Challenges of adaptation to climate change across multiple scales: a case study of network governance in two European countries

As adaptation is increasingly recognised as an important component in responding to climate change, adaptation measures are slowly emerging at different scales of governance across Europe and elsewhere in the industrialised North. The relative novelty of adaptation measures in this context opens up an opportunity to examine the ways in which more well-established systems of governance are able to address concerns of a changing climate and its expected effects.This paper examines the modes of climate change adaptation governance systems, by presenting two empirical multi-scale case studies in Finland and Italy. The two countries represent different stages of planned adaptation measures: while Finland began work on adaptation relatively early and elected for a mainstreaming approach, Italy has yet to form concrete national adaptation actions. In both cases, however, adaptation actions have autonomously emerged at lower scales of governance, raising questions as to the role and importance of vertical integration.This study concludes that the governance of adaptation is mainly taking place through both formal institutions and networks across actors at various scales. Though such networks present actors at sub-national scales the resources and opportunity to engage in planned adaptation, the ability of a wider set of actors to plan adaptation remains somewhat limited by a lack of coordination at the national scale. As a result, there exists an opportunity for increased interaction and participation of actors across scales.

Research highlights▶ Decision-making on climate change adaptation is taking place through various governance arrangements. ▶ Institutions and networks, and their interaction across scales of social organisation play a key role the governance of adaptation. ▶ Hierarchical mode of governance is prevalent at the national scale, while networks are emerging at sub-national scales of governance of adaptation.