduce households’ adaptation efforts. When societies stop implementing additional adaptation, risk may become ‘intolerable’, and adaptation limits may be reached. At such point, people may have to migrate to safer locations. However, very little is known about the extent to which societies can adapt, which factors drive these limits, and where and when limits to adaptation will be reached.
This session welcomes abstracts considering how to conceptualise, assess, project and avoid adaptation limits. The session aims to facilitate discussions and cooperation about interdisciplinary research on adaptation and its limits by bringing together experts in climate, natural hazards and the social sciences.
Relevant topics include, but are not limited to:
• Where were soft or hard limits of adaptation reached already?
• Which social and physical vulnerability constraints can lead to adaptation limits?
• How to conceptualise and measure intolerable risk
• Motivation for and hindrances of adaptation efforts
• Simulation of adaptation and migration decisions
• Quantification of adaptation effects