Social Science Papers by Maria Schwab
Weather and Climate Extremes, 2017
Extreme Event Attribution has raised increasing attention in climate science in the last years. I... more Extreme Event Attribution has raised increasing attention in climate science in the last years. It means to judge the extent to which certain weather-related extreme events have changed due to human influences on climate with probabilistic statements. Extreme Event Attribution is often anticipated to spur more than just scientific ambition. It is able to provide answers to a commonly asked questions after extreme events, namely, 'can we blame it on climate change' and is assumed to support decision-making of various actors engaged in climate change mitigation and adaptation. More in-depth research is widely lacking about who these actors are; in which context they can make use of it; and what requirements they have, to be able to actually apply Extreme Event Attribution. We have therefore addressed these questions with two empirical case studies looking at regional decision-makers who deal with storm surge risks in the German Baltic Sea region and heat waves in the Greater Paris area. Stakeholder interviews and workshops reveal that fields of application and requirements are diverse, difficult to explicitly identify, and often clearly associated with stakeholders' specific mandate, the hazard background, and the regional socioeconomic setting. Among the considered stakeholders in the Baltic Sea region, Extreme Event Attribution is perceived to be most useful to awareness-raising, in particular for climate change mitigation. They emphasised the importance of receiving understandable information-and that, rather later, but with smaller uncertainties than faster, but with higher uncertainties. In the Paris case, we typically talked to people engaged in adaptation with expertise in terms of climate science, but narrowly defined mandates which is typical for the Paris-centred political system with highly specialised public experts. The interviewees claimed that Extreme Event Attribution is most useful to political leverage and public discourses. If novel information like this is not sorted out a priori, it needs to be clearly linked to impacts, preferably as monetary values lost. These examples underline the significance of conducting case-specific stakeholder mappings and consultation. Overall, our studies can thereby provide methods and exemplary empirical evidence to support developing useful services from Extreme Event Attribution for targeted groups of users.
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Papers by Maria Schwab
The main challenge for local adaptation to climate extremes is to apply a balanced portfolio of a... more The main challenge for local adaptation to climate extremes is to apply a balanced portfolio of approaches as a one-size-fits all strategy may prove limiting for some places and stakeholders. While structural measures provide some protection from disasters, they may also create a false sense of safety. (IPCC 2012, p. 293 – 295) (Photos: J. Birkmann 2011; Map Source: Garschagen et al. 2012)
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Weather and Climate Extremes, 2017
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Content Abstracts must focus on scientific results or their application. The Program Committee ... more Content Abstracts must focus on scientific results or their application. The Program Committee may decline to consider abstracts with other focus. Note: abstracts cannot be accepted for review after 5 August. Following the abstract deadline, submitted abstracts may be placed in a different, more appropriate session than the one to which it was submitted. Final decisions regarding placement of individual abstracts and sessions rests with the Program Committee. The abstract title is limited to 300 characters and 2000 characters for everything
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Journal of Extreme Events
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Meteorology Hydrology and Water Management
Science-based knowledge about climate-related hazards is an inevitable part of the knowledge basi... more Science-based knowledge about climate-related hazards is an inevitable part of the knowledge basis needed for many stakeholders' decision-making. Despite continuous advances in climate science, much of this knowledge is perceived to be hardly accessible, understandable, or relevant to stakeholders. One relatively new field where these aspects may become evident is extreme weather event attribution. It has received much attention in science in recent years, but its potential usefulness to stakeholders has rarely been addressed in the literature so far. This study has therefore developed criteria for evaluating potential climate services from a stakeholder perspective, using the example of findings from extreme event attribution. This is illustrated in an empirical mixed-method study about decision-makers dealing with storm surge risks at the German Baltic Sea Coast and (re)insurance sector representatives. The study builds on interviews and workshops with potential users of extreme event attribution. It reveals that there are three main groups of criteria which matter most to the stakeholders in question: 1) trustworthiness, 2) context sensitivity and decision-relevance, 3) clarity and comprehensibility. Having appropriate evaluation categories, as well as processes to identify stakeholder-specific criteria, will facilitate the inclusion of values, knowledge contexts, and interests. Many stakeholders emphasized that they need a trustworthy knowledge broker who provides decision-oriented information which is intuitively accessible, understandable, and in their mother tongue. Being independent, scientifically competent, and in a continuous dialogue with both scientists and stakeholders, established regional and sector-specific climate services can facilitate the fulfilment of these requirements. A stakeholder-oriented evaluation will thereby help to make climate services more useful to potential user groups – even if a product is not in use yet, as is the case for extreme event attribution products..
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New Directions for Evaluation, 2015
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Social Science Papers by Maria Schwab
Papers by Maria Schwab