Closing the ‘operationalisation gap’: Insights from systemic risk research to inform transformational adaptation and risk management
Recent research has shown that adverse risks associated with climate and global change are becoming increasingly systemic with mounting interdependencies that will likely lead to cascading impacts. These impacts are projected to become so intolerable that standard risk management approaches alone wi...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Climate Risk Management |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212096323000578 |
| _version_ | 1797733094725255168 |
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| author | Stefan Hochrainer-Stigler Teresa M. Deubelli-Hwang Reinhard Mechler Ulf Dieckmann Finn Laurien John Handmer |
| author_facet | Stefan Hochrainer-Stigler Teresa M. Deubelli-Hwang Reinhard Mechler Ulf Dieckmann Finn Laurien John Handmer |
| author_sort | Stefan Hochrainer-Stigler |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Recent research has shown that adverse risks associated with climate and global change are becoming increasingly systemic with mounting interdependencies that will likely lead to cascading impacts. These impacts are projected to become so intolerable that standard risk management approaches alone will no longer be sufficient. Calls to consider transformational approaches to risk management and adaptation to facilitate a change towards more resilient futures are growing steadily louder. There is, however, a clear gap in terms of translating ambitions for transformational change into interventions and measures that can be directly applied in practice. To bridge this gap and help move forward with operationalising transformation in this context, we suggest harnessing ideas and insights from systemic risk research. Understanding systemic risk usually requires a careful examination of a system's components, leading to a better appreciation of how they and their interactions within a system contribute to systemic risks. Restructuring the connectivity of system elements based on this information represents a transformational change of the system and can lead to a reduction in systemic risk. From this perspective, systemic risk research and transformative risk management are closely connected disciplines, as methodological insights from the field of systemic risk research can benefit the objective of shifting climate risk management interventions towards transformative approaches that facilitate a radical and fundamental change towards more resilient futures. The pluralistic views of decision-makers regarding system boundaries and responsibilities can, however, result in forced transformation. An applied systems view can avoid this and guide deliberate transformation coupled with iterative approaches that are able to track the status of such changes and steer developments in the desired direction. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:24:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-df46a5ea3ba2485e868d9572df19d991 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2212-0963 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:24:10Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Climate Risk Management |
| spelling | doaj.art-df46a5ea3ba2485e868d9572df19d9912023-08-30T05:50:30ZengElsevierClimate Risk Management2212-09632023-01-0141100531Closing the ‘operationalisation gap’: Insights from systemic risk research to inform transformational adaptation and risk managementStefan Hochrainer-Stigler0Teresa M. Deubelli-Hwang1Reinhard Mechler2Ulf Dieckmann3Finn Laurien4John Handmer5International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Schlossplatz 1, 2361 Laxenburg, Austria; Corresponding author.International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Schlossplatz 1, 2361 Laxenburg, AustriaInternational Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Schlossplatz 1, 2361 Laxenburg, AustriaInternational Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Schlossplatz 1, 2361 Laxenburg, Austria; Complexity Science and Evolution Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST), 1919-1 Tancha, Onna, Kunigami, Okinawa 904-0495, Japan; Department of Evolutionary Studies of Biosystems, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (Sokendai), Hayama, Kanagawa 240-0193, JapanInternational Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Schlossplatz 1, 2361 Laxenburg, AustriaInternational Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Schlossplatz 1, 2361 Laxenburg, AustriaRecent research has shown that adverse risks associated with climate and global change are becoming increasingly systemic with mounting interdependencies that will likely lead to cascading impacts. These impacts are projected to become so intolerable that standard risk management approaches alone will no longer be sufficient. Calls to consider transformational approaches to risk management and adaptation to facilitate a change towards more resilient futures are growing steadily louder. There is, however, a clear gap in terms of translating ambitions for transformational change into interventions and measures that can be directly applied in practice. To bridge this gap and help move forward with operationalising transformation in this context, we suggest harnessing ideas and insights from systemic risk research. Understanding systemic risk usually requires a careful examination of a system's components, leading to a better appreciation of how they and their interactions within a system contribute to systemic risks. Restructuring the connectivity of system elements based on this information represents a transformational change of the system and can lead to a reduction in systemic risk. From this perspective, systemic risk research and transformative risk management are closely connected disciplines, as methodological insights from the field of systemic risk research can benefit the objective of shifting climate risk management interventions towards transformative approaches that facilitate a radical and fundamental change towards more resilient futures. The pluralistic views of decision-makers regarding system boundaries and responsibilities can, however, result in forced transformation. An applied systems view can avoid this and guide deliberate transformation coupled with iterative approaches that are able to track the status of such changes and steer developments in the desired direction.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212096323000578TransformationClimate changeGlobal changeSystemic riskTransformational adaptationResilience |
| spellingShingle | Stefan Hochrainer-Stigler Teresa M. Deubelli-Hwang Reinhard Mechler Ulf Dieckmann Finn Laurien John Handmer Closing the ‘operationalisation gap’: Insights from systemic risk research to inform transformational adaptation and risk management Climate Risk Management Transformation Climate change Global change Systemic risk Transformational adaptation Resilience |
| title | Closing the ‘operationalisation gap’: Insights from systemic risk research to inform transformational adaptation and risk management |
| title_full | Closing the ‘operationalisation gap’: Insights from systemic risk research to inform transformational adaptation and risk management |
| title_fullStr | Closing the ‘operationalisation gap’: Insights from systemic risk research to inform transformational adaptation and risk management |
| title_full_unstemmed | Closing the ‘operationalisation gap’: Insights from systemic risk research to inform transformational adaptation and risk management |
| title_short | Closing the ‘operationalisation gap’: Insights from systemic risk research to inform transformational adaptation and risk management |
| title_sort | closing the operationalisation gap insights from systemic risk research to inform transformational adaptation and risk management |
| topic | Transformation Climate change Global change Systemic risk Transformational adaptation Resilience |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212096323000578 |
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